The Color Run - London 2013

Today was the inaugural Color Run in London.

Billed as "The happiest run on Earth" I was up for it.

Essentially it was a 5km run and every km you went through a paint station in order to have different coloured paint thrown at you with the aim to have each runner finish looking like a rainbow....sounds good to me!

The route took us around Wembley in North London....not inside the stadium but around the outside :-)

The atmosphere was great at the beginning and with the sun shining it promised to be a fun run! My friend Sonia who was also running told me the paint was sugar based so I was quite intrigued to actually taste some and thought perhaps if I were hungry on the way round then maybe I could lick myself for a little sugar high?!

On the second km paint station I did get some in my mouth and want to assure all future runners that it does not taste good so leave it to its primary purpose of looking pretty on your white clothing....

I am not 100% sure the route was a complete 5km as I finished in 17 minutes 2 seconds which would be a PB by over 1.5 minutes so I think it may have been just a little shorter....but I am going to take the time for now and still have a drink in the sun tonight!

It was great seeing all the runners at the end of the race....however; on my run home (alone) I realised perhaps it doesn't look as great when you are solo and covered in sugar based paint??

Photos below:

My first Park Run.....

I was up in the North West for a family wedding this weekend and had planned to go for a little jog in the morning before the big event. However; the night before my brother in law who is an avid fan of the Park Run in London had researched and found a Park Run taking place on the morning just 10 minutes drive from the hotel.

Perfect - a chance to try a 5km and actually have it timed :-)

The group were super friendly and the course was round a really nice lake (Delamere) and I managed to come 3rd out of 146 in a PB time of 18 minutes and 30 seconds.

It was well organised and has made me want to do the Park Runs in London.....

Tough Mudder

During a training session my trainer the topic of the Tough Mudder came up. Tough Mudder is an 11.5 mile run through mud, uneven terrain with a total of 21 obstacles along the way. It is marketed as “probably the toughest event on the planet”.  My trainer suggested that we consider entering together as we would make a good team to get through it as he clearly was very physically strong and I had stamina to keep going along the running part of the event. I thought why not…so we signed up. Only after doing this did I research the actual obstacles that would be in there and discovered it involved fire, ice baths, 15 foot walls and electricity. Shit the bed! What had I got myself into?! Training wise we were fit enough to do it (him especially) but I was very much bothered by having to crawl and run through water whilst getting electric shocks and signing a form actually called “death waiver” prior to being allowed to collect your race number. The night before the event I was extremely nervous and haven’t felt like that since the night before my first half marathon (the Great North Run) 7 years ago back in 2006. It was an early start to drive to the location just south of London but as the morning went on I started to relax a (very) little. Upon arrival at the event the atmosphere was electric…a sign of things to come. I relaxed a little during the warm up but then was a somewhat worried when I struggled to get over the warm up wall before the start….how the fuck was I going to make it over the real obstacles? What kept me going was the real sense of comradery at the start line and that everyone was really in the event to help each other get through it. If need be someone would need to push me over each obstacle (i.e. my trainer!) Once we were underway I relaxed and the first obstacles were not as bad as I had been expecting and I was enjoying climbing walls, crawling through mud under barbed wire, jumping into pools of water from a height and crawling under tanks and in tunnels. One I hadn’t been so worried about was the “funky monkey”. Monkey bars – how hard could that be…I used to love them as a child. Problem being that I hadn’t actually done them since childhood. I made it about half way across when I made the grave error of holding onto the bar with both hands. I knew there was no way out and hung there for a few seconds like Reverend Scott at the end of The Poseidon Adventure and then let go falling into another pool of murky water. The only one I found amazingly tough physically was where we needed to carry a log between us for what felt like a mile but was in fact probably about 500m! Before you knew it we arrived at the “electric eel” obstacle. It was a shallow pool about 15 metres long that had electric cables hanging above it. Essentially you had to move on your belly through the pool trying to avoid the cables. I quickly found out that I was not good at this and second by second I seemed to be getting shocked making my language progressively worse as I moved each inch. Apparently quite amusing to hear according to my trainer! Making it through I was relieved and continued to enjoy the other things in our path. Not long later we made it to the final one just at the finish line….electro shock therapy. More electricity?! I had to stop to gather my thoughts before running through the barrage of cables that stood between me and the end. Egged on by the crowd I made a run for it and again experienced shocks that I would not want to repeat but it was worth it…I was at the end and was given my Tough Mudder headband and a pint of Strongbow. Despite being so nervous before the event I thoroughly enjoyed it and am pleased as punch to have done it. Perhaps a career in the army is not out of the question should things in the travel industry go wrong?! Michael = one tough fairy and I have the coveted orange headband to prove it!

Some pics below:

Ealing Eagles 10km

Today was the second Ealing Eagle 10km in Gunnersbury Park.

Being a local race it meant I had a little extra time in bed which was welcome after the Eurovision last night (although how did Ireland and Romania not get more points?!)

Due to a crazy health and safety rule we were not allowed to wear headphones so it meant that I would have to make it round the run without my beloved cheesy tunes...

Being able to hear myself breathe (sounding rather unfit) was a little weird but the run was fun and I made it round finishing in 17th place out of 446.

My time was 37 minutes 50 seconds which was the exact same time as the race last year (?!) so maintaining my PB....maybe I will beat it one day!

Until next time....

City 10 done: Berlin

Last weekend I did the big Berlin 25km road race.....

At the start of the race I was a little nervous as it dawned on me 25km is quite far (a lot more than my most recent runs) but since it was the only time I had been in a race of this length it was guaranteed to be a personal best no matter what the result!

I was put in the first start wave for the run and this was the first time in any event that I was so close to the front that I actually saw the elite runners coming out and lining up on the start line. They look pretty fit.....

The start gun went and within a few seconds I was off listening to my “party pop” playlist. The route was pretty flat and went past many of the top attractions including the Brandenburg Gate. It really was a fantastic route and a wonderful way to see the city again. After the 10KM and half marathon runners split off from the 25KM route I found myself essentially running alone. The leaders were pretty far ahead of me and I didn’t seem to have any other competitors nearby me either. It almost felt like I had the city streets to myself (bar some supporters along the sidelines) which was brilliant. 

I can’t deny that it is a long race and took a lot of mental preparation and focus to not get distracted by how far it actually was to the end. However; soon enough the Olympic Stadium was in site so I knew we were on the home stretch. I have to say though that those last two kilometers were pretty hard, especially as you have to circumnavigate the entire stadium knowing that just inside is the finish line. Despite the torture of knowing it was so close it really did feel amazing to go into the tunnel into the stadium and hear the crowd the other side when you hit the track.  It was a real treat of a way to end a race (second only to the marathon in Athens.)

Upon crossing the finish line I knew I had done well but wasn’t expecting this result:

Time: 1 hour 36 minutes 57 seconds

Overall place: 21^st

Men’s place: 15^th

Age group (male 30) place: 2^nd

Very pleased with myself I celebrated with some beers on Charlie's Beach:

I also came home to the following email from my running coach:

Top run, just seen results and shows that you ran very close to your half marathon PB then continued at very similar pace (10 seconds per mile slower by my calculations) for a further 3.9k, so that's fine stuff. It's a big haul so do allow recovery. Bet you didn't expect to come 15th as you stood on the start line!

So that's city 10 done for the challenge and I am almost approaching the half way mark!

Some nice re-tweets and messages below:

Until next time.....

City 9 done: Antwerp

Last Sunday was the 10 mile run in Antwerp.

It was exciting to be back in Belgium to visit old friends and have the odd waffle or two (washed down with Belgian beer.)

Race day was a lovely and sunny afternoon (yes they have those in Belgium you know) which made me gently perspire but not to the point where I looked too awful at the finish line.

The run was due to start at 15:30 which is a slightly odd time as it meant I needed to eat lunch shortly after breakfast but to those that know me will understand I never turn down food.

The atmosphere was great and there were 25,000 runners. The route took in the lovely sites of the city and had us going under the river in various tunnels which whilst we fun going downhill were a little more tricky coming out the other side :-)

None the less I finished the race in 1 hour 2 minutes and 15 seconds which was just inside my PB (by 5 seconds) and placed me 225th. 

Another successful Olympic challenge and I rounded it off with a few Belgian beers and chocolate!

Can you spot me in the local paper:

To those that have not been to Antwerp put it on your list...it is a much overlooked city but it does boast good food, beer and lots of diamonds for the ladies....

Until next time....  

The Great Ireland Run

Today wast the Great Ireland Run in Dublin....I know not an Olympic city but still a worthy run!

I have spent the weekend enjoying Guinness, Irish Coffees and stories about Leprechauns which set me up nicely for the 10km race today!

The run was in the ridiculously massive and beautiful Phoenix Park. The weather has been dry but the wind has made me feel like I am living in the story "Winnie the Pooh and the blustery day".

The run itself was tough due to some hills and a ferocious headwind (which was genuinely 50 miles an hour) which actually brought tears to my eyes at one point.

None the less I crossed the line in a good time of 37 minutes and 57 seconds (just beating my goal of 38 minutes) and meaning I finished just 9 minutes behind the legendary runner (and world record holder at the 5km and 10km distance) Kenenisa Bekele who took first place. My final placing was 142 out of about 10,000 runners.

Now time for a baby Guinness I think to celebrate....

Next Olympic Challenge is Antwerp in 7 days. Will keep you posted!

:-)

City 8 done: Paris

Bonjour!

Today was the Paris half marathon. Paris being one of my favourite cities I was super excited to be back and ready to enjoy lots of bread and cheese as pre run stocking up.

Sadly being a good boy it didn’t involve any red wine but there’s always next time!

Some useful advice from the race booklet was to ensure I "cover my tits" with plasters. Childish as it is it made me chuckle!

The run started from the wonderful Château de Vincennes which despite my numerous trips to Paris I had not been to before.

The Château:

It was a beautiful blue sky today so running through the parks and along the Seine was absolutely stunning so I had not been concentrating on trying to get another PB.

However; with some good tunes going and a little support from the crowd I came home in 1 hour 20 minutes and 52 seconds placing me in 297th position out of 30,700.

A very happy me treated myself to the below healthy lunch afterwards:

After that I went for a walk in the stunning Pere Lachaise cemetery….trying to find both Oscar Wilde and Edith Piaf’s graves took some time so I now reckon my kilometers covered today is reaching 30km but it has all been worth it!

My race finisher medal:

And a few from my walk afterwards:

Another Olympic city down and just over a month until the next one….will keep you posted!

Au Revoir!

City 7 done: Eat, play and run in Rome….

Ciao!

The plan had been to take part in the Rome half marathon today.  Being in the perfect place to stock up on carbs via pizza and pasta what could have been better the following day than running the half marathon going past the Coliseum….

However; about two weeks ago I thought I would check the route of the race so went onto their website to discover it had a message in the header saying “save the new date  - 3/2/13”….WTF?!

Surely the date couldn't just randomly change?! As per the t-shirt that Madonna once sported “Italians do it better” so I presumed this would extend to the organization of an International run which would attract runners from all corners of the Globe?

But after a frantic email from me questioning that I must be mistaken about what I read the below response was received:

“Hi …unfortunally the Italian government decided to run the election day the 24^th of February and we had to move the race to the next Sunday, the 3 of March. Hope this is not a problem for you..”

Not a problem?! Are they kidding?!

Anyhow; within an hour I had organized a private run with a tour company that do running tours around Rome (www.sightjogging.it) so a run in the Olympic City of Rome was back on….

My guide took me on a 10km run around the city taking in sights like the Coliseum, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Castel Sant Angelo and over some beautiful bridges with views of the Tiber and St Peter’s Basilica.

Pictures from the run below (complete with the usual flag one):

Eat:

 Play:

Run:

So not quite a half marathon but still a good run in the city none the less J

Until Paris next week arrivederci!

City 6 done: Barcelona Half Marathon

Today I completed the Barcelona Half Marathon....my sixth Olympic City :-)

The day started well with a local breakfast I picked up from the corner shop of Bimbo (brilliant name for a bread) with Apricot Jam:

I came 225th out of 14,325 in a time of 1 hour 20 minutes and 7 seconds...

Another personal best time which I am very pleased with given the following reasons....

Firstly; last week I bought a new pair of trainers to run in today. On Monday I went for a run and realised that they did not cause blisters but more had ripped the entire layer of skin off both my ankles...lovely! So after emergency plaster buying and wearing the trainers all week to wear them in (including at work which I am pretty ashamed about) I reached today feeling confident that my feet were repaired and ready to go...

However; lack of ankle skin drama over and the race started well....up to the 5km water station when the guy behind me accidentally tripped on my foot and sent me flying to the floor. Giving Bear Grylls a run for his money and proving I can be quite tough (?!) I got straight back up and carried on without looking at my knees....as you can see from the below picture at the end they were a little bloody but I still managed the following 15km in record time:

Thought I should follow that photo with a slightly nicer one of my patched up complete with finisher's medal below:

Have had a lovely weekend in Barcelona and am looking forward to being back here in July for the World Diving Championships (not performing but just hoping for a glimpse of Mr. Daley)!

Some pictures from the weekend....

City view:

Local door:

If you look hard enough you can see the nod to the Barcelona '92 Olympics below the bottles:

That's it until Rome next week!

Some nice Tweets from Team GB athletes (including an Olympic Gold Medalist) on my return congratulating me on my time:

Polar Half Marathon...Tromsø

Today was the Polar Half Marathon in Tromsø, Norway.

Tromsø sits almost 70 degrees north so is inside the Arctic Circle. At this time of year it is pretty much dark all the time....sunrise today was about 10:30am and sunset by 2pm!

The weather was fairly warm at 1 degree centigrade with a wind chill factor making it -4 degrees :-)

I have to say I was a little nervous (and unprepared) to be running on a course that consisted entirely of ice and snow...particularly when the organiser said last night that he suggested everyone run in shoes with spikes on. Luckily there was a store in town that I could go to today to buy those...although after 16kms they do really start to rub on the toes!

Despite that it was a fun race and the entire route was marked by candlelight which was lovely to see. I did go wrong at one point but a marshal caught up with me to send me back!

I finished in a time of 1 hour 27 minutes 19 seconds (placing me 6th in my category of men aged 30-39) which is not too shabby given the terrain and my excessive eating and drinking over the last few weeks!

No sign of the Northern Lights yet but am keeping my eyes peeled.

They do a midnight sun half marathon here too if anyone fancies it?! Running at midnight in the light...maybe have to add to my list....

Some pictures form the race below:

 Medal:

Rare glimpse of the city in daylight:

Start Line:

Much like the yellow brick road....follow the candles....

Flame thrower at the start:

Now time for dinner and maybe a husky lead tour around the area tomorrow....

Some nice support of the blog below from a fellow runner and author of "Keep on Running":

Santa (not Satan) Run....

Today was the Santa run in Battersea Park....very cool to see 6,000 Santas all running at once and was a lovely crisp morning although it gets surprisingly toasty running in a red low quality suit...who knew?!

I finished the 6km route in 25 mins 27 seconds....you can still donate to the charity organising the event (Disability Snowsport) from my link below:

http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Long5

Ignore the fact on my fundraising page I put down that the event was called a Satan Run...quite a bad typo and there doesn't seem to be an option to edit that part of the page! Perhaps it's a good idea for a run on Halloween though?

                                                                       Start Line:

Finish Line

Santa's shop

Time for a mince pie...!

Nice support in the form of a re-tweet from a Team GB diver: