Vanguard Way Marathon Report

I was excited to run the vanguard way marathon for the second time following last years run which went down as one of my most enjoyable running experiences ever despite getting lost three times! 

Heading over to Lloyd park in Croydon bright and early on Sunday morning I joined a group of runners ready to hit the trails. The group was a mix of elite looking ultra runner types with their high tech running belts and specialist trail shoes mixed with the less professional looking but eager all the same marathon runners of a range of ages.

As we set off from the park the sky was pretty cloudy with the summer sun struggling to get through making for quite cool conditions this changed over the coming hours though as the hot August sun shine on runners making for tough running conditions and leaving me red faced by the end of the day!

The course of the marathon is incredibly varied, extremely hilly (750m+ of elevation over the route!) and very scenic so much so that the races website describes the run quite fairly as the beautiful marathon.

Heading out of the park the course covers a range of paths, trails and roads before heading through forests and woods and out deep into the North downs.

It was in one of the wooded areas where I along with a few others lost the marked trail, easily done when there is no clear path and the woods quite dark and dense. After some deliberation, discussion and retracing of our steps we found it back onto the trail, this turned out to be the only time I got lost which I was pleased with. 

The race is very low key and understated with only two drinks stations one at 6miles/20miles on the return and at the halfway point. This breaks the marathon down nicely into four quarters which really helped me mentally conquer the challenge.

The first 6 miles is all gradually uphill which then makes the last 6 miles all downhill which is just what you want at the end of a marathon. This had been my focus through the week focusing on how easy the last 6 miles would be! Yeah right! 

The second quarter then takes on the real hills of the course with two massive downhills and one monster climb before flattening out around halfway for runners to turn back around. 

At the halfway point I was glad to refuel at the drinks station which was well stocked with water, juice, cola, fig rolls, cookies, jelly beans and more! Anything a runner could want for fuel! I don't eat mid run so opted for a glass of fruit squash and a glass of water, I am not sure if it was the volume or drinking it too quick but my stomach then felt like a washing machine for the next few miles.

The next quarter is then even tough this time with the opposite of the last section so one big downhill and two massive climbs. 

The drinks station at around 20 miles came around pretty quickly which was a relief and after a quick drink I headed off feeling confident about the downhill trails that lay ahead. 

The problem with a there and back route is that you know what's coming, you can't trick your mind into thinking it will be easier or that there isn't that far left when you can remember and visualise the sections still to come. 

The last 6 miles dragged.... They felt so long, I was incredibly glad of the company of fellow runners as a small group of us struggling along at similar pace ran a few miles together chatting about our running experiences and how tough the course was.

Meeting and chatting with other runners is one of the highlights of these kind of small scale events and I was fortunate enough to run along with and strike up conversation with fellow runner Mark at around the halfway point and we ended up running together on and off for the second half of the race. 

As a veteran of 70+ marathons I was keen to getting his opinion on how he rated the course against other marathons and was surprised to hear he felt that the vanguard way was actually the toughest marathon he had ran including the much feared Beachy Head marathon. 

Having someone to run with in the final miles really pushed me on to run harder than I would have had I been on my own so I was very grateful for the company and the chat to keep me going. 

Heading back into Lloyd park and seeing the finishing funnel in the closing few hundred metres was a much welcome sight and I was relieved to be able to lie on the grass in the sun while watching other runners finish. 

There's no doubt that the vanguard way is incredibly tough nor is there any doubt it is a really beautiful course to experience and for me that's a great combination that will see me plan to come back next year! 

Massive thanks to everyone that mad this race possible, it really is a special event I would recommend to anyone and I look forward to running again next year! 

Vanguard way marathon reflections

So yesterday I ran my sixth marathon the vanguard way marathon, after running it last year I was really looking forward to running it again as it is one of my favourite ever events. Also having not managed to run a marathon since October last year I was eager to get back to running a marathon again.

It is an incredibly tough course with over 750m elevation gain over the route as the course goes through the North Downs, put in comparison the big city marathons such as London and Paris have 100m or less gain. Race day was also a really hot and sunny day which did not provide ideal running conditions.

So how did I do? 

I finished in 5 hours and 27 minutes, my slowest ever marathon and in many ways a disappointing result. Yes I know I did well to run it, to complete the race and to finish with a time which many people would be proud of but in many ways I am very disappointed.

Even prior to the marathon I knew I had got slower over long runs since last year. I have restructured my training to be more targeted with my pacing and have paced my longer runs at about 30 seconds a kilometre slower than my desired 4 hour marathon target pace. Although I have done plenty of speed work and shorter faster runs overall I feel I have got my training wrong and made myself slower.

Additionally I don't think I pushed myself hard enough in training, although I was covering 40-50kms a week I just don't think I trained hard enough to be marathon ready.

The other factor was that I set off too slow. In the early miles I was conscious of being overtaken by a lot of runners but I maintained what I thought was the right pace as I wanted to run the whole race evenly paced and be able to finish strong. Looking back now I realised I was to slow and starting off any marathon let a lone a tough hilly one too slow it is always going to be struggle to make up any time. In the end I did managed to pace the whole marathon very evenly and perhaps even ran a negative split largely due to me pushing really hard through some of the middle miles.

There are some positives though, I feel I tapered really well and felt pretty fresh on race day. Similarly my carb load went well and I felt I had plenty of energy to keep going in the final miles just not the fitness to match it.

I am not too downhearted thoughts the marathon was a great experience I really enjoyed, great scenery, brilliant comradary chatting with other runners and a great challenge to push myself through. 

It's good to get these thoughts off my chest and to reflect on where things went wrong and how I can continue to improve. A more detailed race report might follow later in the week but fire the moment I will continue to rest and recover ahead of my next event spitfire scramble in less than two weeks.

Vanguard Way Marathon Report

Time to reflect on my third marathon yesterday and my first of three marathons in the next three months. Warning this blog may turn into a bit of a marathon read and doesn't even fully cover everything that happened along the way! 

Yesterday I completed the Vanguard Way Marathon, a small local trail marathon starting out in South Croydon following the Vanguard Way trail out to Limpsfield and back. The race was organised by a member of the 100 marathon club and I was in awe of some of the runners I ran with who were rightly introduced and acknowledged at the start of the race, a few had run in the region of 500 marathons and one gentleman was on the verge of completing his 1000th marathon in the coming weeks! If that didn't motivate me to run then I don't know what would have!

The run turned out to be really enjoyable with some great trails, countryside and scenery to experience. I enjoyed some great running and felt stronger and ran more than in previous marathons. I also experienced some great camaraderie with my fellow runners along the course. 

The marathon turned out to be a rather eventful few hours of running.

Preparation

In the week leading up to the marathon I had very much enjoyed 'the fun part to marathon training', that is the bit where you get to eat loads under the guise of 'carb loading'. Despite eating lots I managed to keep it all healthy and clean with lots of potato, flapjacks and tortilla wraps, you can read about some of my carb loading fun here. 

I felt pretty good in the build up to the run although I had missed out on a few long training runs due to illness and injury, see previous blog articles here.

The start of the marathon was about an hours drive from home, so I made sure I was all organised and ready to go the night before with only a little bit of packing in the morning. We set off in good time and we managed to find our way their easily and got there in plenty of time. I say 'we' as although I wasn't running with anyone I had my number one supporter my wife with me acting as driver, support crew, photographer and cheer leader.

This was my first event with my camelpack and I must say it worked out well as it was comfortable to wear, allowed me to stay well hydrated throughout the run and I was able to carry energy gels a lot more comfortably than my running bum bag I used previously.

The Actual Run

The marathon was a small scale trail marathon only in its second year. The course was marked out with tape and spray paint arrows which required a certain amount of self navigation and awareness to ensure you stayed on the right track.

Lets just say that although I didn't have any real running problems my navigation wasn't as successful! 

Detour number 1

After around 3 or 4 miles I was part of a largish group of maybe ten runners coming down a trail picking up a decent speed enjoying a decline in the trail. We came to the bottom of the section, over a crossroads in the path and I followed everyone through another gate up onto the next part of the trail. As the trail started to get steeper I was now part of a group of maybe 20 runners when 2 or 3 runners started to raise questions over whether we were on the right path and if any markers had been spotted. After a bit of discussion they decided to head back but I made the decision to press up following the majority of the other runners ahead of me.

It turns out we had missed our turning and had ended up going up and around the golf course rather than along the bottom of it an up the other side. After a mile or two we met up with the proper route again and I think the detour only added a short distance to the course. Although I was at fault for not observing course markings and getting caught up with the group I don't consider this error to be my fault which is frustrating as it cost a lot of time in deliberating and discussing which way to go and how to proceed.

Detour number 2

Just after the half way turnaround I was running with another guy who I had been running with for several mile and we had struck up quite a bit of conversation about the course and the run. The route took us onto a bridge over the motorway and back onto an off road track into a wooded area. I was confident we should then veer off to the left down a few steps onto another trail. Following the guy in front I kept my eyes peeled for this passage to the left but couldn't see it so I thought I must have been mistaken and kept on running up the track. A few minutes later and I started having serious doubts over where we were heading and sure enough shortly after the other guy stopped to question me. We consulted the map and decided we were unsure of where to head so should continue to the next junction before deciding how to reconnect back with the real trail. We were soon caught up by another runner who confidently reassured us we were on the right path and should keep going straight on. I voiced my concerns that we had missed a turning to the left through the woods and although the other two thought this might be correct we decided going back would waste too much time and we should just try to reconnect to the real route. After pressing on for several minutes with the three of us having contrasting views on how to proceed I decided it was time to whip out my phone to consult my mapmyrun app which had been tracking my run. I quickly identified where we had gone wrong and where we needed to head to reconnect with the route. A few hundred metres down the side of a busy road and we met up with familiar territory and the course. Easily a mile wasted and more time lost in discussing where to go. 

Worse than the detour upon trying to quickly navigate the most direct route through a field of cows I failed to notice a rather large muddy patch and ended up taking several large squelchy steps. As if that was bad enough the mud wasn't pure mud and contained the kind of smelly stuff you unfortunately find in cow fields! My trainers got pretty dirty and wet which made them heavy for the next few miles but the worse thing was the stinking smell caused my the cow excrement coming from them which thankfully only lasted for a few miles! 

Detour number 3 

Coming into the last 4 or 5 miles the trail passed through some woods before coming out onto residential roads towards the finish in Lloyd Park. I was managing to find my way OK while trying to make ground on two runners a few hundred metres ahead of me. I remembered from the way out that there was a tight poorly signed corner which I think I managed to take, I was then heading straight along a path for ages waiting for the path to come out onto roads. It took me too long to realise I had gone to far and obviously had missed a turning. Upon consulting my phone to check mapmyrun My heart sank as I realised I had ended up a long way off course. I quickly planned the most direct route to link me up with trail again determined to get back on course and complete the route. My heart quickly sank as I realised it was around 3 miles to join me back up towards the finish line and the start of this journey was a steep long hill! I walked/jogged my way towards the finish carefully checking my map to make sure I was heading the right way and taking the most direct route. 

I decided to keep going until I hit the marathon distance and then to just concentrate on getting back to the finish line. I had spent so long looking at my map and trying to navigate that my race time had suffered greatly.

After an age I caught sight of the park where the finish was, I felt like a right idiot heading towards the finish line in pretty much the opposite direction of the actual course and my wife was shocked to see me creep up on her from the wrong direction! 

So the finish brought a range of emotions, I was so pleased with my actual running performance as I ran throughout the 5 hours it took me to complete the course and my legs were full of running in the final miles. I was so disappointed to have messed things up so much though! 

I was very downhearted to have put so much effort in and sacrificed so much to end up with a disappointing time caused largely by my detours and the delays and stoppages they caused. 

Recovery

Post race apart from the anguish, frustration, disappointment and annoyance of taking so many detours physically I felt good, really good! Throughout the day I kept waiting for the pain to hit me but it never came. 

Directly after finishing I did a bit of a shakedown and cool down and as well as taking on plenty of water I consumed an energy drink, a protein shake, a banana, a mars bar and a tortilla wrap. As well as no physical pain I didn't suffer any stomach issues either during the race, directly after the race, after eating or during the drive home.

I did take a huge amount of satisfaction from feeling so good after such an effort and knew it meant I had trained and prepared very well.

First thing I did when I got home? Before I jumped in the shower I popped my favorite source of post run dirty carbs in the oven and as soon as I was washed up I devoured it pretty much as quick as I could.

A Chicago Town takeaway style filled crust pizza, hits the spot every time! 

Thanks for reading and I plan to share more thoughts from the marathon and my experiences soon.