My third time running this race, even though I wouldn’t be running GU36 this year, and I was determined to do better than the previous two times. This would be a way of confirming that my change in training routine is making a difference. As I’d run about 2.5 laps last year, my goal was to run at least 3 laps this time, and to average around 07:30/mi. My biggest goal I think really was to beat last year’s time of 02:33:53.

In training I’ve been doing 08:30/mi for longer runs, making sure they’re at a very easy pace. Whilst I’ve been able to cover 19 miles in training without walking, that didn’t have the sort of hills this route did, and I couldn’t be sure what running this distance at that pace would feel like now. Even more so after developing a niggle in my left knee after attempting a mid-week 12 mile run at that pace the week before.

Only a few days before this race I found the course had changed for this year, it would now start at the athletics club as well, and the route would be done in reverse. To add in that extra distance required there’d be a little side street we’d run down and back on the first lap.

We set our alarms for 07:00 had breakfast, and was out just after 08:00 and parked up at the Ruislip Lido once again. I made sure I paid for the parking this time after Carmen did last year. There was still a slight chill in the air, but it was manageable with an extra later, but it looked like there was some promise of the sun coming out later.

We walked to the athletics club, and collected our numbers. The bag drop was a bit chaotic though and had a much longer queue than the toilet queue! They seemed to sort this about ten minutes before the start and the queue moved quickly after that.

I didn’t really have much time to think between that and the start of the race about what laid ahead. With a race as hilly as this, maybe that’s a good thing. It’s a short incline from the start until you reach the first turn, and from there it’s a short down hill to the turning you do just once, and then after that it’s a fairly reasonable incline up to another turn. At the first turn, a car tried to follow the runners down the road, and the marshal told the driver “either slow down, or find a different way round.” I found it amusing, but I didn’t realise then that this would be the first of many impatient drivers over the next couple of hours.

At the top of the first incline, the turn from there goes around a bend to a crossing where there’s then an alleyway through to the bottom of another incline. This one is a bit steeper, and feels like it lasts a little longer. It levels off a little as we have to change which side of the road we’re on, and then after a short descent and climb, it’s around the corner to the first water station. On this first lap I decided not to bother.

The next hill, just after another left turn, is probably the worst one in this variation of the course. It felt like quite an effort to get up this one, and I wondered if I was going to manage this at least two more times. If I failed in my target, I felt it would be on this hill. I pushed on though, and made it to the top, and from there could recover my breath in a a gradual decline down to Joel Street. That descent was very welcome.

When the course levelled out, and headed back to the main road, my legs felt strangely tired. My left knee wasn’t feeling too great after a couple more turns where you leave the main road and come back to it. On that last road crossing before the main road, where you can see runners from earlier in the course, I slipped off the pavement when I was about to cross before a car decided to drive through; it’d caused me to second-guess crossing, and I tried to change my direction of travel too quickly. I stayed standing, was still moving forwards, and fortunately managed to avoid injuring my foot as it twisted round.

There was then a right turn with a slight descent, and another road crossing which was really well marshalled, and then a very very slight climb as the road curved around to another turn, and the second drinks station. This time I decided a quick sip of water was needed. After that you find yourself turning right onto the main road again for a short but sharp ascent to start the second lap.

Over the next couple of laps I saw one car reverse into another car, and Iceland van decide to accelerate up the road into the path of runners trying to cross as the van had ignored the marshals. I just plodded on though, not really looking at my watch. On the third lap I lapped one of Carmen’s friends on the second hill, and when I reached Joel Street, the sun had come out. I started to wonder how hard the final lap might be based on that. Though that was short lived when I read the sign for a vet, I wondered who the Joel was for which the vet and the street are named, but I got lost in thought trying to say ‘veterinary’ in my head, but it coming out as ‘vetinerary’. I was still thinking this by the time I was running along Celandine Route, and was repeating both variations like some annoying ear worm

When I got back onto Eastcote Road though, it felt like I was running too slowly, but in reality, every mile except this one had been under my target of 7:30/mi. It didn’t really matter that I’d done one that was 9 seconds over. At least my knee wasn’t feeling too bad now, even if my legs were feeling tired from these hills.

Eventually I made it onto the last hill before the start of the final lap, and I wondered if I could manage to run the whole thing. I kept on running, and felt like maybe I could. I saw a car pull off a drive in front of me, and a runner went round the back. The driver signalled to me to do the same, so I did.

“Don’t you hit my car,” I could hear the driver shouting at the other runner. He didn’t even look back, and just shouted “come here and say that.” It wasn’t too long after this that I then felt like I couldn’t quite get to the top of this hill running. I walked briefly, and then got running again.

Whilst the first mile of the fourth lap was on par for the rest of my miles so far, the miles that remained were not quite to plan. I walked briefly on each hill and lost a few minutes between them. By the time I was on Joel Street for the last time I thought I had no chance of hitting my target of a sub-2hr 30 time. At least I’d hit the target of running three out of four laps though.

When I got to Eastcote Road though, I noticed I’d got a couple of minutes remaining before hitting the 2hr30 mark, and I thought maybe I could get close to it at least. I sped up and pushed myself to keep going. I walked a bit more and thought I’d lost it, but got running again, and checked my watch. I’d got about thirty seconds to go. I started to count down in my head, and then I could see the final turn into the Athletics Club ahead. As I got there I thought I’d ran out of time, but then saw on the clock it saying 02:49:55. I’d got seconds to do it! I quickly covered the ground and crossed the finish line. It was a gun time of 2:29:57, and a chip time of 2:29:45. Whichever way I looked at it, I’d achieved both goals. Maybe my change in training was helping me get back to the speeds I used to manage after all.

I finished 91st out of 201 finishers, and was 30th in my age category. I then collected the finishers medal, and a bottle of water before sitting down for a bit before collecting my bag to put on something warm. I then found a spot to wait for Carmen from. When she finished, she got a PB again!