Every runner has that one year that stands out in their memory, a series of moments strung together by the laces of their running shoes. In 2019, my feet pounded the pavement from Wokingham to Dublin, each race carving out its own story. From setting a personal best at the Royal Berks 10k to the spine-tingling finish in a stadium at the Reading Half, join me as I share the contrasting courses, the comradery of old and new friends like Alistair and Jenny, and the electric atmosphere that fuels every runner’s soul.
As the conversation unfolds, you'll be transported to the heart of the action, from the thrill of breaking personal barriers in local 10K races to the laughter-filled, sleep-deprived excitement of the 24-hour Endure relay. This journey isn't just about the times recorded on the clock, but also about the vibrant running community that cheers us on, the rivals who push us to excel, and the unexpected friendships formed at bag drops. Hear about our team's trials and triumphs, including a night-time relay that turned into an unforgettable bonding experience under the stars.
Just when the finish line seemed clear, the world was blindsided by the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing our shared passion to a screeching halt. The pivot from celebrating race day victories to confronting a global health crisis is a stark reminder of life's unpredictable nature. Through this episode, we explore the ups and downs of a runner's journey and how, even amidst uncertainty, the spirit of the marathon carries on within us all.
Thanks for listening. Keep on running.
Every runner has that one year that stands out in their memory, a series of moments strung together by the laces of their running shoes. In 2019, my feet pounded the pavement from Wokingham to Dublin, each race carving out its own story. From setting a personal best at the Royal Berks 10k to the spine-tingling finish in a stadium at the Reading Half, join me as I share the contrasting courses, the comradery of old and new friends like Alistair and Jenny, and the electric atmosphere that fuels every runner’s soul.
As the conversation unfolds, you'll be transported to the heart of the action, from the thrill of breaking personal barriers in local 10K races to the laughter-filled, sleep-deprived excitement of the 24-hour Endure relay. This journey isn't just about the times recorded on the clock, but also about the vibrant running community that cheers us on, the rivals who push us to excel, and the unexpected friendships formed at bag drops. Hear about our team's trials and triumphs, including a night-time relay that turned into an unforgettable bonding experience under the stars.
Just when the finish line seemed clear, the world was blindsided by the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing our shared passion to a screeching halt. The pivot from celebrating race day victories to confronting a global health crisis is a stark reminder of life's unpredictable nature. Through this episode, we explore the ups and downs of a runner's journey and how, even amidst uncertainty, the spirit of the marathon carries on within us all.
Thanks for listening. Keep on running.
The race is on. The race is on, so let's get straight into the seventh episode of 30 years of Running Marathons. In this episode, we're going to look back to 2019, which turned out to be my best running year ever. There were plenty of marathons, half marathons and every race in between. It really was a spectacular year. I mean, there were ups and downs, but certainly more ups than there were downs. And it started off in February with the Wokenham Half Marathon, a race which I'd run before and also been injured before.
Speaker 1:But this year I got to start line feeling really good, I was ready for this one and plenty of my friends were there too. It's known as a really fast course. It's out in the countryside, so there's not sort of much crowd support, but it's a real runners race. Not a lot runners, but it's a race for runners and it's Box's premier running event. They like to say so it is a real race for runners and it's a fast course. And you know, the actual day wasn't too bad. It wasn't too hot, too cold, and I did it in approximately one hour 45 minutes, which, considering my previous half marathons before then, because I'd been injured in 2018, my previous times were like two hours 15, so you know you're looking at a good half hour knocked off my previous time. So I was happy for that and that was the pre-lead to my best, or should I say, the most spectacular half marathon I'd run this year, in 2019, and that was the redding half marathon, which I'd run the redding half marathon a few times before. In fact, the last time I'd run it was in 2016. That was the year that my unfortunate, my nan passed away and it was the last race she got to see. She always loved looking at my running medals and this particular medal that you get from redding half marathon. They always do a spectacular medal and this year it was no exception. So I was really happy to be running.
Speaker 1:But the best thing about the redding half marathon is you get to finish in redding football stadium and it's a massive football stadium. I mean it's not exactly Premier League they're not quite in the Premier League, but the stadium is Premier League. I mean it can probably hold about 20,000 people. Not that it's filled up when you run it, but when you enter it you it's like coming into his amphitheater full of sound, even though it's probably only full of, you know, just family and friends. It feels like they're 20,000 people cheering you on and it's as nearest as an amateur runner that you're going to get to running the Olympics. You know you feel like you've come into the stadium and you just run the Olympic marathon. That's what it feels like and you know the roar from the crowd just hit you as soon as you get in I mean just before that.
Speaker 1:Okay, you've got to run along this pretty I have to say, boring dual carriageway and I remember one year it was just so hot running along there and this dual carriageway I mean I don't exactly know how far it is, but it goes on forever just this long stretch of road and it's particularly it was really hot and they put these like water sprinklers out that you could literally run through just to call you down and it was so refreshing, so nice to come through. So, anyway, you go down this dual carriageway and then you turn down in and under into this stadium and, as I say, it's the most terrific finish. In fact it's it's the all the races that I've done. It's the best finish that I've come across and that's why I always love to enter the red and half if I, if I couldn't run. You know, the Wokenham Half Marathon, that's fine. I'm quite happy to miss that, but I wouldn't want to miss the Red and Half Marathon. I mean, we're talking thousands and thousands of people and a lot of it's run through the city centre.
Speaker 1:So you've got really good crowd support and they say it's a really fast course, really flat, fast course. Well, it is flat and fast but I'll be honest with you, there's one or two hills but it's not like Wokenham, where you're out in the countryside. This is you know, this is all on the roads really fast race and ironically I did it approximately the same time as I did Wokenham 1 hour 45. Which course do I prefer for actual running? The course I actually prefer, I don't have to say Wokenham, even though you haven't got the crowd support, you've not got the spectacular finish. The actual course itself, I think, is a faster course. Even I did similar times, a faster course and redding, even though it's out in the countryside that I wouldn't say there are the, you know, the hilly sections that you get maybe in redding, even though it dubs itself as a flat course. But you know both, both are very similar, but let's say, of course itself.
Speaker 1:I'll probably go for Wokenham, for race atmosphere and everything else, for the medal, the goodie bag, the atmosphere I mean all my friends were there. It's a great catch up. It's a big event in redding and you really feel you are part of something. So, yeah, I mean, redding is a race I would do every single year. If I couldn't do any other race, I would always make sure I could do the red and half marathon, and this is in March. So this is just a month before my biggest race of the year was booked in, or should I say one of my biggest races of the year, and this was a marathon. This is the Manchester marathon and this is held in April and normally it's held a week before the London marathon.
Speaker 1:Now, the London marathon is so difficult to get into. I've only ever run the London marathon once. I mean, unless you're super fast and have a qualifying time, which I don't or maybe if you run for a charity, you can sometimes get through. If you run for a charity, you can get a charity place. Then obviously that involves, you know, raising a lot of money for charity, which is obviously a good thing, but it can also be very stressful. Other than that, your only option is to go through the lottery system. But you know you can have like half a million people applying and like only 40,000 places available. So it's very much hit and miss and literally it's a lottery. As you know, I don't think they go on the fact you've run it so many times before or not.
Speaker 1:Okay, maybe for a celebrity you get in, no worries, but you know, for a normal person like myself it's very difficult to get into and this I found out. I mean I didn't realise all those years ago, 30 years ago, when I first ran it, I didn't realise how lucky I was to get into it. I took it for granted. But I've applied here every year since, every single year, and some of my friends have got in. I just never have. And you know I have a. You know a friend of mine's run it this year and I think he's run it the last couple of times. I've applied this year again and I'm not going to.
Speaker 1:But you know, if you don't get into it, there's another good race in the north of England and it's the second largest after London in this country. I think it's the fourth largest in Europe and I was only one of the largest marathons in Europe and that's the Manchester marathon and Manchester is a really you know, supporting city. I mean you've got you know, you've got Manchester City Football Club, manchester United Football Club, you know a couple of the biggest football clubs in Europe and, in fact, this particular marathon, actually, you actually run past Manchester United Football Ground. So it's a it's a real you know tourist route to run and I was supposed to run in 2018 but I got injured and, if you listen to my previous podcast, actually went up and supported my friends about so ambitious, they got to run it anyway this year I was going to run it and it was a real eye opener for me because, for starters, I mean I went up there on the train, I booked myself in the hotel and, as I say, there was a friend to run in it to.
Speaker 1:I know Alastair from my Facebook group was running it, jenny was running it from the Facebook group as well, and we all met up and I lot of support, a lot of friends, my friends who weren't running, they were going to track me and you start not far from the cricket ground or traffic cricket ground and I mean the the scale of it was just unbelievable. I mean there was so, so many runners. There was literally thousands and thousands of runners and we all start, you know, different, different starting pens. So you got different sign pens and just to find your own starting pen in the city centre, it was so difficult because you had to walk up to it and it felt like you're walking miles before you even started the race and there were so many different starting them. My friends were, you know, starting in different places and that and literally to find where you were going, it was very difficult. Just masses of people. And I stood where I thought I was supposed to start but I couldn't even see where the starting line was. It was just out in the middle of nowhere and there was, you know, marshals and that warm-up guys and it was just, it was all oh, like it was a mass of people. I didn't even know what direction I was running in. And I stood near to where I thought and I asked the other person next to me is, you know, it's just starting pen for such such a time? And they said, yeah, yeah, you'll be fine here. And then we were all set off.
Speaker 1:All the runs were set off, obviously slightly different times. They had like a staggered start and when the Hoota went for us, we literally just started walking. Like from what I remember in London marathon these years ago, we literally just started walking. Before we got to I couldn't even see the start line and it was a big start, long. When we eventually got to it, but it took us time to get there and in the city centre and the crowds were great and we just set off and it was I remember rightly it was a slightly downhill start and you know, I just got into my rhythm and it was, you know, because of the crowd to great crowd support being in the city centre. It was great.
Speaker 1:The first few miles were were brilliant and, as I say, you did this loop. So you went out, I think the first couple of miles you went out and you come around, you come back around the start again, which was nice. I mean you felt like you hadn't really got anywhere but it. But it was nice because you were still in this hub of the excitement of the crowds in the city centre. And then you went out and, as I say, you went past Old Trafford football football ground, which I don't even see on on television. This is this spectacular Premier League football ground. So you went around there and you went around all the sites you know, universities at soulford, all the parts of Manchester. I mean I've never been up to Manchester before, so to see all these sites in that, okay, I was paying for the pleasure in having to run around it, but it was a great way to see it and I thoroughly enjoyed the race.
Speaker 1:I wasn't going quite as fast as I expected, certainly not as fast as when I did Dublin three and a half hours, and I was a bit disappointed because in fact my time it was just over the four hours. I think it was four hours, four minutes. But you know, still a good time, considering and considering the pre. Obviously the previous year I'd been injured, you know I would have taken just over four hours. Obviously the competitor in me I was like, oh, I could have just got under, could I not just got under four hours? But you know, I think Alistair, I think he did just over five hours and maybe Jenny about the same. So you know, in comparison it was a good time and I met up with them at the end and if Alistair, he came, him and his wife came back to my hotel and we had a meal there and it was a really nice end to the day and, you know, I was so happy that I got another marathon under my belt after a disappointing 2018.
Speaker 1:It was great to run a big marathon like this and in some ways, I prefer it to London because, you know, manchester is still a big city, but it was, you know, far easier for me to get to stay in a hotel, get to start line and it just just seemed a bit bit more compact. The atmosphere was more more localized and certainly the crowds came out for it and it was a big highlight, you know, of the city and you know the supporters were great just as good as London supporters, or even more so and so, yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is still, to this day, one of my favorite marathons and I've, you know, I've still run it several years since because I really love it as a marathon. So that brings us into May, and into May I had another half marathon. But, um, obviously you can't be doing marathons all the time. You need a bit recovery time and normally during the summer months you don't get so many marathons. Marathons are normally held in the spring time, so January, maybe February through to April and then the back end of the year, and I'll just let you know now that actually I did have Dublin marathon planned in, but this wasn't until the end of October and obviously a lot could go wrong by then I could get injured or anything could happen.
Speaker 1:But in the meantime, I had a few races coming up and a few races I had never done before, a few different races, a few races that would take me back to my past, and one of these races that was going to take me back to my past was known as the Royal Barkshire 10k race, and so I was going back to Redding, and in fact, it starts in Green Park, near to Redding football stadium, near to, in fact, where the Redding half marathon starts, so it's an easy one for me to get to. I got there by train and there are a lot of runners from my Facebook group who are going again, and if you listen to my previous podcast, it was back in 2016. My Nan passed away and I didn't want to go running again. I didn't want to do any more races. I was like what's the point of me running anymore? My Nan's not there to show the medals too. I just lost all motivation to keep on running and I never thought I would run again, let alone run any races.
Speaker 1:And then one of the first races that I did in fact, it was the first race that I did after my Nan had died was this Barkshire 10K all the Royal Barks 10K, as it's known, so approximately six miles and it was the Facebook group that I joined that George, who had been a pacemaker, in fact, in the Red and Half marathon, was also pacemaking at this race and a lot of members of the group were there and it's group, although the race, should I say, where I first met members from the group, members like Helen and George, lots of other members from the group, and this is what started my route back into running and running all these races again. So it was great to be back there. And when I did run it first of all, back then in 2017, just after my Nan had died I was running with George and George was actually pacing it and I was hoping to keep up with George for 45 minutes and I think he quite keep up with him. You know, he came over to him after the race and he was great. He said you know, it's a lot of emotion for you for that race, you know, and I just died and you kept it together and you know, you were only just outside 45 minutes and in fact, yet again it was. It was the Hills undid me, it was a bit of a hill at four, four mile mark and George was looking around to me. He said, well, where is he? And I told him in the race, as soon as you went up that hill on the fourth mile mark. I just couldn't keep up with you. It was as simple as that. But, as I said, he came after the race and he was great and you know, so I've done really well. And when I posted it in the Facebook group, you know, a lot of the members of the group were saying you know, well done, you know. And I showed him my medal and you know, this kick started me into saying every race from now on I'm going to run for my now, because I know, I do know she's looking down on me and she'd want me to keep on running and this is what I've done.
Speaker 1:Anyway, back to the story. So I go back to the rulebots 10 K. I mean now 2019 to two years, after I didn't quite break 45 minutes with George, and I run this race and I'm feeling good and I think I was with them. Yeah, it was another member of the group that was there, darryl, and I ran it with him and I think we both ran similar times, if I remember rightly. Anyway, I just I was, I was absolutely on fire, that weather conditions were perfect not too hot, not too cold, not rainy and there's quite a few thousand out for this race, or maybe maybe not quite a thousand, I don't know, it's hard to say, but it's a real, real runners race. I mean, listen, it's not a big event, not like Manchester marathon or anything like that. I mean there might be maybe a thousand at the most.
Speaker 1:And I was on fire for this race. I was doing really well and I got to the fourth mile mark with the Halegane and I was running up that on fire and I was looking at my watch and the pace was good and I was so close to 45 minutes. In fact, yeah, if I remember rightly, there was a. Yes, I do know why I ran so fast and I'll tell you the story. The story was it was a one of the pacemakers for 45 minutes. He was an ex colleague of mine and, I have to say, not particularly nice ex colleague. He was very let's, let's. Let's put it this way I was working for this company and I got the job through the owner, who was a keen runner himself.
Speaker 1:In fact, there's a lady in this running group who was a husband, owned the company, so they got me a place in this, in this job, and that, anyway, one of the guys who I was working with, he, he, he was also a runner and a very good run. He'd run loads of marathons. And so you had the owner there who you know I'd got the job through his, his wife I think it was his girlfriend at the time because I've been in this running group or this group that did a lot of running and I had to call it a running group, but basically it was more or less, you know, a lot of runners than the running in this particular group. So I got it through her because her husband and he was also a very good run not quite as good as a very good runner. On that, anyway, for some reason we didn't particularly get on. I don't know whether it was because the owner was now very interested in my running and you know he didn't, he didn't like the fact that you know I was taking a great interest in you know he was taking a great interest in my running and that and he, you know he felt a bit, you know maybe a bit, but you know not off his pedestal, that you know he was the one that was everybody was taking an interest in his running.
Speaker 1:Now, the only was taking interest in my run. I don't know the particular reason why. Anyway, I tried to get on with him and that, but he certainly laid the law down with me as regards doing stuff and he was practically, you know, turning into my boss when he wasn't my boss, but he was acting like it and he just got. You know, sometimes he could get a bit aggressive and that and it. You know, no matter how I tried to fit in and get on with him, he was having none of it.
Speaker 1:Anyway, cut long story short, he was a pacemaker at this particular event and he was. I couldn't believe it. I was like I don't know if he recognized me or not. I'm thinking, oh, I can't even get away from you now when I'm doing my running. And of course it was a local race to him because it was reading and he was a member of Reading Roadrunners, so you know it was a race that they would do, being based in Reading.
Speaker 1:Anyway, I was on the start line. I tried not to get eye contact with him so I was just behind him but I thought, you know, I've got to run with him because he's doing 45 minutes and I want to do 45 minutes. So I was just off his shoulder and I remember we started off and I was on his shoulder. I didn't want to get too close to him because I didn't want him looking back on me. You know, I certainly, you know, didn't want to chat to him. I didn't particularly want to be near him. If I could have found another pace I would have done, but I couldn't. Anyway, I thought, right, it's now or never, I think about.
Speaker 1:After about the first mile, I thought, right, I'm going to overtake you and I'm not going to look back. No, don't look back, just keep going. And that's what I did. I just, I just didn't look back and I thought, if I can stay ahead of you, I'm going to break 45 minutes. And that's what I wanted to do. I want to get under 45 minutes, not just on in the 45 minute bracket. I wanted to break it and also I was very competitive. I wanted to get my own back on him. I wanted to beat him and and so once I went past him, I thought if I start looking back now, that's going to be worse than I could do. He's going to see me, or see the look in my eyes, and he's, he's, he's, he's going to, he's going to be very competitive and want to get by me, even though it was base making for a lot of group. You know a group who wanted to get 45. He had to stick to a strict timetable but I knew it'd blow his fuse. I thought, no, just keep going. And I just kept going. I was just praying that he wouldn't pass me.
Speaker 1:And I remember coming down the final stretch. It was a vinyl stretch that we'd gone out on the way out and then we were coming back into it and you pass, you know, through several. It was closed roads, but passing through several like almost like mini roundabouts, and coming down and the sun come out, it was quite warm and I started sprinting and I was like there's no going back now. Jason, you've got a sprint and you just got to keep going. You can't take the throttle. Because he could be behind you, because I knew he wasn't that far behind. Looking at my watch and the time and that, anyway, I think I just sprinted, a sprint. I think the time was uh, what's about? I think it was 44 minutes, 40. It was. It was well under the 45 minutes, and I didn't even look back. All I was happy about was the fact that I'd broken 45 minutes and not only had a beating him. He came in, I think, like 45 minutes, 30, which you know. He did his job. His job was to pace for 45 minutes, but I got in at 44, 40.
Speaker 1:And this was a new PB for me. I'd never run a 10 K this fast, and 10, 10 K is not my favorite race. I always prefer the longer distances. It's been six miles like that. You're always running that much quicker. And yeah, I, just, I, just, you know I'd rather run a marathon any day than a 10 K. So you know.
Speaker 1:But but also, this was redemption for me. You know, when I posted in the group, I said about George, you know, a couple of years ago, in 2017, just after my dad, when I couldn't quite keep up with him. And I said to George I said, look, now I've done it, now I'm was with me and I've broken 45 minutes and he couldn't have been happy for me, nor could a lot of group, a lot of the group with that. And then I had my picture taken with Darryl, who was also a member of the group, and now I remember having my picture taken out, these paddles you could hold up when you have your photograph taken. And one was saying I got a PB and I still got that photograph the day and it makes me so proud and I'll be honest with you, I haven't been that time since.
Speaker 1:You know, to go under 45 minutes. That is, that's a fast 10 K for most people. So you know I couldn't be happy and I only have beat my ex-colleague. But you know that wasn't the real point of it. The point was, you know, I didn't even know if I could keep up with him because I knew he was a fast runner and Simmer's pacemaker was a shop then, not only to beat him but to get under the 45 minutes, not just 45 minutes, I couldn't have been happier. And this set me up really well for when I did the Bracknell half marathon, because the Bracknell half marathon it was only like a couple of weeks later and now I was in really good form for that.
Speaker 1:And Bracknell, it's another race fairly local to me and this was another sort of city center race and there's not a lot of people, probably about the same as maybe the Redding 10 Ks, maybe 1000 people, I don't know what I mean. It's not a big race and it's. It starts in this city center and you go out. Basically it's a road race, go through a couple of parks and that, but it's primarily a road race and I say not not massive fields to the runners. You know we got spread out as runners, but the best part was it was it was a nice finish in the sense that I mean not like the Redding race where you finish in the stadium but you came around, you finished in the town center and you came up and you finished in between the shops and the shopping arcades and you're running in and out shops and you literally finished between the shopping arcades. Being on a Sunday now the shops are open on Sundays and there was there was plenty of people around, there was a nice day and there was plenty of spectators not only spectators but people just doing the general shopping. So you had such good support when you, when you came around in the finish, and so this was Bracknell half.
Speaker 1:But the funny thing was about this particular race and I'll tell you about it. They had a at the start, they had a bag drop. So a bag drop is where you can. I mean, I'd come by train, it went on my running stuff and that. But then you, you know, I had my tracksuit bottoms on, you know a sweatshirt top on top as well and that. So what I do is I take off my tracksuit bombs, you know, take off the tops. I stripped down to my running vest and shorts and you can put your your stuff in the bag that you're carrying, and then your bag gets put into what's known as a bag drop. So you put your, they give you like a label to put on with it, and then it's there for you to collect at the end.
Speaker 1:Now I was standing in the queue and you know, waiting to obviously drop my bag off, and then this lady behind me she says you're Jason, aren't you? And I'm like yes, and I like sometimes I did get recognized now, because if you listen to my previous podcast. You know I was, it was 2000 and, yeah, it was 2017 Couple years previously that I've been voted as member of the group, so a lot of people and because I posted a lot, the group of people knew I was and and so she'd recognized me as being Jason. I said yes, and she's also done I'm Victoria. She said we're gonna be in the same group for endure 24 now in jur.
Speaker 1:24 is, as it says, is a 24 hour race and it was going to be held in June. So we were running the Bracknell half marathon in May. So it was the following month and we're gonna do this 24 hour race and you're 24. It's held in Waysing Park in Reading, basically what it is. You can enter as a team or, you know, I think it's about team up to maybe seven people and then we can run it on your own or run it in pairs and it's a five mile loop. But what I was to find out was there's no, no straight Five mile loop. It's a five mile loop in in Waysing Park and it's hilly and you know it's not Not like an easy five mile loop.
Speaker 1:Anyway, george, in our group, he, he also knew the sponsors, mizuno, so he said you know, I'm gonna arrange for us as a Facebook group if anybody wants to enter this 24 hour race and you can enter it solo, we can enter it in pairs or in teams, but we'll all come under the umbrella of our Facebook group. And the bonus was also, he said if you need Any Mizuno shoes, you know trail shoes. I was definitely gonna get some trail shoes this time after my mishap before I had run without trail shoes and got torn. Maniscus, listen to my previous podcast, she would. It wasn't a particularly happy time for me. I was definitely gonna get some trial shoes, so I got some of these Mizuno trial shoes anyway, which you managed to get a discount on.
Speaker 1:Anyway, back to the store of this in duer 24. Basically, it's like it's like the classroom we were running. So you go there and you sit up tents. So they have a camping site there and he had a range for us to have this and section of the campsite where we'd all pitch up together and I'd been camping since I was kids. So this was new for me as well, new for the fact of having to put a tent up along with everything else, and I'll come to that in a minute that that proved pretty Hair raising moment, just trying to put the tent up.
Speaker 1:Anyway, victoria was in my team and in my team there were gonna be five of us I'm funny enough, they were all women and then there was just me and it soon got to be nice, jason's harem, but Anyway. So she said we're in the same team as in duer 24. Now, the odds on that, you know I was queuing up for the bag drop and you know meeting up like that, but but it was great because a bit of a bit of an icebreaker and the fact that you know, at least I knew someone from my team, because I don't you ever seen the others in the Facebook group. So I hadn't even met them and Obviously I was a bit bit apprehensive, them all being ladies and just me the only guy. So it was. It was nice to met her and I need to pop up the toilet before I put my bag in so you don't look after your bag in the queue while you go off there and that, and so yes, it was great to me and I wish luck for the race and we I don't think I saw her afterwards, but we went us up to raise and we said we'll meet up in a duer 24. Anyway, back to the race. The way it was really good and I was getting even faster because this particular race I finished in there and 42 minutes and yet again I posted in the group and I got great feedback, also posting the group back, victoria. So at least I met one on my team members now, so it wasn't quite as frightening for me.
Speaker 1:When I went to do it in duer 24 and before in duer 24 at the beginning of June, I had another race, another, I would say, maybe a bit of an unusual race, not your usual. I mean, it was another 10 K which, as I've said, it's not my favorite races, and this particular 10 K it's not on the road, it's a trail 10 K and it's called beat the boat. So literally what you're doing is you're racing against a boat and it's been held in Windsor, royal Windsor, and it's a spectacular place to run because literally you start or it's literally the eating side of winds on this place called the Brokers and it's in a field and what you're doing is say it's called beat the boat because it's run alongside the river and they had these, these boats. So these big passenger boats where your friends could go on these boats and be spectators. And what happens is you nominate a time, so there's different time groups I think it goes 40, 45 minutes, 50, 55 minutes, an hour, an hour and five and you choose which time you think you can beat and Then what they have is each boat represents a time to receive a 45 minutes, 50, 55, I think. I think I because I was Obviously you know I did the raising in 44 minutes. I thought, well, even though it's trail, I can do it in like 50 minutes. I think I can beat 50 minutes. So I vote for the 50 boat.
Speaker 1:And then what happens is all these boats, they start off. When you do so, you get set off at different times and Normally what happens is you have to run around the field first of all. So it's a small field to run, runs a bit like being across cross-country at school, but you run around this field. As you run around this field, you get set off, you run around this field and then just come around to the corner, to the bottom end of the field. You'll see the boat will start Going as you come round and the announcer will say right, the boat is going off. Now, the 50 minute boats going off and off you go and you run along the river and you run up to the top and then, after the first few miles, you start to lose the boats because what happens is you're turning back away from the river. And Another quirky thing about this races they have one drink station and at this drink station you can not only have water but you can have prosecco or beer because in fact the race headquarters another lovely thing about this race you think it was a for for boozy people, but the actual race headquarters was a pub called the George in Eaton High Street and they local brewery, when Dunedin Brewery actually supplies this particular pub with drinks.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, you go there and pick your number up and and pick your shirt up. I give you a race shirt and then you walk down from there to the start line, but that is literally the race headquarters. And it's a lovely sunny day because I said it's held in June. And anyway, back to the race. You so, as I said, on this drink station you have prosecco, beer and Because it was a hot day I'm thinking about you know, I'll leave it to the after race, I'm not gonna prosecco beer and of course I pick one up, I go to down it and what should it be? It's like beer. I'm like, oh no. But I was like so thirsty I needed something so I drank it down.
Speaker 1:But then I was feeling it. I was only like halfway through a race and I was like, oh no, this is. I started to feel a bit sick and when you're out on the far side of the course, it's literally all like you're running through all this long grass and that and it's it's a bit uneven in places. And then you come back and you're coming back towards the river and you can sort of see that that you're 50 minute boat at the corner your eye and it's coming down. And then I always remember, as you were coming into into the field, in answer would say Right, if you're hoping to beat the boat, you should be coming into the field now because you have to run once around the field again. Come back to the finish. I'm, of course, you know, beating the boats only for your own personal pleasure, because whether you beat it or not, you still get a medal if you finish. But being a competitive person I am. I heard him say right, you've got to be in the field. Now, if you want to be 15 minute boat, I was just inside the field and I was sprinting around this field and you can see the boat Coming down and I'm coming around the corner and then you come back up, turn down to line and I couldn't see the boat. The boat was well behind me and I crossed the line and I knew I'd beaten the boat. And then it was more about what the time was and I looked at the time and the time was 46.28. My boat was nowhere to be seen and I stood by the river there waiting for the boat to come through and I could relax now because I knew I'd beaten the boat. But also a really good time, you know, 46 minutes I was in.
Speaker 1:It was a trail run, you know, it wasn't flat like the redding one and it was really good and there were some members from the group down in my photographs taking with them and that it was a nice Sunday day. And then the best was yet to come, because you went back to the race headquarters, the George pub, and you got a in your goody bag. You had a token and it got your pound off a pint and it was a lovely beer garden at the back and it was just full of runners with the medals and tier shirts and that Just packed out in the beer garden having their beer. And I remember I finished my first beer and this lady said to me she said do you want the token? I said, oh, okay, I'm sure you don't want it. She said no, no, you take it. I took it up to the bar again and the barman said but you've already had one. But he said I'll let you have another, go on. So he took it off the second one as well. So that was nice.
Speaker 1:So a couple of pints of beer and that, and yeah, it was a really, really nice, nice day out. I mean just the whole atmosphere, the unique. I mean it's such a unique event because you're racing against the boat and where else can you say you're beating the boat? So yeah, I mean it was such an adorable race and just having the beers and the atmosphere of the runners at the end you know you can't beat it. And I try to enter this race every year because, even though 10k is not my favorite distance, it's such a fun race and people do it more for fun. You know the prosecco, the beer, you know the drinks afterwards. It's more for fun than anything else and that's what running, for me, is all about. You know, it's nice to get the fast times in that bit, isn't it? It's all about having fun, and fun is what I was going to have when I went to endure 24.
Speaker 1:A friend of mine, he picked me up in his car and we went to this campsite and it wasn't just about the running, it was just about everything, the whole. You know running was just a part of it. I remember we'll I think we were one of the first ones there and we found George and he got his special group shirts that were all to wear on that and I hadn't met George. I don't think I'd met George. I think the first time I met him was a couple of years ago. So I hadn't seen him for a little while and I've always been in awe of him and that and you know this is a ginormous, you know, guy, you know being in a stature and personality and that. But it was great to see him again and obviously he remembered me and like a lot you know a lot of it was, it was good the fact that I'd won this award a couple of years ago because I'm I'm fairly shy person.
Speaker 1:So it was nice when people recognized me and I didn't have to induce myself and they knew who I was. And because I'd won this award, they seemed to think I was something special, which you know I'm not, but it was. It was nice to think that they, you know, they were quite happy to come up and introduce themselves to me and that, and because I was lacking a bit of confidence, so it was nice that, you know, I got this bit of kudos and that. But you know, my confidence soon faded away when we had to put the tents up and I had no idea to put the tents up. But members of my team, they soon came in and they were lovely. I obviously I'd only ever met Victoria and this was at the Bracknell, halfmouth and so it was nice to see her again.
Speaker 1:And then it was Janet, sophie. I mean, all the members of my team were lovely and I took a step back. I was like I'm not going to be captain of the team and Sophie was really well organized. I think she had spreadsheets and all notes and everything and that she was going to take charge because we basically what would happen is because of five of us we would, you know, one of us would. You could only have one person, of course, at the time. One person would run a lap and then you do change over and the next person would run a lap, and that's literally how it worked. And there were also some members in our big group as a whole that were literally doing it solo. So just see how many laps they could do in 24 hours.
Speaker 1:And then we had some pairs. The friend who dropped me off, he was a pairs, so I think his tent was near to the finish line. He was running as a pair and then there was five, I think it was. I don't know, I think he could maybe up to six, seven or eight. Yeah, I think he'd go up to eight in a team, but five was quite nice and we're getting the tent up. That was luckily. My teammates are really good.
Speaker 1:I had no clue how to get my tent up. This was the tent that I was going to be staying in for the new forest marathon, but unfortunately my Nan died, so I never got round to doing the new forest marathon, so I've only ever set this tent up in the garden and that was with the help of my dad. I know I did do it but luckily everybody came forward and helped me. I think even George came over and had a look on that and we got it up and, yeah, it was great. Once it was up I put all my stuff in there and it was it was. You know, I felt embarrassed that I couldn't get the tent up, but then I went to help others because, you know, funny enough, it wasn't only me that was struggling. Anyway, this was I think this was the night for the race. Some people come in on the morning of the race, you know, in our big group, but most of my team members were already there Because the racing start to midday on Saturday went round to midday on Sunday and I got, I got nominated to start the race off, which you know I didn't mind, because I thought more people would want the glory of, you know, starting to race off.
Speaker 1:So my teammates come with me to the start line and luckily it was a nice day to start and I was on the start line. In fact it wasn't because my old boss was there and his girlfriend, or was to be his wife soon. She was there. They were both really good runners and that, and I was on the start line and it was great because everybody came out, was waiting at the start line to see us off and off we went and it was, you know, I remember, I think, keeping in touch with my, my boss and his soon to be wife and that, and they were fast runners Maybe I'm going a bit too fast here and then we came to the first telling it was like no, this isn't going to be that easy, and I think I passed my old ex colleague again as well, which I was happy about.
Speaker 1:But you know, they had various points. I mean, they had this one particular place called Heartbreak Hill and Heartbreak Hill it really was Heartbreak Hill. It was so steep and little people walked but nowhere was I going to walk it. And I remember the drink station at the base of it and you could get a red bull and you know the, the great advertising logo you have for red bull is all. It gives you wings, and it's normally giving me wings at all, because I couldn't, you know it wasn't making me fly up this hill and it was really tough. The only good thing was once you got up to the top of the hill. The rest, I think there's approximately halfway through. The rest of it was all downhill and you went down through I think what they call fairy forest and you know there was some really you know, steep bits, nice, nice bits, as you came down towards the end.
Speaker 1:And as you come down towards the end of the first lap, there'll be like a change over zone and and my teammate would be waiting there and I'm not sure he went after me. I know he's a uh Janet, but yeah, I'm not sure he went after me actually. But anyway, we had, we had this sign. Everybody had different things that they would hold up so you could recognize them. And as I came into change over the area, I mean there were so many people waiting I recognized them, handed it over, or I took the sign from them and walked back to the camp and they went off on their own. And that's literally how it worked, and I think we each did, because some of our members at least a couple, I know, janet and one of the other members, I think they were more walkers, so they were walking it and you could walk it or run it.
Speaker 1:Me being a run, I would try to run. Obviously my first lap was quite fast but it sort of went literally downhill after that and you went out at different times. So you know, after after I did my run, there'd be four more people, so it might be another four hours or so before I'd I'd go out again, you know. So the first, the first lap, uh, you know that was done at uh, so that'd be done at midday. And then second lap, second lap, so second lap, I did it almost half six in the evening and then I did the yes, let's have a look. I think the third lap. If I remember right, I think the third lap was done early in the morning. Um, just having a look here at my records, um, so, yeah, so the third lap, I was at like one o'clock in the morning and obviously it was pitch black then. But the thing about it being pitch black was it was it was great because you, you went through this place called Fairy Forest and you know they said some people saw the fairies, which you know I didn't see any fairies, but it was all lit up and it was quite narrow and quite steep and quite twisty. I mean I had places like called twisty and tourney and various names for different parts of the course, but this, this was called the Fairy Forest and it was all lit up at night and it was beautiful, so heavenly, and obviously all the runners are spread out so you might be running through there on your own and that and it and it was lovely. I mean I'd never sort of really run out in the forest at night before and this was a real eye-opener for me and it, it was great.
Speaker 1:And I remember coming back to the changeover area and obviously it was getting a bit cooler at night now, a bit colder, and I found my teammate changed over and then I just, I don't know, I felt sort of, you know, because even though it was in the middle of the night, there were so many people that changed over area and they had this you know little sort of race village and that and they had this hot fire going on. That and it was, you know, the place was still buzzing, even though it's in the middle of the night. Where that change was. I walked back from the race village. There was always a bit of a walk back. I mean, our campsite was sort of right at the back and I walked back and I remember I couldn't hear a soul once I got back to our section of the tents and that no one was around.
Speaker 1:Obviously everybody was sleeping or trying to sleep before they had to go out on their runs. And we had this little little stove and I think I made these little seats chairs and I sat down in my seat and I bought the kettle and I had a cup of tea either cup of tea or coffee and I just sat there and the sky was beautiful. It's such a clear, you know, sky and I just sat there and you could literally hear a pin drop. It was so peaceful and I was just thinking about my nan. I was just thinking about what happened to Heaven and thinking about my nan. I'm thinking she's looking down on me. This is, this is heavenly, this is so peaceful, such a calm about the place. And bear in mind, there were so many tents around but people were either running or sleeping and I'm glad no one came out to greet me because I was just in joy and peace and quiet. But I think they were all asleep anyway and I could have stayed out there forever. But then I'm thinking, no, I better go, because you know I've my race isn't over yet and maybe I better try and get some sleep. It's very difficult to sleep because you're such an adrenaline buzz after doing the run. And then I almost forgot I had to write in this. We had a sheet to write in for the times that we did and when we finished and I almost forgot to fill that until I filled that in and that, and then I tried to get some sleep and I think I got a little bit of sleep. But if I'm a bride, I think it may have started to rain and I think that was early in the morning because I was next due out. Yeah, I think it was about half eight in the morning. Yeah, 8.34, I've got.
Speaker 1:The hell went out on the and this was my fourth lap. I didn't know it was gonna be my last lap because basically you go midday on the Saturday to midday Sunday and as long as you start your final run before midday on Sunday, if you finish afterwards it doesn't matter. And so that was my final lap. And then there was a toss up who was? Because we could get one more lap in if anybody wanted to do an extra lap. So I'd done four laps. That's like four, four by five, that's 20 miles.
Speaker 1:And then it went down to Victoria. Victoria, she did the fifth lap and that was us done. We'd each done four laps each and Victoria had done the fifth one, so we'd done, I think it was, over 100 miles. My mass is right between us and what you do is on the final lap, your teammates can join in and run the final stretch. So we all joined Victoria and ran across the line together, arms held aloft, and we had got this lovely photograph of us running across the line together as a team and we really had bonded together as a team. Even though I was the only male I felt, you know I didn't take a male stereotypical role of being in charge and telling them what to do. No, this was literally all girl power and it was. Sophie had been a brilliant captain and we all got on so well. And it's the first time I'd ever done anything like this Totally out of my comfort zone, you know, being without a runner's, being part of a team, camping, put my own tent up and it was great. And we had these group photos with the whole group as a whole. I mean all the teams in our group, in our Facebook group had done so well and you know we had these photographs and that before we went and we also goodbye to George, and you know he was so pleased. You know it really brought the group together.
Speaker 1:It was the group's biggest event that they'd ever done and I think even to this day it's the biggest event ever done. And so, being quite a shy person, I would never have done something like this if it wasn't for the running involved. But it wasn't just the running, it was the whole ambience of the event. It really was a glass and brie for runners. I mean, they literally had like a small bar there where you get drinks and food. You know it was just music playing. It's quite a unique event and whether you do it on your own or with others, it's certainly the event that you should do it once, and I have done it more than once, but nothing, nothing compares to that first time that I did it, you know, with all my Facebook friends and friends, you know, not just on Facebook now that they have become good friends. So, yeah, it was quite a unique event, quite a special event, and I certainly bonded with my team.
Speaker 1:So after that that takes us into July and my friend Tracy, who I had spent Christmas with the previous year. She had been entering these races called the Dinten Series, which again is a 10K race, but it's held in the evening and it's held in Dinten Pass. It's in a park just outside Redding and she asked if I'd like to do it. She said she would pick me up and drive me there and it was a summer race. I think it was held about half seven in the evening on a Thursday. So she picked me up and we went there and there'd already been two races in the series. She'd already done two. This was the third in the series and there was a few Facebook friends going there. There was Hilton, julie, steve, tracy, so Tracy gave me a left turn there and it was a trail race. But I was happy with my time 49 minutes and the best bit about it was you that disaster in fact at the end and you got your ice cream afterwards. So it's traditional to get an ice cream afterwards and it was such a lovely evening because of where there was, beautiful typical summer's evening, so I did that. That was great.
Speaker 1:And then after that I went back to doing the downtown upflow half marathon, which I'd done the previous year and that was when I was a little bit injured. And I did it this year and it didn't go particularly smoothly. Looking at the time. I did it in two hours, 11. So it wasn't particularly fast, from what I remember. I did have a few strains and that. But bear in mind I'd already done the intro 24, 24 hour race and run this Dinton series race. So you know I had done a lot of running this year already. So it was no surprise that you know I might pick up a few strains along the way, but two hours 11 still wasn't too bad.
Speaker 1:And then there was one more race in the Dinton series. So the Dinton series had four races and this was the final one and I did it slightly quicker. Well, it was about the same time, 48 minutes 56 seconds. And then at this particular race, because it was last in the series, there was a trophy given. So the people who had won the race and who won the whole series In fact Tracy, she came, I think it was second or third, so she was up on the podium, she took a photograph and then I think Pete actually won it and the men's sectional came second and I think he might have won it actually. So there I was with winners, so, and I was so pleased for Tracy, because Tracy never thought herself as a really fast runner, so for her to come, I think it was either second or third. She was really pissed because I think she'd actually missed the race as well. So she was so happy, I was so pleased for her. You know, she really did deserve it.
Speaker 1:And then there was a whole group of us. We went back and we did the Vernon Beach's Half-Mountain, which is a local race to me and one of my favorite hilly course, and Julie was there, siggie from the group, tracy, alistair again and Gary and I've got a photograph here of us all in our yellow Vernon Beach's half t-shirts and I was back on top form. So I did this in one hour 45 minutes, which you know it's sort of a consistent time for me between 140 and 145, you know, and a lot quicker than the previous half-mountain that I'd done just before that. So I was really pleased with that time. So that was Vernon Beach's half. And then I had an unexpected race and this was in September and this was literally just before, a couple of weeks before my traditional winter half-mountain which, as you know, it's the last race before my nan died and in fact she died the day after that. So there's always been an emotional race for me and a race that I call my nan's race.
Speaker 1:But anyway, there was this race, richmond Half, which Helen, who is in my Facebook group, she loves Richmond Half-Mountain, it's probably her favorite marathon Because they do a half-mountain, they do a 10K before they do a whole race series and Helen loves the marathon there. She loves Richmond marathon. Now is his marathon as perspectives. Helen said to me because I know I think Alice still was going she was going and I hadn't got a race entry. Anyway, she said to me she did not to worry. She said I could get you into the half marathon. You fancy running a half marathon, but mind, I got the.
Speaker 1:This was September and I got the doubly end of October, so it's probably best if I did the half anyway. But she said I can't get into the marathon, I can get into the half. Apparently she knew the race director. So she said just turn up on the day and go to the tent there about inquiries and just, you know, mention her name. So I'm like okay, and I stayed over. In fact I stayed over with if I remember right, I think it was with Alistair, his house and a friend of his, and we drove down to Richmond because he was up in Oxfordshire. We drove down to Richmond on the day I think it was on the day of the race and so I went to this. When I got there I was still in some ways I was still hoping that she wouldn't better get me into the race, that if I went to the tent and mentioned my name and they say, no, we can't get you in Cause I really wasn't up for it, I really wasn't in the mood for it. But of course I went there, said Helen's name straight away, they gave me a number and it was quite a big race.
Speaker 1:If I remember right, I think we started off in Cougar and it was a point to point, and then you literally run all the way down from I think it was from Cougar gardens and then you run. I forget I'm not quite sure where we finished up. Again, just trying to look on the map here. Yes, you start off in Cougar gardens and then you come down. You come down and parts of it you run along the river and then just looking on the map here, you come through, yeah, and then you come through, well, you literally run across the river, I think it's. You come towards Richmond Park, anyway, you come towards that area, anyway, basically it's a trail marathon. So I had actually done a trail half marathon. So well, I had sorry, I had done the, I'd done one before the down-toe flow marathon. But you know this half marathon, but this you know, people were running a marathon on this trail distance.
Speaker 1:I didn't, I certainly wouldn't have fancied doing a marathon, because parts of it it really was very much on a trail route and some parts were quite narrow. In fact they were just walkers going by as well and that, so you were bumping into them. So when I first started off I didn't particularly like it. I couldn't see what all the fuss was about.
Speaker 1:When we got down towards the river, it was nice running along the river and I ran it. I was running at a good pace actually. I mean, I don't know, alistair was the thing. Alistair was behind me, but somewhere. But I ran at a good place and in fact maybe it's because I hadn't put too much pressure on myself, but I came through in a terrific time.
Speaker 1:I think it was my fastest time of the year so far one hour's 42. And I'm like wow, okay, I wasn't expecting that. But the best bit, in fact, was at the end because they had like, they had like music playing in the park, they had music playing at a bar. So Alistair and I want to be finished off and we wait for Helen I think it was Harriet from the group as well to finish them and it was such a hot day I really felt for them to do that. I don't think I could have done that 30 miles. But Helen came through and Harriet, both in terrific times.
Speaker 1:We sat in the grass and had a few drinks and then Chrisio, who lived locally from the group. She came and said hello to us and that and yeah, it was a great event and I'm glad Helen put me down for it and then from there went on to the end of September this was only a couple of weeks after and I did the winds off and which is always an emotional race from where it's my hands race and yet again I did a good time. I did one hour 46 minutes, which it's a two lap hilly cause. If you listen to my previous pork podcast, you know it's a really hilly cause. It's a tough cause. I said last race, monday night never saw always gets quite emotional for me have to keep quite professional and lead the tears to afterwards. I know my nanns always with me in this particular race and I always run it if I can, even from half dead. I'll probably be running this. So that was a night.
Speaker 1:That was my last half marathon before the Dublin half and so four weeks afterwards I was going to be running the Dublin Marathon. Now I wasn't sure, to be honest with I'll be running it, not through fitness, but just through the fact of I was trying to find a hotel and everywhere was so expensive and I was literally my wit's and I couldn't get anywhere. Everything was getting booked up and it was so expensive everywhere. On that, and then I remember I think it was the previous year when I'd run it, I'd run it and when I saw Tracy and Alistair stayed with a member of the Facebook group, a lovely lady called Sarah, and cause I was so desperate Well, I was literally so desperate to run this race because it was a 40th anniversary of the Dublin marathon. It was going to be a lovely medal. I mean, I'd already paid for the entry of the. I just needed this hotel. So I managed to get older Sarah in the group and I was a bit cheeky. I said you know, I know Alistair stayed with you before he was a member of the group would buy any chance you'd be able to put them up, and more than willing to pay, cause I knew she wouldn't charge me as much as obviously being a city centre hotel and that and she was great, she'd know you don't need to pay anything and she was going to be running it as well. So I flew over to Dublin and and then she wasn't far for, if I remember rightly, I flew over to Dublin, went to the exhibition centre to pick up my number and this year there was no Alistair Tracy was literally me on my own, picked up my number from there and she literally wasn't, she was only walk away from that.
Speaker 1:I remember walking down from this exhibition centre trying to follow the directions that she said and I think I had it on Google maps, trying to follow where house was, and I came down this road and that and outside this particular building, if I remember rightly, I think those is like a security guard or some time, some kind of law enforcement and that and look very efficient and some some kind of weapon he was holding on that and I'm like, okay, what's going on here? Where am I walking by on that? Well, eventually get to a house and that I knock on the door and that young lady answers the door. She's a young girl and I'm like, am I in the right place? And then Sarah came out. That was her daughter and I said I said what's going on? That the guy would look like a machine gun. I'm like she always said, don't worry. I said that's the American Embassy. So this particular road was a really nice, you know, road. She lived in a lot of embassies there, but you know, not far from the start. So it was ideal for me and that she she put me up in this, this lovely room and she brought me some beetroot juice for a moment right at that evening, because beetroot juice is supposed to help you with your running. I think it's some popcorn as well and that. And you know she looked after me really well.
Speaker 1:And then we all the following morning, I think, because we were starting in different as you start nothing at different time to me, because it's a little bit slow to me. So I had to get. I had to get there a little bit, a little bit earlier to the start and I think I think I just walked from her place to the start by to leave a bit early and I said I'll, you know, obviously I'll meet you at the end. This is a bit different for me, because I've run it in the past with Helen and Tracy and Alistair and there's literally me on my own trying to find the start and, yeah, so I had I'm just trying to think I had a running watch on, but it wasn't particularly, you know, well-known one, and this later would turn out not to be a very wise choice, but I'll come to that later.
Speaker 1:Anyway, I get to start line, I find my pen and everything on that and I'm still aiming for under four hours. I mean, obviously, I did just over four hours earlier on the year at Manchester and I was aiming for just under four hours. Bear in mind, previously, you know, at Dublin, I had done three hours 32, and that was in 2017, yeah, and then last year I'd done about four hours, something. They've just over four hours, something in Fungan, four hours, that would be good. So I started off and, as usual, the crowds were great and it went really well. Obviously, by now I know the course really well. The weather was good, as always, and I was really enjoying it and in fact I did do a really good time. Not quite as quick as I expected. I had for some reason had this optimism that I was going to break three hours 30, not just four hours, but I finished in three hours 39 minutes and one second not forget the one second. So and in the day it was only seven minutes less. It'd been last year's Dublin and only seven minutes outside my second fastest. So overall I was happy.
Speaker 1:What I wasn't happy about was, as I said, about the watch, because I got this cheaper watch. I couldn't afford one of the more expensive ones. It wouldn't transfer to my Strava so I couldn't load it to my phone. So I had to manually update my phone and put in what time I had done. So I can't look back on my phone and look at the route or the you know the different mile times or anything than that. Instead, I took a photograph because I got a little plaque that I can stick onto my metal with the time on. So I've got that, took a photograph of that and put it on my Strava. But you know, I've learnt my lesson when you can afford a good watch, like a good Garmin or running watch, then you really need to do it because you want to, obviously, especially nowadays with the technology, and that you want to be able to upload your time and show it to your friends. Anyway, I posted it to the group and, as usual, the group was so happy for me.
Speaker 1:I remember when I finished, I went back, as we all do, because it finished in the city centre. I went to the pubs and bars and I went into this and I mean it was great, because when you're done, being finished the marathon, everybody's saying to you they can see you meddling. You should say, oh, you ran the marathon, a whole fair play to you. This is what I was getting because I was on my line. I just happened to walk into this one pub and the people there they were great.
Speaker 1:And this lady she was there with a couple of guys and that, and they said I'll come over and they saw you run the marathon, did you? And this lovely I mean she was real glamorous blonde lady with these two guys, she goes oh, let's get you a drink, I'm like okay, and then they got me a Guinness and I sat there for I think it was there for hours, they were getting me drinks. And if she was so I mean she, I mean she's lovely lady, she was, and so so glamorous as well, and she was saying she, she couldn't believe it. If I remember, I think she was a dentist. I mean that's beside the point, but I think she was a dentist and I thought, you know, one of the other guys was a boyfriend or husband, but apparently they weren't, and I think they may be getting a bit, a bit jealous because I could sense she was really flirting with me and I'm thinking, okay, if that's what it takes, you run a marathon, you get all this kudos, and you know I was, I was feeling quite happy with myself and I was still on this run as high.
Speaker 1:And I remember I got back to Sarah's place quite late and she probably wondered where I got to when I got back that evening because you know I'd finished out again and I just said, well, I was enjoying the crack of Ireland. I was like, you know, people buy me drinks. You know it's not often I get glamorous ladies just buy me Guinness and that, but. But all of them not just heard the guys as well, they were just so impressed and they just want to hear my stories of running and, and you know, I was just, you know, having a whale at the time and it was only the following day when I felt the aches and pains and the following days, always bank holiday in Ireland. So you know, I was, I was due to go home.
Speaker 1:I didn't want to overstay my welcome to Sarah, but you know I'm forever grateful for Sarah for putting me up and and Sarah had done a wonderful time as well. She'd, I think I'm not sure she got people. I know she'd run a fast time. So you know it were two, two runners who had, you know, done really well. I had a great time and I had a great time. I was forever grateful and forever grateful for Sarah for putting me up and for getting the 40th anniversary of the Dublin marathon run. I ran the 40th anniversary of the race. I've got lovely, which I'm wearing that moment obviously you can't see but lovely sweatshirt that you get and the medal was beautiful as well, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Dublin marathon and it's my favorite marathon, always has been, always will be, and I tried to go back every year if I can. I think they they holding a lottery system now.
Speaker 1:I mean it's quite as difficult as London to get into, but you certainly do need to apply really early and get in. But when I can, you know I'm not going to London. To be honest, I shouldn't say this. You know I live just outside London, but I would probably rather run the Dublin than the London. I mean the London, you know it's get gets all the kudos because of it is London, but I think I think it's the Dublin marathon, which is the fourth largest marathon in Europe and they call it the friendly marathon and it really is. I mean the people, they are so friendly. As I say, I went into the pub and got the drinks you know literally bought for me and we're also welcome. That happened. So that'll always be a place in my heart for for Dublin, for the people and for the marathon.
Speaker 1:I mean this. This was the highlight. My year, my year, couldn't have gone better. These marathons he's half-marathons, you know, 24-hour races, the friends I made, getting out my comfort zone, being confident, with people being buying me drinks, you know my, my confidence was like it was sky-high. I thought, wow, things are only gonna get better next year, next year. I mean, how can I top this year? But you know, I'm in this fantastic Facebook group of people. We're all achieving greater and greater things, we're all trying to improve on ourselves and, you know, things can only get better from here on in. You know, for all of us, not just from me, but for the whole rest of the group, after the big group event we had in June 24, we were now setting our heights even higher and we're all aiming for the moon.
Speaker 1:And this is how I felt. I felt this has been brilliant after the previous year, which has been so horrible. Now, I was on fire and, to be honest, I didn't want the year to end, but you know, it was it. If it had to end, then Dublin Marathon was the way to end it on such a brilliant race, such a lovely time. It was a great end to the year and I thought next year it's only gonna get better.
Speaker 1:I mean, come on, what could go wrong? Well, let's just mention one little thing that could go wrong. I think we all know what it was, and that was COVID-19, and no one saw this come in and of course, I, I know it. You know, not having races to go to, that's probably the least of our worries when COVID-19 is around.
Speaker 1:I mean, it proved fatal for a lot of people and none of us saw it coming in 2019, but, yeah, I mean it stopped. It stopped the whole world in its tracks and let's just put it this way the next couple of years, well, I mean, for all of us they were a bit a bit different, and certainly for my. You know, you're running goals go out the window when there seems like life and death going on with COVID-19, and that's how it was. You know, the whole world was put on hold while we dealt with this horrible, horrible virus, and that's how we'll leave it for now. What can I say? I'm, 2019 was a wonderful year and you know that. That that's, that's how it finished. But then, from here on in, things got a little bit different, and well, I'll tell you more about that in the next episode of 30 years of Running, remar Schons.