Date: Sunday 25 September 2011
Back in August, I noticed that a race was being held in Kinver, and teased John, a colleague at work, he didn't take the bait, then I did something mad......I entered myself for it, all this to get John to take part.
Back to today, I wake up and prepare for the run ahead, I dig out my gear I wore when I did the Dudley Action Heart 5 in February this year, and get dressed. I go downstairs ready for the off, and trying to calm my nerves, I turn the television on, what's on? Only the Berlin Marathon. Mr UKBuses kindly gets up early on a Sunday morning, and just after 08.30am, he picks me up and drives the few miles to get to Kinver, we park up at Kinver Leisure Centre getting a prime spot on the car park.
We take a walk to the finish line, and I feel a bit out of place as I am the only runner dressed up ready to go, there is just under an hour to go yet. I prepare myself by having a bottle of energy drink, and we have a walk back up to the leisure centre, so that I can have a pre-race bladder stop. As I make my way outside, I bump into John, who has the same idea. Mr UKBuses and myself wait in the corridor for John to appear. After he comes out, we hang around as we know that we will have to visit the toilet again before we make our way to the start line. Our predictions were right, we needed to go again, it must be the nerves or psychological. Bladders emptied, we all make our way down to the starting area, and Mr UKBuses does me and John a favour by looking after some of our belongings, I'm a bit nervous by now as I pass him my BlackBerry, which he hates, and John is even more daring, by giving him the keys to his car (Well the company car really), will we see Mr UKBuses at the finish line later? We are near the start line and me and John both have a dreaded sensation, we both need to use the loo again, so a quick jog to the toilets and back before the race gets underway is needed.
It is nearly time and John and myself make our way to the start, and Mr UKBuses crosses the road and takes a few photographs, and I'm sure I saw him looking at John's keys to find out how to work them. Last minute warnings from the race organiser, and then the klaxxon goes, it is time to run. John was a bit ahead of me in the line up, and as we run, he moves further forward, after about 1/2 a kilometre, I lose sight of him. It is now a left turn into Wigley Bank Road, this is where I see the 1Km marker, I'm sure it is further than the 1 Mile marker when I did the Dudley run, it doesn't put my mind at ease. I get to the end of Wigley Bank Road, and it is a left and virtually after, a sharp right turn, a turn I am dreading.......
It is just under the 2Km mark and I have turned into a lane called Sheepwalks Lane, and I've also heard a bit about this part of the route, so as I carry on running, the road becomes steep, and then I turn a corner along the lane, and it gets even steeper (see the gradient by clicking on the course route, right), and this is where my legs tell me to run no further, even though I try my hardest, it feels like someone has hit my legs with a cricket bat, so I have to walk the next 1Km or so due to the sheer gradient. I do have a little try as I carry on along Sheepwalks Lane, as I think I have got to the top, but as soon as I start a gentle jog, another bank appears, and my legs just aren't having any of it. As I "walk" along a bit further, one of the runners states that this is the last bank and it is mainly downhill from then on, so I decide to not even try running as I see the size of the gradient ahead, I tell myself to just walk this bit and then once I'm at the top, it gets easier, so I walk even further, and once I get to the top, I prepare myself for the run ahead with a big gulp of energy drink. Gulp taken its time to run, and as I pass Hollies Lane, I turn into No Man's Green, and I'm loving this bit as it is downhill. I run for about a kilometre and I'm at the end of No Man's Green Lane and it is also at this point that as I turn into Heron's Gate Road, I see the 5Km marker, which means that I am at the halfway point, just under 3 Miles done.
I look at my watch and I have done about 35 - 40 minutes, so I think I need to do a bit of catching up if I want to beat my time limit of an hour, something that has been compromised due to "The Sheepwalks". I carry on along Heron's Gate Road, a nice bit of this route as it is a flat road, and I pass Pigeonhouse Farm, which means as I reach the next corner, it is also the four mile mark, after another half a mile, I get to a crossroads, which means that it is the end of Heron's Gate Road, and the marshall informs me I have to turn left, and left I go into Bannuttree Lane, this road has a slight gradient but nothing as bad as "The Sheepwalks", and as I head up to the next turning, it is the five mile mark, which means there is a mile left and just under one and a half kilometres left, and I am starting to feel it now, with my ankle deciding to start to go to sleep on me....
At just under the 8.5 km mark, I turn right into Bath Lane, and I'm glad I did, as if I went straight on, this would bring me back to the beginning of my now worse nightmare, "The Sheepwalks", and I prefer Bath Lane as it is nice and even as I go along, I reach the 9Km mark, and it is a left turn into Rocky Wall, well a little part of it, as I reach the next corner, which brings me to the top of White Hill, I know that I haven't got too far to go now, even though my ankle does not agree. As I run down towards Potters Cross, there are residents on their driveways, and marshalls along this last kilometre, all clapping and egging me on (I think they are or they are just telling me to hurry up as they want to go home), and as I continue further down White Hill, a welcome sight is approaching, Potters Cross and the finish line. I'm near enough at the bottom of White Hill, and as I reach the bottom, my ankle has totally seized up, and everyone must think that I am doing an impression of Quasimodo as it feels like I am dragging it along. I'm turning the final corner and Mr UKBuses is there and as I cross Enville Road, into the local playing fields I can see the finish line, and I get closer and closer, my smile gets wider and wider, and the photographer is there ready to take a picture. At this point, John and family are waiting there and give me a final shout of encouragement, at which point I get a final burst of energy and go faster, and I think as I cross the finish line, I am sticking my tongue out at John just at the moment my photograph is being taken!
My run over, I come back down to a walking pace, and get a fresh bottle of much needed water, and collect my race t-shirt, and off I go to find John and Mr UKBuses, albeit with a slight limp. As I find them, I enquire as to what my time was, and it was just over one hour and seven minutes - (John completed his run in 56 minutes), a shame about the seven minutes, but I'm happy with that, and I think if it wasn't for "The Sheepwalks" gradient that slowed me down to a crawl, I might have been under the hour mark. We all make our way back to the leisure centre, but not with the same pace as I had earlier, it is here that John says his goodbyes, and it looks like Mr UKBuses has given him the right set of keys. I take this opportunity to have a quick change inside the facilities and then it is back to Mr UKBuses car. We make our way out of the car park, with John passing us just before we move, and Mr UKBuses drives back to Stourbridge, whilst I rest my legs. We decide to have a quick one in The Gigmill, a drink that refreshes me as I have definitely earned this one. I also find out that while I was mountain climbing, Mr UKBuses had returned to his car and had a nap. Drink finished, we make our way out and off home I go. Mr UKBuses then kindly tells me to get in the car and he gives me a lift to the front door, even though it is in the opposite direction from the way he was going, but I'm glad he did, my legs were now starting to seize up.
A lovely energetic day was had by myself and am happy with what I achieved. A big thank you to Mr UKBuses for the lift there and back (very much appreciated), and also to John for the encouragement, and a big thank you to them both for the support throughout the morning .... Cheers guys!
More information on Action Heart can be found at their website: http://www.actionheart.com/, Photographs from the event can be seen by clicking here.
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