Run Leader Sancho, Run!

Why do you run?  It's a question asked often by runners and non-runners a like.  My stock answer had always been that I began running so that I wouldn't be that fat dad at sports days, unable to take part, not even fit enough to be a touch judge should R ever decide to be interested in playing Rugby.  I didn't want to be an embarrassment and I did want to be able to support him if needed.

These days however I run a lot more for me than for him.  I think it started with my first race, the 2013 Leeds 10k.  It wasn't a good run, you can read about it here, but I made it, I earned my goody bag and in that bag was my first race t-shirt.  I have been obsessed with the t-shirts ever since.

All of them have a story.  The hours, days, and weeks of training that went into earning them.  The fund raising efforts.  The friends made in the holding pens and at the finish line.  But yesterday I received a t-shirt that eclipses them all, one that I am immensely proud of, one that I will never tire of wearing.

 

Last year Ben from Run England asked me if I had ever considered being a Run Leader.  We knew each other from previous jobs but not in a running sense.  He had read this blog, talked to me about running, and for some reason thought that I was a good candidate even though I was a solitary road runner and not part of any groups.  He needed a couple of people trained up and qualified as Leaders in Running Fitness to get a new group off the ground.  That group was South Leeds Lakers and Geoff and I were those people.

We're now in the 20th week of the Lakers and we have gone from strength to strength.  From nothing, we now have 80 people registered with us.  Geoff and I have been joined by Tania and Yaz, and another clutch of run leaders are being recruited from the Lakers to ensure that we have enough cover on run nights and that we can continue to expand the group.

Every time one of the Lakers' enters a race when before they wouldn't have thought it possible my chest swells with pride.  Every PB from a 1 mile burst to the 26.2 miles of a marathon that any of them achieve makes me grin from ear to ear.  Every week, when people turn up, rain or shine, willing and wanting to run because we have said that they can, fills my heart.

Yesterday I received one of the first Run Leeds "run leader" t-shirts.  At the time I hadn't realised quite what this meant to me, but after chasing a group of runners who had taken a wrong turn and then congratulating 37 runners on another great turnout and run, I had a chance to let it sink in.  I am no longer just a solo runner, I am a Run Leader. 

Leeds Half Marathon 2015

Having declared that I wasn't running any half marathons this year, it's a little bit odd to find myself writing a review of one.  In fact, only two months ago I would have told you to get stuffed if you had suggested that I should enter a 13.1 mile race.  My aim was clear, 2015s training would be 100% focused on the York Marathon and I'd run a handfull of 10ks as part of that preparation.  All of that changed 8 weeks back when I got an email from Run for All asking me to confirm my details for the Leeds half.

I assumed it was a mistake as I had signed up for their Ultimate Season ticket to make sure I got a Marathon place*.  I clicked on the link and sure enough I had entered, on the 12th May 2014, one day after last year's race.  In the box marked "Why have you entered" I had written "I'm still buzzing from yesterday's race, bring on 2015."  I had been a fool.

Last year I had trained for 26 long weeks and had managed to beat my predicted 2 hour finish time coming in in 1:57:49.  I decided not to chase my PB but to try to achieve 2 hours again.  I upped my distance running, added hills, and added some speed work over short distances.  The 8 weeks went by very quickly and my last long run, last weekend, was upon me before I knew where I was.  I hadn't allowed myself much tapering time, 2 more weeks would have been great.

Then yesterday morning I joined up with around 9000 people to take on the streets of Leeds.  My pre-race nerves vanished as soon as we got to the holding pens on Millennium Square.  Up until then I was raring to get going, to leave the house on time, to get a parking space, but once I was amongst other runners I knew what was ahead of me and relaxed.

It helped that I met some of the South Leeds Lakers and Farsley Flyers for a chat before the race.  This time last year I was alone, didn't know the route, and didn't really think that I had it in me.  This time I was with a new bunch of friends, could visualise every corner and hill on the route and knew that with a decent pace I'd make it around in 2 hours.

A lot of the conversation was around the organisation of the race numbers.  You get used to this kind of thing at big events but something wasn't quite right.  Normally you get grouped by your anticipated finish time but that didn't seem to be the case, with people I knew would be faster than me starting in groups long after I was due to set off.  I didn't let it worry me though as come the start of the race you can only worry about yourself anyway.

The Red pen watched from the icy shadow of Leeds Library as first the wheelchair race, then the elite runners, followed by those wearing Blue numbers set off.  The wait to get underway was tense but we were moving soon enough.  I knew all too well that I would set off too fast but tried to keep well within myself.  The number of people around me, plus having to run up the Headrow should have slowed me down but I was already a minute under my pace by the time I got through the first mile.  The second mile saw another second fall from my target time, it was only the slog up Stonegate that brought an end to my meteoric start.

But although I had slowed down I was still managing to keep chipping away at the clock.  By the time I had scaled the Ring Road to Lawnswood I had three minutes in the bag.  Three minutes to slow down and still make 1 hour and 50 minutes, beating last year's time.  But I knew that the race was down hill from here.  I had taken a lot out of my legs, pushing too hard from the start but if I could just find a little bit more, 2 more minutes over 5 miles had to be achievable.

At 8k I was passed by Daryl who shouted encouragement as he sped past me into the distance.  A little later on John sauntered alongside me and had a bit of a chat before setting off to see if he could hunt down the 105 pace runner who almost ran me off the road on Butchers Hill.  By this time I was beginning to curse the tarmac under my feet.  My taped up knees were still ok but there was very little left in my legs and I was now on Kirkstall Road, the most boring stretch of road I have ever run on.

There is nothing inspiring on Kirkstall Road, nothing to keep you going, nothing to push against, very little to look at.  It's just you and the road.  My head was dipping as I tried to up my cadence, a final push past Yorkshire TV.  The last "hill", the slip road into town was soon upon me as was the stupidest running injury.  Further up the road I could see a fallen runner recieving first aid and on the other side of the road an ambulance had pulled up to help.  I decided to run around the ambulance so that the paramedics could get to the prone runner and as I passed, the door opened and I ran into it, spinning me through 360 degrees but not quite knocking me off my feet.

No sooner had I shaken off the embarrassment than I started to see familiar faces in the crowd. Jenny and Anna, Thomas, Phil, and Rich, all cheering me towards the final 400m.  My eyes were on stalks scanning the sea of faces for Zoe and Rhys who I found on the home straight.  I checked my watch one last time and realised that I had paused it when I hit the ambulance door.

Luckily it was still running and told me that I had a minute left.  A minute to get across the line in under 1 hour and 45 minutes.  The rest of the crowd may as well have not been there, I was on my own in a bubble of silence.  I saw the finish clock but it made no sense, it was counting from the start of the elite race after all.  I crossed the line, stopped my watch and stumbled towards the water stations and the Nicola Adams' Olympic postboxes, my prearranged meeting point.

I leant on the barriers to cheer home more of the Lakers and Flyers and took stock of what I had achieved.  My phone went off with a text from Run for All confirming that I had finished in 1:44:47.  Faster than last year, a new PB, and under 1:45.  Everything I wanted and more.

There may well be a half marathon in my plans for next year but it won't be Leeds.  I have still got to run along Kirkstall Road twice more this year (Leeds 10k and the Abbey Dash) and then I'm giving it a rest for a year, unless I accidently enter a race and forget about it again.

*The Leeds half isn't included in the season ticket for some reason.

Pop up Running Event hits Trinity Leeds

This Sunday, the 8th March, is International Women’s Day.  It will see Trinity Leeds and Leeds City Council come together, alongside Run Leeds and This Girl Can to host a special first time running event.  People in the city centre can expect to find a wide range of running based activities, from a Trinity fit trail, guided runs and a magic mile.

There will also be an event expo which will offer a number of information points sharing advice and assistance on how people can get active in Leeds. Including Leeds let’s get active, parkrun, the Veggie Runners, and information on the city's new running groups including South Leeds Lakers. 

This event will be like nothing before it, as it promises to show off not only Trinity, but most of the city, including the water-front.

When asked what people might see on the day, Ben Fraser one of the head organisers said: ‘To be kept on their toes, literally! Expect surprises and excitement!’  After the activities have finished, Neil Jones, Sports Development officer, and other head organiser, has promised: ‘A fantastic post event pasta party, with a very special guest.’ 

I'll be heading down to Trinity after finishing the Harewood 10k to see what all of the fuss is about and to promote the Lakers.  Hope to see some of you  there.

Book them, they will run!

If you're reading this and have ever entered a race or fun run, regardless of your ability, I'm sure you will know all about pre-race nerves.  Booked months in advance, the big day quickly comes around.  You have done the training but the voice in the back of your head tells you that you should have done more.  Your nerves grow as you stand in the starting area ages before the start of the race and there doesn't seem to be anyone else around.

You start to doubt yourself.  "What was I thinking entering a 10k?  I'm not fit enough. I'll probably come last anyway".  You realise that if you just set off running you could be at the end long before the gathering crowds have even started their humiliating mass warm-up.

Last night I went through all of that and more! It was the inaugural run for South Leeds Lakers.  I had printed off registration forms and route maps, dug out all of my spare hi-vis running gear in case any stealth runners turned up, advertised the group on Facebook, Twitter, and at Cross Flatts Parkrun.  I had even done the training for group leaders, but was I ready enough?

I stood alone in the car park of Beeston Co-op, waiting.  As with race days I was early, but I had to be first one there, just in case somebody arrived early, thought that they had been stood up and decided to go home!  What on Earth was I doing there?  Who was I to think that I could be a running group leader?  I should just go for a run, after all nobody would turn up.  In two years of running around Beeston I could count on one hand the number of other runners I had passed on any single run.

But then, out of the darkness they came.  One or two at first, fluorescent t-shirts visible long before I could identify their faces.  It wasn't too long before there were enough people to describe us as a group.  I had envisaged five or six people setting off around Beeston but to get almost twenty people turn up on the first night was fantastic.  Nineteen of us set off into the night, passing the Tommy Wass, running down Dewsbury Road and back up Beeston Road to finish outside Snipper Clarke's at the end of South Leeds Lakers' first 5k run.

Before we started running I laid out my stall.  I want South Leeds Lakers to be a social running group.  People coming together to run because they love it, but also to encourage others to take up the activity that, for some reason or another, had managed to get nineteen people to come out and join a stranger on a freezing cold February night.  The run should be at a pace comfortable enough to talk through, that way we can share our stories of running highs and running lows, and pass on any hints and tips on how to run better, or avoid injury.

Photo courtesy of South Leeds Life

Last night we did just that.  The group did spread out, but it was still running together and people were talking all the way round.  Importantly strangers helped each other around the route, up the unforgiving Beeston Hill, and cheered each other over the finish line.

My nerves had vanished and they had been replaced by an overwhelming sense of joy and achievement.  On the one hand I had been out for a bit of a run, nothing new there.  On the other hand I had got people together to run.  A diverse mixture of people and abilities coming together to run because I had given them permission to do so.

Had they enjoyed it? Yes.  Did they want to do the same thing next week? Yes!  Did I feel like I had just set a new 10k PB? YES!  We are already looking forward to next week's run and I know that those original nineteen runners are already spreading the news of the group to their friends.  At 6:55pm last night we were runners but now we are South Leeds Lakers!

South Leeds Lakers

Back in December I wrote about an opportunity that had come my way.  I had been asked if I wanted to undertake training to become a run leader.  I'll be honest, even as I was writing that blog post I knew my mind was made up.  I'm a solitary runner.  Pulling on my trainers and going out for a run on my own is where I find my peace.  Joining others just didn't appeal that much.  But then, over the Christmas Holidays, something changed.

A good friend, Kat, was pondering going for a run on Facebook and managed to talk herself out of it.  I suggested that we could meet up bright and early the following morning and I would take her out for the run that she had missed.  She was wary as she was only just getting back into running after injury.  She wasn't mad keen on a chilly run along the canal first thing in the morning either but that is exactly what we did.

That 10.6km run was on the 1st January 2015, my first run of the year.  We were both a little hungover from New Years Eve festivities, but we talked each other around.  It was this run that made me rethink the idea of becoming a run leader.  I knew that Kat wanted to run but just needed a little gentle encouragement to get through the door.  We both had a good time with no pressure for PBs and, selfishly, I felt great knowing that I had helped her get on her feet.

A couple of weekends ago I attended Leadership in Running Fitness, last week a handful of us had a meeting on the streets of Beeston, discussing a new running group for the area, and tomorrow (Tuesday 10th February 2015) I will lead out a group of runners for the first time.  I'm both excited and nervous.  What if nobody turns up?  What if there are too many people?  What happens if a hardcore runner turns up and expects drills?  Only time will tell I guess.

Two years ago I wasn't a runner.  Just a couple of months ago I was a dyed in the wool solo runner.  As of tomorrow I will be Run Leader for South Leeds Lakers, a mixed ability and mixed gender running group.  We'll be keeping it simple and friendly with the focus on the social side of running and having fun, not on races.  If you fancy joining me for a gentle run please feel free, we're meeting up at 7pm outside Beeston Co-op on Old Lane.  Hope you can come along.