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Thread: Midland Road Relays

  1. #1
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    Midland Road Relays

    A long shot, but anyone else on this on Saturday...?

    I've been drafted in over the last week, and running the penultimate leg for the 'b' team. Our target is a top 25 finish, and our 'a' team will be looking at top 6-8 hopefully.

    Interestingly we've also got a 'masters' team out, which I would qualify for, but I've been put in with the younguns. Could be interesting as I reckon we'll be pretty similar in standard to the masters, so could be a close run against one of my training partners.

    I'm told the course is "hilly" which should be interesting, and hopefully play to my strengths, although 6km is way too fast and furious for me...!

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    Hi Travs. I'm running for Wolves & Bilston masters tomorrow. Hoping to improve on a couple of past 4th places. Have run the 6 stage, midland or national, maybe 15 times and it never gets any easier! Hilly with longest climb early on. Can be windy along the top. Always a great day especially when it is sunny!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    I've run this many times over the years and can confirm that it is "hilly", if a long way from a fell course. There is a series of nasty bends just after the start through an area that I can only describe as a shrubbery. After this you're right at the bottom of a long hill that seems to go on for ever. If you get carried away and go too fast through the "shubbery" you'll pay for it later. The turn isn't that fast either, with a hairpin around a bollard in the road

    Best of luck
    Well described Marco, although you forgot to mention that the run from the top of the hill to the turn feels like the worlds longesssstttt road I thought I'd gone the wrong way when I ran it

  4. #4
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    Good day today. Enjoyable event, and although I don't really like road running, it's great to feel part of a team, as in fell races I'm on my own.

    As for my run, I managed 22:45 which I was very pleased with, had been expecting to be a minute slower. I didn't use a stopwatch today, and just ran how I felt, which maybe helped. All advice went in one ear and out of the other, as I only had about 40secs head-start on our vets team, so I hammered it round the 'shrubbery' in order to ensure I was out of sight when the course stretched out. Didn't really notice the first hill, but was feeling it a bit on the run out to the turn.

    Left enough in the tank for the final hill, having reccied the final km in the warm up, and managed to pull out 15 secs overall on our vets team. Unfortunately I think my team may be disqualified, as we apparently made a right Horlicks of one of the early changeovers, and I don't think they'll be generous and just give us a time penalty.

    A good day for the club, the first team look to have made the top ten, and our vets team possibly top 3 or 5 vets team. Despite our team being way down on where we had anticipated, our times were what was expected, I think the expectation was just a bit high, and personally I was happy with my own run, bearing in mind it's my first road race in about 3 years.

    Hope it went well gazb....?

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    Well done Travs. I ran my slowest ever time of 21.03, although that wasn't unexpected, but had the consolation of Masters bronze behind strong Leicester and Tipton teams. Turned out nice too!

  6. #6
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    Well done on the top 3 placing. Our masters team were 7th in the end, with our first team 11th overall. My team weren't dq'd in the end, finished around 50th. Although we were still ahead of all the other first teams from elsewhere in the city (4 established running clubs in Coventry), so my commitment to travelling to the far side of the city every training session is somewhat justified.

    Still a good time that Gaz... if I do the event next year I'll be hoping to run a 21-something... Onto the cross-country next!

  7. #7
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    Heading back up to Sutton Park to watch the nation six stage relays today... obviously I'm not competing. Hopefully be an interesting day...

  8. #8
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    Good day at the nationals today. Well done to Swansea who won with a good 20-25 seconds to spare.

    Other teams i saw finishing high up (in no particular order)..... Lincoln, Tonbridge, Cheltenham, Liverpool Harriers, Bristol...

    We finished around 70th with a depleted team, could possibly have troubled top 30 with a full team, but it was a very high standard today.

    Hello to a few familiar vests I recognised from the fells.... K&C, Notts AC, Telford AC, Rossendale Harriers...

    Something to work hard and aim for next year... my time from the midlands relay was around a minute off what would be termed as an "average" time today, so a bit more work and I'm not a million miles away (easier said than done).

    Apologies I can't really comment on the women's race, which was so spread out, and mixed in with the men's race, it was hard to keep track what was happening...

  9. #9
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    Midlands 12-stage relays tomorrow.

    Rescheduled date, so we (along with many others I suspect), have been scrapping around to make a team up, due to clashes with other races. At one point it looked like I would be hoisted into the heady eights of the first team, but a last minute reprisal means I'm running 2nd for the 'b' team, on a long leg (5.3 miles).

    Would have liked to have a bash in the first team and see if I could make my mark, but a stronger team means a better chance of making top 25 and qualifying for the nationals in a few weeks. We came 6th last year in the Midlands, I can't see that happening tomorrow with a depleted team, I think making top 25 is the sole objective.

    I'll just keep plugging away and try to make an impression. I'm getting there in the XC, but in all reality a fair way off when it comes to the roads.

  10. #10
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    Fun and games at the Midlands Relays today. I was 2nd leg in an incomplete. 'b' team and managed 35 minutes bang on, for about 5.3 miles. Weather was pretty atrocious, plenty of wind and snow.

    Made up 3 places and didn't lose any, although the guy who started a couple of seconds in front of me, managed to pull out at least a minute on me.

    The 'a' team was again a farce. Our first leg runner apparently pulled up with his back after a mile. I'm not sure what happened, but fortunately another one of our runners was in the vicinity. I don't know whether he took the guys number and went back to the start, or just put his vest on and carried on. But either way, there'll be a stewards enquiry and quite possibly a disqualification. For a team that 'should' be top 6 or 8, it's a bit of a shame. Due to the balls-up, we were in about 30th after half the legs, powering through the field and trying to make the qualifying position for the nationals of top 25, but may be irrelevant anyway if we are dq'd.

    I knew they should have stuck me in the first team...!

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