Date: Sunday 27 February 2011
Following yesterdays exploits around Worcestershire, it was time for another outing and also time for my first ever run, the "Dudley Action Heart 5" Run, five miles of different gradiant starting and finishing at Russells Hall Hospital, and raising money for Action Heart. After a colleague from work entered for this race, he challenged me to do the same and enter, this was after saying I could beat him hands down, and considering that I have never run in my entire life, I foolishly accepted - I think there is times when you should keep your mouth shut!
Its 8am and its time to meet up with Mr UK Buses, that is after I purchase supplies of energy drink, one of which I drank whilst walking into Stourbridge to ensure that the drink kicks in just in time for the start, the other one to run with and give me much needed liquid. We end up at the bus stop located on the Stourbridge ring road just before 8.30, ready to catch National Express West Midlands service 246 to Dudley, dropping us off at Russells Hall Hospital along the way. According to the real time information, the first bus was due just after 8.45am, so a little wait ensues. The bus arrives on time, and away we go, I purchase a One Day NBus ticket, priced £3.80, and we sit down with me dreading what will happen in the next hour. We pass through Brierley Hill, so I do a strip on the bus, down to my race gear, and get some surprised looks off a person sitting opposite. Mr UK Buses uses this chance to take a photo of me donned up, that is after he has stopped laughing. Its not long after and we arrive at Russells Hall Hospital, and for some reason, I don't want to get off the bus, but it is for charity, so I alight and psyche myself up in preparation for the race, that is after a quick visit to empty the bladder from my first energy drink. It seemed that a lot of other runners had the same idea.
We leave the hospital reception, and make our way round to the back, where the start / finish line is situated, as we make our way, past Accident and Emergency - a place where I may end up after, there are quite a few people in running gear emerging, so it is a good sign that we are heading in the right direction. We turn the corner and we didn't realise that Mr Lunn was coming, but his needs were catered for - two rows of portaloos. We head around the next corner and I can see the start / finish line, the fear is kicking in, only fifteen minutes to go. We walk towards the start, and John from work spots me and comes over to give me his advice, and tells me what Mr UK Buses said earlier, do it at your own pace, try and do as much as you can, and don't worry if you can not complete the course. Only a few minutes to go, my nerves are twitching, but I think I'm having Mr Lunn trouble, I need the loo again, so John and I walk back to the portaloos, and join the queue of runners who have the same idea. Bladder emptied and back round to the start, I take my position and after a "before" photo (see below left) by Mr Wood, I do a few stretches and warm up, only a minute or so to go.
The start: In place, and the klaxon sounds, we're off. Just as we start off, the clouds open, quite quickly it turns from spots into a downpour - good timing! I make my way through the back of the hospital onto Bushey Fields Road, the marshals are holding back the traffic, I run up a slight hill to the main road at the end, I make my way onto the pavement, where I turn left into Kingswinford Road, I pass a few runners along the way, and the going is good. I am now at the main island at the end of Kingswinford Road, and I turn left into Stourbridge Road, heading uphill towards Dudley.
1 mile: Halfway up Stourbridge Road, and I see the first mile mark, it seems like I have run two, this put doubts into my head, will I be able to run the whole course? I'm not feeling any fatigue yet, so I carry on up Stourbridge Road, I am now at the traffic lights and it is a left turn into Wellington Road, running up to Dudley Leisure Centre. I'm halfway up the hill and I am now starting to struggle. I am now at the top of Wellington Road, where I turn left into Stafford Street, I am now gasping for breath, I make it to the end of Stafford Street, turning left into Wolverhampton Street, it is at this point that I am suffering, fatigue has kicked in, and my run turns into a walk, I take this time to have a drink and I am just coming to the main island.
2 miles: I am at the island and this is where the 2 mile marker is, I turn off left into the Himley Road. After my drink, and the worst of the course is out of the way, I begin to run again, and at least it is down hill. I make my way past Grange Park, and feel that my body is running faster than my feet, but with renewed energy, I manage to pass a few runners (the ones who past me on Wolverhampton Street, plus a few extra), I've got a good rythmn going now. I carry on along Himley Road, and am now coming accross the backmarkers who decided to walk the course, and left Russells Hall Hospital at 9am.
3 miles: I am now at the island at the end of Milking Bank, I think just past here was the three mile marker, my running is good now and haven't noticed, so this is a guess at the three mile mark. Anyway, I go straight on at the island where Milking Bank meets Himley Road, and I carry on up Himley Road, which is slightly uphill, and now a marshal is standing there with a sign telling us to turn left, at this point I shout out to him "When is the coach arriving to pick us up?", the marshal laughs. I now turn left into Coopers Bank Road, and it is another road that is going downhill, so on I go. I'm two thirds of the way down Coopers Bank Road, and I see the sign for Gornal Wood Crematorium, the way I'm feeling at this point, I don't feel like I belong there, which is a different thought I had at the start of the run. I carry on down Coopers Bank Road, the road now becomes Smithy Lane. There is a slight uphill gradient to this bit of the course, and towards the end of the road, my legs are starting to suffer again. I come to the end of Smithy Lane, and it is a left turn into Tansey Green Road. I can see the mile marker up ahead.
4 miles: I manage to run to the four mile marker, and that is when I begin to suffer and fatugue kicks in again, so it at this point my run becomes a walk and from here to the main road, Pensnett High Street, it is chance for me to have another drink. I turn left into Pensnett High Street, and it is not far to go till the end, so I try an muster up the energy and try running again. It is currently a bit of a steep gradient, so I'm still in a bit of a crawler run, but as I get past the "High Oak", my legs are beginning to come back to life, and it is just a straight road from here to the hospital. I'm now gathering pace I pass a few more walkers, and I am now by the "Fox and Grapes" - How I wish this was open now, this is the last gasp bit of the course and also another steep gradient. Just before I attempt to run up the hill, it looks like the front runners have come back to give us at the back moral support, so with shouts of encouragement I manage to give a last splurt of energy, I'm past Vicarage Road and I can see the turning ahead, I can also hear the marshals shouting "Come on, not far to go". I turn into the hospital road, the end is near......
5 miles and the finish: I haven't managed the five miles yet but as I turn into the hospital road, I'm on the route to the back of the hospital, I'm passing some more marshals and they are giving claps of encouragement. A few more corners to go, first corner down and I spot Mr UK Buses to my right - he seems shocked, so do I when I look at my watch, it is just before 10.20am. This gives me a major boost of adrenaline, two corners to go. One corner down, and I make my way past the portaloos, and the final corner is coming closer, final corner down, and the finish line is in front of me. This morning, I didn't think I would see this sight, a few more metres to go, and my number is mentioned by the hospital radio broadcast, "202, come on, keep going, don't give up now". A few more steps and I cross the finish line, and my run goes back to a walk. I crossed the line at 50 minutes and 58 seconds, I'm totally surprised at my time - my original thought this morning would be 1 hour 15 minutes! I see John ahead and he congratulates me, and he is also shocked at my time. John ran the course in 42 muntes, if I didn't have those two breaks whilst on the course, I could have only been a minute or so behind him.
We walk a bit further and get my free t-shirt for completing the run, something I'm glad of as I am soaked. Speaking of rain, it is stopping, so some more good (or is that bad) timing by the clouds. We walk back down past the finish line, where we meet up with Mr UK Buses, and he gives me much needed congratulations and expresses his surprise at how fast I completed the run. The adrenalin seems to be calming down, and I have a little rest (see above right). John says his goodbyes and a couple of minutes later, I put my jeans back on, and swap my totally soaked running top with my free t-shirt and I'm ready to go. Mr UK Buses and myself walk down towards Bushy Fields Road to get back to the front of the hospital, spotting the t-shirt stand, Mr UK Buses asks if I could get one for him, I tell him they are only for runners who have completed the course. We carry on, and finally get round to the front of the hospital, I spot the smoking shelter, and take this opporunity to have a well deserved cigarette before getting our bus to Dudley. We walk to the bus stops and not long after we get a service 246 to Dudley, which takes us on a short ride to Dudley Bus Station.
We arrive at Dudley Bus Station and after about ten minutes we get a National Express West Midlands Service 527, which makes it's way through Wrens Nest, Gornal Wood and The Straits before reaching Sedgley. We alight in Sedgley, and pain is starting to take over, my ankle is starting to throb, but it is only a few hundred yards and we get to the J D Wetherspoons, "The Clifton". Mr UK Buses gets a well deserved drink in, and we sit down enabling me to rest my now weary legs. Mr UK Buses gets his normally hidden wallet out to pass his sponsor money onto me, he passes me a tenner, and as I go to give him his fiver change, he tells me to keep the rest and add it to the sposnorship fund - big thanks to Mr UK Buses for that. We finish our drinks after a chat about the run, and how surprised I was with the timing etc, and we have a little walking to do, but I manage it as we go a few metres next door to "Montys". We have a window seat, and Mr UK Buses keeps an eye out for a work colleague who is known to visit Monty's. After we finish our drinks here it is decided to catch the Midland 297B service back into Stourbridge.
We go back to the bus stops in Sedgley and wait for our 297B which is due at 1310. We have about 10 minutes to wait, and the temperature has dropped and the wind is getting up. With a few minutes to go, we see a Midland bus turn out of a side street up ahead and it seems to drive straight on. A few minutes have passed and the bus is late. It is now 1315, and a National Express West Midlands service 558 appears so we decide to jump on that, and make our way to the top deck, something which is hard for me to do as the aches are starting. The bus pulls off and Mr UK Buses looks out of the back window and sees our 297B pull up! We are now heading towards Dudley, and as we pass Upper Gornal, we come to the Himley Road Island, where I point out that it was the 2 mile mark and that is where I had my first "walking" break. Not long after and we arrive back in Dudley. We are both suffering "Lunn syndrome" and walk through the bus station to find out that the toilets are shut. We have a bit of time to kill before our bus back to Stourbridge arrives, so we head to "The Castle Inn", to use the facilities, but seeing as the pub is empty, the eyes are staring from the landlady, so a quick half is purchased before we make use of the loo!
After we are emptied, and a quick walk back to the bus station and we wait for our service 246 back into Stourbridge. A few minutes late, we board and we make our way, back through Russells Hall Hospital, a place which I'm not too keen on now, and then the last part of the journey through Brierley Hill and Amblecote, before arriving at the temporary stands in Birmingham Street. A little walk up the road, and we are at our stand to catch our final bus of the day, Black Diamond's service 276, which takes us back home to Norton. I say my goodbyes to Mr UK Buses and after a little walk, I arrive back home, where I have a well deserved rest.
Another cracking day out, and also an achieving day. I accomplished something that I wouldn't have thought I could do - a five mile run. I'm proud of myself for completing the course and still can not get over the shock of what time I did the run in. After the event and a little more training next time, I think that I may enter the run next year. Perhaps Mr UK Buses will enter next year?
1 mile: Halfway up Stourbridge Road, and I see the first mile mark, it seems like I have run two, this put doubts into my head, will I be able to run the whole course? I'm not feeling any fatigue yet, so I carry on up Stourbridge Road, I am now at the traffic lights and it is a left turn into Wellington Road, running up to Dudley Leisure Centre. I'm halfway up the hill and I am now starting to struggle. I am now at the top of Wellington Road, where I turn left into Stafford Street, I am now gasping for breath, I make it to the end of Stafford Street, turning left into Wolverhampton Street, it is at this point that I am suffering, fatigue has kicked in, and my run turns into a walk, I take this time to have a drink and I am just coming to the main island.
2 miles: I am at the island and this is where the 2 mile marker is, I turn off left into the Himley Road. After my drink, and the worst of the course is out of the way, I begin to run again, and at least it is down hill. I make my way past Grange Park, and feel that my body is running faster than my feet, but with renewed energy, I manage to pass a few runners (the ones who past me on Wolverhampton Street, plus a few extra), I've got a good rythmn going now. I carry on along Himley Road, and am now coming accross the backmarkers who decided to walk the course, and left Russells Hall Hospital at 9am.
3 miles: I am now at the island at the end of Milking Bank, I think just past here was the three mile marker, my running is good now and haven't noticed, so this is a guess at the three mile mark. Anyway, I go straight on at the island where Milking Bank meets Himley Road, and I carry on up Himley Road, which is slightly uphill, and now a marshal is standing there with a sign telling us to turn left, at this point I shout out to him "When is the coach arriving to pick us up?", the marshal laughs. I now turn left into Coopers Bank Road, and it is another road that is going downhill, so on I go. I'm two thirds of the way down Coopers Bank Road, and I see the sign for Gornal Wood Crematorium, the way I'm feeling at this point, I don't feel like I belong there, which is a different thought I had at the start of the run. I carry on down Coopers Bank Road, the road now becomes Smithy Lane. There is a slight uphill gradient to this bit of the course, and towards the end of the road, my legs are starting to suffer again. I come to the end of Smithy Lane, and it is a left turn into Tansey Green Road. I can see the mile marker up ahead.
4 miles: I manage to run to the four mile marker, and that is when I begin to suffer and fatugue kicks in again, so it at this point my run becomes a walk and from here to the main road, Pensnett High Street, it is chance for me to have another drink. I turn left into Pensnett High Street, and it is not far to go till the end, so I try an muster up the energy and try running again. It is currently a bit of a steep gradient, so I'm still in a bit of a crawler run, but as I get past the "High Oak", my legs are beginning to come back to life, and it is just a straight road from here to the hospital. I'm now gathering pace I pass a few more walkers, and I am now by the "Fox and Grapes" - How I wish this was open now, this is the last gasp bit of the course and also another steep gradient. Just before I attempt to run up the hill, it looks like the front runners have come back to give us at the back moral support, so with shouts of encouragement I manage to give a last splurt of energy, I'm past Vicarage Road and I can see the turning ahead, I can also hear the marshals shouting "Come on, not far to go". I turn into the hospital road, the end is near......
We walk a bit further and get my free t-shirt for completing the run, something I'm glad of as I am soaked. Speaking of rain, it is stopping, so some more good (or is that bad) timing by the clouds. We walk back down past the finish line, where we meet up with Mr UK Buses, and he gives me much needed congratulations and expresses his surprise at how fast I completed the run. The adrenalin seems to be calming down, and I have a little rest (see above right). John says his goodbyes and a couple of minutes later, I put my jeans back on, and swap my totally soaked running top with my free t-shirt and I'm ready to go. Mr UK Buses and myself walk down towards Bushy Fields Road to get back to the front of the hospital, spotting the t-shirt stand, Mr UK Buses asks if I could get one for him, I tell him they are only for runners who have completed the course. We carry on, and finally get round to the front of the hospital, I spot the smoking shelter, and take this opporunity to have a well deserved cigarette before getting our bus to Dudley. We walk to the bus stops and not long after we get a service 246 to Dudley, which takes us on a short ride to Dudley Bus Station.
We arrive at Dudley Bus Station and after about ten minutes we get a National Express West Midlands Service 527, which makes it's way through Wrens Nest, Gornal Wood and The Straits before reaching Sedgley. We alight in Sedgley, and pain is starting to take over, my ankle is starting to throb, but it is only a few hundred yards and we get to the J D Wetherspoons, "The Clifton". Mr UK Buses gets a well deserved drink in, and we sit down enabling me to rest my now weary legs. Mr UK Buses gets his normally hidden wallet out to pass his sponsor money onto me, he passes me a tenner, and as I go to give him his fiver change, he tells me to keep the rest and add it to the sposnorship fund - big thanks to Mr UK Buses for that. We finish our drinks after a chat about the run, and how surprised I was with the timing etc, and we have a little walking to do, but I manage it as we go a few metres next door to "Montys". We have a window seat, and Mr UK Buses keeps an eye out for a work colleague who is known to visit Monty's. After we finish our drinks here it is decided to catch the Midland 297B service back into Stourbridge.
We go back to the bus stops in Sedgley and wait for our 297B which is due at 1310. We have about 10 minutes to wait, and the temperature has dropped and the wind is getting up. With a few minutes to go, we see a Midland bus turn out of a side street up ahead and it seems to drive straight on. A few minutes have passed and the bus is late. It is now 1315, and a National Express West Midlands service 558 appears so we decide to jump on that, and make our way to the top deck, something which is hard for me to do as the aches are starting. The bus pulls off and Mr UK Buses looks out of the back window and sees our 297B pull up! We are now heading towards Dudley, and as we pass Upper Gornal, we come to the Himley Road Island, where I point out that it was the 2 mile mark and that is where I had my first "walking" break. Not long after and we arrive back in Dudley. We are both suffering "Lunn syndrome" and walk through the bus station to find out that the toilets are shut. We have a bit of time to kill before our bus back to Stourbridge arrives, so we head to "The Castle Inn", to use the facilities, but seeing as the pub is empty, the eyes are staring from the landlady, so a quick half is purchased before we make use of the loo!
After we are emptied, and a quick walk back to the bus station and we wait for our service 246 back into Stourbridge. A few minutes late, we board and we make our way, back through Russells Hall Hospital, a place which I'm not too keen on now, and then the last part of the journey through Brierley Hill and Amblecote, before arriving at the temporary stands in Birmingham Street. A little walk up the road, and we are at our stand to catch our final bus of the day, Black Diamond's service 276, which takes us back home to Norton. I say my goodbyes to Mr UK Buses and after a little walk, I arrive back home, where I have a well deserved rest.
Another cracking day out, and also an achieving day. I accomplished something that I wouldn't have thought I could do - a five mile run. I'm proud of myself for completing the course and still can not get over the shock of what time I did the run in. After the event and a little more training next time, I think that I may enter the run next year. Perhaps Mr UK Buses will enter next year?
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