Best Fussen Forward, Koenigsschloesse Romantik Marathon, 24th July 2011

For afficionados of the traffic jam, I have the perfect spot for you. Get yourself on the A7 from Fussen, Germany to Innsbruck, Austria and you'll be in hogs heaven. This was the sort of jam that never really has an obvious cause but results in tailbacks as far as the eye can see. We had only decided to use that road to go to the nearest Lidl to stock up on goodies for the duration of the stay and, as soon as we joined the road, we knew we had made a mistake. Our planned distance was less than 10km but it took us over an hour to make it; I could have run there quicker!

So what does your average UK family do in such a situation? Extreme I Spy? Rounds of "Row, row, row your boat (throwing in the odd Blackadder Goes Forth verse - Corporal Punishment episode)? Not for this lot. We became experts in the use of the in-car computer system of the Audi A4 Avant as hired not one day earlier from Munich Airport. We managed to get it to speak English, we managed to program lots of radio channels and we even sussed out how to use the SatNav system which promptly told us to stay away from the A7 from Fussen to Innsbruck!

So what brought the Crookes clan to the German Southern border with Austria? Well, I'd been tipped off about this race that looked a pretty good event and, with Morocco in mind, a race in 30 degrees centigrade was certainly a good benchmark to see how I could perform at higher temperatures. It was also promised as a flat course with a good deal of forest trails, again good prepartion conditions.The race is the grandly titled Koenigsschloesse Romantik Marathon in the historical town of Fussen.

Fussen is where the "Lonely King" Ludwig II was born, raised, lived and died and has been the seat of Bavarian monarchs throughout the ages. Ludwig was a romantic soul who devoted much of his life to the works of Wagner, whom he patronised for many years. When I say Wagner, I mean the composer Richard and not the useless, yet curiously entertaining X-Factor nutter and when I say patronised I mean "Here Richard, have another large wodge of cash" and not "Richard, you do realise that all the best songs are composed in A minor?"

Ludwig also had a penchant for building castles, one of which is the very splendid Neuschwanstein, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Walt Disney's logo.

Schloss Neuschwanstein

He drowned in mysterious circumstances at the age of 42 only a few days after a committee from Munich had passed him unfit to rule. Anyway, it was this castle and the promise of lakeside relaxation that convinced the family to join me in this latest marathon venture.

So, we had the scenery - check, we had the lakeside retreat - check, we had the flat marathon course - check, we had the 30 degree sunshine - erm, no! It was rainy and cloudy and pretty cold to say the
least. We'd also had a wee drama where I'd scraped the aforementioned Audi on the lip of someone's steep drive and had confused the smell of clutch plates burning with a possible disaster underneath the car. A subsequent visit from a local mechanic confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the car and gave me a patronising lecture on how to manage the clutch. At least I thought that was the general gist. He may have just been elaborating on how much of a d**k***d I'd been!

The one crumb of consolation was that ironically we had pretty perfect marathon running conditions but not the conditions that were the reason I'd blown a good chunk of the family fortune on getting and staying here.

Our view

As we Brits do, we adapted to the situation and settled down to our few days of peace and quiet, which is no mean feat with 2 lickle 'uns both under 2 years old. The lakeside panorama was indeed spectacular and worth the admission fare alone. Plus the hotel had free wifi so I didn't have to miss out on a moment of Facebook time! The one remaining concern we had was how were we going to pay for it all. The hotel had a cash only policy and HSBC had kindly put a stop on my debit card because I'd had the audacity to go on holiday without telling them and had - get this - used a cashpoint to get some money. Fortunately the wifi availability meant we could move some money around onto another card from a bank who realises it's customers want to get the hell out of the UK from time to time.

The Start - where did all these people come from?

Right, there is a danger of me rattling on for ever and not getting to the point of the blog which is the race itself. The instructions said that it would start at 07:30, early but certainly not unachievable. I set the alarm in plenty of time and had a decent breakfast of chocolate brioche and bananas and then set off for the start area. I arrived at 06:35 to feel quite lonely; there were not that many people knocking about and I was beginning to think that 07:30 was the start of a series of proceedings and that the race would start later in the morning. I'm used to races like London where people turn up days before just to "sample the atmosphere". Anyway, I needn't have worried as German efficiency meant that everyone suddenly turned up, assembled themselves in the start pen and then set off to complete 42.195km.

Bavarian Iron Maiden

The race itself was all it had promised to be. The first km in the town allowed the runners to string out and consequently there were no bottlenecks when we hit the trails. The scenery was fantastic all the way round and even when this was restricted by trees, the trails were soothing and peaceful. The organisers had even managed to convince local rock bands to turn out and perform.

I'd positioned myself towards the back 1/3 of the field so that my 10kg pack wouldn't get in the way of anyone trying to push through. As it was it seemed I'd chosen the perfect start position as not many runners passed me en route and I managed to push my way through a significant number of bodies. My target time was between 4:30 and 5:00 but the pace I'd set off at projected a finishing time of 4:10. I decided to stick with it as it felt comfortable and to see how far I'd get before the natural slow down from fatigue kicked in. As it was, it never really did and the projected 4:10 was hit almost to the second. I even managed a bit of a sprint finish as the official photos will (may) testify. Click on the link below and enter 88 in the field "Startnummer" to view a fine athlete in action. This saves me paying to download photos just to upload one on here. If you really want you can have the photos put on a T-shirt to show your hero worship for me!! Can't see that offer being taken up too readily though.

http://www.firstfotofactory.org/cgi-bin/cosmoshop/lshop.cgi?action=showrub&rubnum=events.fuess11&artnum=&file=&&wkid=1311848258-14385&ls=d&nocache=1311848258-14385

Hey guys! I've just puked!! Rock 'n' roll!

So that is the story of a short but eventful trip to Germany. The final challenge to our sanity came when Maisie decided to drench the rented Audi in child vomit. We managed to scrub it down with baby wipes sufficiently so that the guys at the airport didn't back away with that "OMG, someone's been sick!" look on their faces. Or maybe they were just being polite. You've got to love the Germans!

The good news training wise is that I recovered sufficiently that I could have gone out the following day for another decent run if I could've been ar$ed and if the family would have allowed me. Next competitive event is in November when I'll be trogging 45miles across the Brecon Beacons. I'll keep the blog ticking over in the meantime though to keep the interest.

As always, please take the time to visit my Just Giving page and pledge a few pee or pass the link on to others you may know via your Facebooks and Twitters.

Schmeckt, es so richtig gut!

Deutschland Uber Alles

I alluded in my initial effort at blogging that I would make a vast improvement in standards by the time this one came around. Not so!! I am still struggling with the basics so you will all have to bear with me a tad longer whilst I get a small child to help me out. Obviously one I know and not some random urchin!

In the meantime i hope you'll be entertained with words alone, or at least vaguely interested in what's been happening MdS-wise. The honest truth is not a great deal. I still have the daily effort of going to work and then helping Emma deal with 2 little monkeys when I get home. I had a week away with the TA at the end of June when I managed to get a bit of training in but for the most part it's a case of fitting it in when I can. I can foresee some very early mornings come September when training really ramps up.

Next on the horizon is a trip to Germany to take part in the very grand sounding Koenigschlosse Romantik Marathon, which is run round Die Weissensee in Southern Bavaria. It all looks very picturesque so we are making a family holiday out of it and very much looking forward to the whole thing.

http://www.koenigludwigmarathon.de/facts.0.html

I will definitely be up to speed with photo posting by the time I get back so the next blog will be singing and dancing!!

Please take the time to follow the Just Giving link at the top of the page and help me reach the £5k target for The Army Benevolent Fund.

In the meantime here are a couple of write ups that I did for the first 2 work up events I took part in. The originals look really good but as before all you'll get here are words.

With My Knapsack on my Back...
Welsh Coastal Marathon, 14th May 2011

Today I shared a coastal path with ramblers, dog walkers and, by their own admission, a couple of bimblers. That we were on the same stretch of Anglesey coastline is where the association ends. The AdventureHub Welsh Coastal Marathon was a brutal 26.2 miles only made tolerable by the fantastic scenery “the Mother of Wales” has to offer.

A few hardy souls had opted to do the full 100km ultra race and it truly is hats (plus scarves, gloves, boots and pretty much everything else) off to them for their endeavours.

For reasons which the organisers will come to understand in time, this was not the biggest field ever assembled but this should not detract from the fact that this was a very well organised and worthwhile event, which should grow in stature in the future.

It had rained pretty much constantly in the week leading up to the event and I was expecting a lot of mud, however these fears proved unfounded and the running surface was pretty solid throughout, with the exception of short shuffles across a sand path by Lligwy and about 300 metres of ploughed field.

It was not quite the Sahara but the effect of the sand on my legs on the return leg certainly opened my eyes to how essential dune training will be in the coming months. The sun came out before the start and the rain stayed away for the duration of the race, only starting again as I got back in the car to drive home (the organisers really can’t claim the credit for that one!)

Starting in the popular holiday village of Benllech, the route meandered, gained and lost height along the Anglesey Coastal Path into a pretty stiff headwind as far as the church at Llaneilian. I was a bit perturbed to find the half way point at 22km instead of the expected 21.1km but after a short whinge to self and a spot of mental readjustment set off on the return to Benllech.

Our hero at half way, not yet broken!

Having not trained much in the preceding weeks due to recovery from the “Gentlemen’s Operation” I have to say I suffered during the second half of the race but managed to get over the finish line with a smile on my face.

My target for the marathon stage at MdS is 6 hours and I achieved 5:39 for marathon distance here (5:55 for the overall race). With 10 months of good training still ahead of me, I reckon today forms a good baseline and all things taken in to consideration, think 6 hours is still a reasonable target.

The low numbers in the race had the benefit of being able to have a cup of tea and a chat with Race Director, Ian and partner (sorry, I never did get your name!) which gave a nice family feel to the day. With that sort of feeling, I will definitely be back here next year and am now looking at entering the Yorkshire Ultra leg of the series instead of Pilgrim’s Challenge just so I can stay part of this “family”.

To find out more about this and other races in the series visit http://www.adventurehub.com/

Wakey, wakey
Welsh 1000 Summits Marathon, 4th June 2011

Until around 12:30 on 4^th June I had been quietly confident that come April 2012 I would quite happily jog around the Sahara leaving 95% of the field in my wake. I have read countless horror stories from previous MdS competitors and have still yet to read one blog which says how much of a fun time they had. Yet still I held this belief that I would be that one jolly blogger! After 7hrs and 54mins (look at Page 11) competing on the hills of Snowdonia followed by a 80 min stagger down to Llanberis, I am now fully awake to the task that lies ahead if I am just to complete MdS, never mind achieve a high position.

Having taken part and completed the infamous W1K event in 2009, when the decision was made to close the Pen y Pass checkpoint to a vast number of the field, I was confident that I would perform very well this year as the forecast was for fine weather throughout. With this at the back of my mind, a good deal of complacency slowly and surely crept in, which sowed the seeds for a poor performance. I won’t go into detail but suffice to say beer and Maccie D’s aren’t the best pre-race nutrients!

I lined up at the start line with my team mates from D Company under a fair amount of low lying fog. Confident that this would clear, the map stayed in my daysack. I’m not recommending that people should venture out on the hills without map and compass but this is familiar territory to me having completed the race on three previous occasions and trained in the area many times before.

The hooter sounded and off I went, comfortably placed in the first 5 runners. As the field stretched out there seemed to be no sign of anyone behind us so I settled into a rhythm which would achieve the split times I was aiming for with a high field placing being a bonus.

Carneddau came and went and I made it to the A5 bang on schedule. Fluid management had been good and all was looking good. I hooked up with our replen guy and, having topped up all my bottles, set off still full of confidence.

Around 90 minutes later, halfway down the Miners track towards Pen y Pass, that confidence had been blown away. The track is never an easy descent at the best of times but I had not experienced the feeling I now had before. Progress was slow but deliberate, determined that I would not be taken out of the race by a stupid injury. Eventually I decided an admin stop was needed and sat down for 5 minutes to stretch and take on some carbs by way of fruit flakes and yoghurt bars. This break and top up seemed to do the trick as I managed to make it to Pen y Pass without too much further distress. Again, I met up with the support guy for another fluid top up and to find that 2 of the team had pulled out of the race shortly after the A5 checkpoint.

The next 2 hours were as full a test of my physical and mental capabilities as I have endured. Snowdon’s Pyg Track by itself does not represent the greatest of challenges to the experienced hill walker but with 5.5 hours of arduous tabbing behind you, it certainly has the ability to bring you to your knees! I took small comfort that I was not alone seeing many racers in the same state (and worse) than me. I stopped for many short rests on the way up, many of those forced by the legions of charity walkers who, for some reason, seemed to be everywhere on the mountain.

I arrived at the summit just inside 8hrs, which was my slowest time in the event, but very happy to have completed the race. I found that the other 2 in my team had missed the close off time at Pen y Pass by 10 minutes so were withdrawn from the race. On my way down to Llanberis I reflected on the efforts of the day and slow realisation dawned that, in Morocco, this was an effort I would have to repeat 6 times! As I said at the start, based on this performance, I will be lucky to finish MdS, never mind achieve the top 50 place that is my ultimate goal. Oscar Wilde said that experience is the name people give to their mistakes. After today I am vastly more experienced!!!