2017 seasons on the run - reviewing my running year

2017 is drawing to a close and once again my personal running calendar has been largely synchronised with the seasons of British athletics club culture. The weekly cycle of Tuesday club session, Saturday race, Sunday long run inserted in the larger annual cycles of Winter cross country, Spring road running/marathon, Summer track and back around to the start of cross country again in the Autumn. This would be largely familiar to the runners of a century ago, probably the only significant change in the last ten years has been the addition of a weekly parkrun into many's Saturday routines, and annual parkrun landmarks over the midwinter holiday period.

So like many others my 2017 started off with a double parkrun on New Year's Day (in my case Peckham Rye followed by Hilly Fields) and has come to an end with a Christmas Day parkrun at Hilly Fields, my home parkrun in Lewisham and recently ranked in a Run Britain analysis as the joint 7th toughest parkrun course out of 300 in the UK.

elf on my shoulder at Hilly Fields parkrun, Christmas Day 2017

In between highlights have included:

- January - Surrey League XC at Mitcham Common;  Southern Cross Country Champs at Parliament Hill (me pictured below at end of 1st lap in Southerns).

- February - English National Cross Country Champs in Nottingham; final race of 2016/17 Surrey League XC at Wimbledon Common.
- April - London Marathon; Paddock Wood Half Marathon; start of Assembly League at Beckenham Place Park.
- May - Assembly League at Victoria Park.
- June - Kent AC 800m and 3000m club champs; Assembly League in Battersea Park.

800m champs



Some of the Kent AC crew at Battersea Park for Assembly League

- July - Assembly League at Victoria Park; Bewl 15, Dulwich Runners Midsummer Relays.
- September - Southern Road Relays at Crystal Palace; Assembly League finale at Beckenham Place Park; Ladywell 10,000m; Kent AC 5000m champs; Marsha Phoenix 10k relays.

Marsha Phoenix 10k relay, Hilly Fields - low key charity fundraiser,
our two teams came 2nd and 3rd and won free fish and chips at Brockley Rock!

- October - Start of cross country season with Surrey League Division One race at Reigate Priory.
- November - Surrey League Cross Country at Mitcham Common.
- December - Kent Vets Cross Country at Dartford.


In terms of my own running it has definitely been a year of two halves. The first half of the year saw some of my hardest ever training rewarded with  PBs in the half marathon (1:34 at Paddock Wood) and in the London Marathon (3:34), as well as in 800m and 3000m in club champs.. For a little while after my good form was sustained, but by the summer it felt like the wheels had fallen off. Maybe the heavy winter/spring mileage eventually took its toll, but I've had a tender achilles/ankle for most of the second half of the year, with various other aches and pains. Not enough to stop me running altogether but certainly enough to slow me down significantly. Low point was Kent AC 10,000m champs where I could feel myself limping and struggling to get round.

Athletics is a mercilessly exact sport in confirming exactly how far we have fallen - I know for instance that my Kent Vets time this month was two minutes and 12 seconds slower over the same 5 mile course than a year earlier. My 5k parkrun time is also about 90 seconds down. It's a bit demoralising but I guess I have been fortunate as a V50 runner to have previously had four years of injury free improvement. It does make you focus on why you run - good for age times and PBs can't be everything and even on some of my poorer days I have really enjoyed running in new places. I loved running down through the woods in Reigate cross country for instance and round Bewl reservoir in the sun. Also enjoyed checking out some different parkruns, including doing a couple in the middle of long Marathon training runs across London. Not to mention exploring Lisbon.

Mile End parkrun, February 2017

Fulham parkrun, March 2017

Of course even when you're not running well yourself you can still enjoy watching others run. As an athletics spectator the highlight for me was a night at the World Championships at the ex-Olympics Stadium on August. It was great to see some of my favourite athletes up close in action, including Laura Muir, Faith Kipyegon, Jenny Simpson, Sifan Hassan (all in womens 1500m final), Allyson Felix (in 200m heats pictured below), Jack Green, Karsten Warholm and Sophie Hitchon. Most enjoyable moment was the men's 110m hurdles final, won by Jamaica's Omar McLeod. I was sitting two seats behind his mum so it was pretty joyful.

Night of 10,000m PBs (view below from beer tent) at Highgate gets better every year, 2017 incorporating the British trials for the World Champs.  Our Kent AC contingent gave some fairly rowdy support as Beth Potter won the fantastic women's race and Andy Vernon the men's.

I was proud too of my club's Ladywell 10,000m champs in September. Even if my personal race wasn't great, the event was a big step forward for the club with beer, music and some very competitive fields. It was great to see Katrina Wooton (pictured) run the fastest UK women's 10,000m this year (31.45) - and become the 11th fastest UK woman of all time - on my home track.

Kent AC continues to grow and get stronger. Although I only occasionally score for the club in vets events I enjoy being part of the big squad we manage to turn out in races. This year the club has won the men's Surrey cross country league, the men's and women's Assembly League, and in the English Marathon championships the women won team gold and the men silver - thanks to more than 50 taking part in the London Marathon, 29 finishing in less than three hours. I've got a bit more involved in the organisational side of the club, taking on the joint role of child welfare officer (taking my work home maybe as I work in children's services) as well as editing the sporadic newsletter.

So after 1400+ miles this year, on to 2018. I don't have any running goals as yet other than seeing a physio and getting back to some kind of form if I can. I do have a place in the first Big Half in March, the new London 13 miler organised by the London Marathon team. Although I have a good for age qualifying time for this race, I don't expect to do much more than jog round with current fitness but still hope to take part in what should be an iconic event.

Happy New Year and good luck with your running in 2018!

Running on Screen- The A Word and Atypical

The A Word

I mentioned here before that in the BBC's autism-themed drama The A Word, Christopher Eccleston plays  a keen fell runner. In Series Two, first broadcast in November 2017, the producers created a fictional 'High Tarn Fell Race' as the scene for a personal crisis. The 'race' was staged at Thirlmere in the Lake District, and features members of Keswick AC and other local running clubs as extras.


Eccleston enjoys running in the hills in real life and it shows. He has also run marathons - including London Marathon 2012 in 4:17:43 - and the 2005 Great North Run half in a creditable 1:27:19

Previous three photos - The 'High Tarn Fell Race' in the A-Word Series 2, Epsode 4

(including last two location shots from Times and Star)

(you can watch episode on BBC iplayer until 10 pm on 28 December 2017)

Christopher Eccleston in London Marathon
(not sure what year)

Atypical

Coincidentally running is also a significant thread in the equally excellent  2017 Netflix series Atypical, which like the A-word explores the impact of autism on a family, this time in a US setting. Brigette Lundy-Paine plays Casey, a keen track and field competitor, whose brother has autism. She is offered an elite school place after setting a 400m track record, but her relationship with her father and sometime coach is put under strain when he misses her performance while distracted by her brother.

Previously in the Running on Screen series:

Running to David Bowie - Frances Ha/Mauvais Sang

Undercover, the A Word (Series 1) & How to Stay Young
Jodie Whittaker from London Marathon to Dr Who (& Broadchurch)

Stick Man's Christmas Running Adventure

Run Lola Run and running Berlin

Walford Half Marathon (Eastenders)

A Running Row in Eastenders

Grey's Anatomy Coaching Advice

T2 Trainspotting
God Help the Girl

Race Strategy in The (US) Office

Top of the Lake (also featuring Elisabeth Moss running) and The Fall
China Crisis - Wishful Thinking
The Running Man (1987)
Muybridge's Runner, 1887

The Casual Vacancy

From Darkness

London Spy

New Blood

Fleabag

#metoo shakes Swedish Athletics

The #metoo movement of women disclosing and challenging sexual harassment and abuse is currently shaking the world of Swedish athletics.

Moa Hjelmer - who won 400m gold at the 2012 European Championships - revealed last month that in 2011 she was raped by an older athlete at the Finnkampfen - the annual athletics competition between Sweden and Finland.



Moa Hjelmer's announcement on instagram

Since then several other women have come forward and made similar disclosures, and there is a growing tide of support from women across Swedish sports.  Among those expressing their solidarity with Hjelmer has been sprint hurdler Susanna Kallur (world indoor record holder for 60m hurdles) who posted this picture on Instagram with the message 'the patriarchy falls within your lifetime'.



Susanna Kallur's message on instagram

(first heard about this via B9ace on twitter)

Crystal Palace sports facilties still under threat

The future of sports facilities in  Crystal Palace park remain uncertain, with the Mayor of London/Greater London Authority still considering plans that would demolish the current athletics stadium and indoor running track and reduce other indoor and outdoor sporting facilities at the National Sports Centre, which also include a 50m pool, diving and training pools.


The Crystal Palace Sports Partnership (CPSP) is co-ordinating the campaign to keep facilities at a similar level. Nearly 6000 people have already signed their petition to 'Save athletics - and  sports - at Crystal Palace'. Everyone accepts that there will be change of some kind, but the CPSP is arguing 'for a mixed-use sports and leisure centre at Crystal Palace - a sustainable facility that is shared by the local community, schools, clubs and aspiring athletes at all levels. It should be a resource that caters for the needs of recreational users as much as it provides for and supports the development of the next generation of Olympic athletes'.


The latest development is that the GLA has appointed Neil Allen Associates consultants to evaluate the demands and needs for sports facilities at Crystal Palace NSC. They are due to report back before the end of February 2018.

Start of senior women's race in South of England Road Relays at Crystal Palace, September 2017

I had the pleasure of running at Crystal Palace in the Southern 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays back in September. The course started in the stadium before heading round the park and back into the stadium for a final stretch on the track to the handover. While there were some issues with the organisation of the event, and some facilities definitely need investment (starting with the toilets), it's a great venue for athletics and of course as a runner it was a privilege to be able to run on the iconic track graced by everyone from Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Paula Radcliffe to Usain Bolt and Mo Farah.


See previously


Save Crystal Palace for Athletics... and Popular Culture
Save Athletics at Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace Dinosaur Dash
Gentlemen vs Amateurs at Crystal Palace, 1872

Phyllis Green: 1920s Peckham athlete (plus some Peckham Rye running history)

I did Peckham Rye parkrun again at the weekend, with about  around 250 people doing a 5k in an area that  can claim to be one of the birth places of modern English athletics. Some of the runners were from established local running clubs like Kent AC or Dulwich Runners, some from informal local groups like Runhead AC (who run every Tuesday from the Beer Shop in Nunhead), many just enjoying being part of the parkrun crew. But it is two of the oldest established London clubs, no longer based in the area,  who trace their origins back to Peckham Rye:

'South London Harriers was formed on 27th December, 1871 at a meeting in the Vivian Hotel, at 34 Philip Road (now known as Philip Walk), Peckham Rye, SE15. There was a similar Club close by in Peckham Rye, which was founded at "The King's Arms", as Peckham Hare & Hounds in October 1869, before soon changing its name to Peckham Amateur Athletic Club (PAAC). It later moved to "The Rye House", and in July 1878 moved from the Peckham Rye area to become the Blackheath Harriers' (SLH: A Brief History)

Both clubs moved away from Peckham as it became more urbanised, but are still going strong elsewhere. SLH  has its  clubhouse in Coulsdon, while Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC is  based at the Norman Road track in Bromley (and with a clubhouse in Hayes).

A notable Peckham athlete was a pioneer women's jumper and the first to clear five feet in the high jump. Phyllis Green (1908-99) was born at 12 Rye Lane where her father Henry Green managed the undertakers. He was a member of Peckham Harriers so no doubt encouraged his daughter who as a 17 year old at Peckham High School for Girls 'set her first world best of 1.51 metres at London's Stamford Bridge in June 1925, and equalled that mark in Brussels a month later. She raised it by half an inch when winning the WAAA title at Stamford Bridge on 11 July 1925, becoming the first woman to clear 5 feet (1.52 metres).  At another London venue, Chiswick, she improved her world best to 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 in) in 1926 and her highest ever jump was 1.58 metres (5 ft 2¼ in) at the 1927 WAAA championships off a grass take-off at Reading’ – the end of a short but successful competitive career . She also held the British long jump record for a while and her personal best of 5.52 metres in 1927 was only 5 cm short of the then world record.  She told a reporter in 1925 that ‘I have always jumped from the time I learned to walk…'I never went round an obstacle—I always jumped over it.' (source:  Mel Watman, Women athletes between the world wars, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2012)

These were the early days of women’s athletics - the Women’s Amateur Athletics Association was only founded in 1922, and Phyllis Green belonged to the London Olympiades Athletics Club, the first women’s club, set up in 1921 in a period when many running clubs only admitted male members.

The only picture I have found of Phyllis Green is an etching by Percy Smith (1882-1948), held in the collection of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

(see Running Past for details of the first WAAA championships, held at Downham in 1923)

The Running Sky - of birds, books & runners in rotation

In Nottingham's Wollaton Park after this year's English National Cross Country Championships, there was a moment as the sun was going down when a large number of crows (yes I know the collective noun is 'A Murder') began circling above the hill where shortly before thousands of runners had circled on the last lap of their races. It felt like they were echoing the cross country race itself, though presumably they do it all year round, the park being home to 'a large corvid roost made up of rook, jackdaw, and carrion crow' (wikipedia)

It reminded me of a passage I'd read earlier that  day in Tim Dee's The Running Sky: A Birdwatching Life, describing not crows but a similar flight of seabirds:

'To see vast numbers of birds in silent movement is beautifully strange. In this crowd of so many moving things, the eye leaps constantly from individuals to the whole event. These are not flocks but countless single birds caught in a storm of life. Individuals fly fast but the ensemble seems to be moving at dream speed. The rush of the single bird somehow slows in the crowd. I cannot focus for long on a puffin with its hurrying wings in the wheeling cloud; instead I see a tumbleweed of birds rolling out from their grassed lawns and terraces over a gulf of air, a slow motion collective rotation'.

I’d been reading this book on the journey up to Nottingham – with a title like the Running Sky it got some curious looks on a train full of runners. But of course it is not a running book but a reflection on the author's lifetime fascination with birds.

While I have never been a fully fledged adult birdwatcher, I was and am interested in them as I have mentioned before. At primary school an enthusiastic teacher enrolled me in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' Young Ornithologists Club, something I recalled recently when I went to a bird themed art exhibition at the old library building on Walworth Road, near the Elephant and Castle (the building, which housed the Newington library and Cuming Museum has been closed following a fire, hopefully it will fully reopen permanently in the not too distant future).

From 'Natural Selection', Andy Holden and Peter Holden

Natural Selection combines the scientific perspective of Peter Holden, sometime national organiser of the Young Ornithologists Club, and the work of his artist son Andy Holden who is as interested in the aesthetic properties of birds, their nests and indeed the illicitly curated hordes assembled by illegal egg collectors.  Without undue anthropomorphism he wonders whether in some circumstances individual birds make choices about their use and display of materials in a way that can be regarded as akin to artistic activity. 

The display includes a case of birds nests arranged on piles of books - the importance of which cannot be overestimated. A recent thread on Twitter started by nature writer Robert Macfarlane asked people to share which bird, animal and plant books they had learnt from as children. It reminded me of how much those of us with childhoods before the Internet or even widespread colour TV relied upon books like the Observer's Book of Birds and the various Ladybird bird books among others. In fact it was in some ways the colourful plenitude of these lavishly illustrated volumes that made bird life seem so appealing, even if most of us would only get to see a handful of the species in the feather and flesh. I was particularly taken by a series of early 1970s 'Hamlyn All Colour Paperbacks' illustrated by Ken Lilly, I still have my copies of Seabirds and Birds of Prey, though along the way have lost my Tropical Birds.

In the wild, birds are rarely to be viewed in fine detail up close and still, but as we catch glimpses we fill in the gaps in our visual perception with the mental images we have stored from drawings and photographs. But no bird book can really capture the social phenomenon of flocks of birds in 'slow motion collective rotation', like runners racing around a field. And what does the birds eye make of the crowd of humans down below as they jostle for position, each dwelling in their individual exertions and largely oblivious to the pattern they create as they weave in and out of each other, moving together and separately at the same time. 

(The Running Sky takes its title from a Philip Larkin poem, which rather gloomily asserts the pointlessness of dreaming of flying or running as loss and loneliness are all that await...

'If hands could free you, heart,

Where would you fly?

Far, beyond every part

Of earth this running sky

Makes desolate? Would you cross

City and hill and sea,

If hands could set you free?

I would not lift the latch;

For I could run

Through fields, pit-valleys, catch

All beauty under the sun—

Still end in loss:

I should find no bent arm, no bed

To rest my head'.

Natural Selection continues until 26 November 2017, I strongly recommend going to see it (visitor details here) 

On a similar theme to ‘Natural Selection’ here's the wonderful Band of Holy Joy with the Observer's Book of Birds Eggs:
'it was the first book I ever owned, the Observer's book of birds eggs, fully illustrated and described in natural colours, and yay it was mine. I devoured every page from the hooded crow to the ptarmigan' (incidentally lead singer Johny Brown ran the Royal Parks Half last month after doing the Great North Run last year).

Nature is your guide - pathfinding without GPS

'Nature is your guide: how to find your way on land and sea by observing nature' by Harold Gatty (1903-1957) was first published in 1958, and was later republished as 'Finding your way without map or compass'.  

Tasmania-born Gatty was an experienced navigator himself, flying around the world with Wiley Post in a record-breaking eight days in 1931 and in the Second World War writing the US military's 'Raft Book' with survival tips for those adrift at sea in life rafts.

 'Nature is your guide' expanded on the Raft Book to provide a fascinating compendium of ways in which people can find their way not just by observation of the sun, moon and stars but by paying attention to other natural phenomena such as birds, weather, trees and the patterns of snow fields and sand dunes. Among the many other 'Methods of pathfinding' he mentions include 'the study of reflections in the sky,… The direction of the prevailing wind, the observation of wind polished rocks and of the movements of high clouds, the directions of sun and shadows'.

Did you know that termite mounds in the desert areas of Australia are almost always oriented north-south? Probably more useful in the UK, many trees 'develop more foliage on the side which receives most sunlight', so in the northern hemisphere 'oak and beech trees in exposed positions are more heavily branched and have greater foliage on the south side'.

Sailors, nomads and other travellers have used these methods for thousands of years, but these skills have largely died out because with modern navigational aids they have become obsolete. I have a compass now on my phone, not to mention GPS mapping - but what would we do if  left to our own devices? (or rather left without our devices).

There is some archaic language in this book about 'primitive' people, but the author's point is that their skills in pathfinding were not due to biological differences such as possession of a mysterious 'sixth sense' of direction but to their acute observations of the natural world and their development of 'mental maps'.

For runners much of this pathfinding lore would probably only be useful on long unmarked trails in remote areas, though being able to know what direction you are heading in without GPS or compass could be a lifesaver in some situations.

In non-threatening circumstances I was pleased recenlty to be able to find my way lost in the woods by observing the direction of a stream, other than that the only use I have made of this knowledge is to run the shortest distance between two points.

As Gatty notes, moving in a straight line is not as easy as it seems and people who are lost often end up walking in circles - 'in walking almost every person tends to veer in one direction or another in a consistent way... this error is due in most cases to the difference in length of any individual's two legs'. In trail blazing,  'The traveller must pick out distant landmarks and work to them or by them. It is elementary practice to find two landmarks ahead and line them up, and to do the same thing looking back. Back marks are just as important as, if not more important than, fore marks' for finding your way home.

I have got into the mental habit now when I am racing of looking ahead to the most distant point on the course in a straight line ahead and then finding another nearer point which lines up with it - such as a divot or a bush  - and then heading towards that. Of course I only use points that are actually on the course - no sneaky short cuts for me!

Get set for Cross Country - with Future Islands and Sampha

Seems like only yesterday we were sweating around the track on summer evenings, and now the cross country season is upon us again. Not feeling particularly fit myself, but looking forward to the start of the Surrey League at Reigate Priory tomorrow. Here's some musical inspiration for all the cross country crew, wherever you are.

'Ran' by  Future Islands came out earlier this year, the video featuring the permanently agitated singer Samuel T. Herring running across fields and through the woods around their native Baltimore- though can't help feeling if he'd been wearing a vest and shorts he could have kept running a bit longer, as he seems to have run out of steam by the end.

'On these roads

Out of love, so it goes

How it feels when we fall, when we fold

How we lose control, on these roads

How it sings as it goes

Flight of field, driving snow

Knows the cold

Ran round the wailing world'

(Future Islands, Ran, 2017)

Sampha

Meanwhile Blood on Me by 2017 Mercury Prize winner Sampha has the soulful South Londoner (he's from Merton) running on both a greyhound track and through a barley field before he collapses.

A bit more suitably attired for athletics than Sam Herring, he nevertheless also has too many layers on for sustained endurance!

'I got lost astray

In this forest runnin' away'

(Sampha, Blood on Me, 2016)

See previously:

Musicians in Motion -

Norman Cook/Fatboy Slim at Brighton Half

Emma Jackson (ex-Kenickie) and Johny Brown (Band of Holy Joy) at Great North Run

Gilles Peterson at New York Marathon

Dexys Midnight Runners, Running

Running with Madonna

Joe Strummer: Marathon Runner

Morrissey and Marr: The Running Smiths

Viv Albertine (The Slits) on Running

Stuart Murdoch/Belle & Sebastian

Billy McKenzie/The Associates
Northern Soul and Running as the New Raving

Record Sleeve Athletics:

Musique - Keep on Jumpin'

4-Play - Olympic Rap

Sergio Mendes - Olympia

Giorgo Moroder - Reach Out

Skids - Days in Europa
Three Degrees - The Runner

Blackbyrds - Action

Santana - Marathon

Joan Armatrading - Track Record & Roxy Music - Flesh and Blood

Carl Lewis

BBC Sporting Sound Effects

The Art of Athletics (10): Hank Willis Thomas and Julian Opie at Frieze

The Frieze Art fair, held in a temporary marquee in London’s Regents Park every October, is like a contemporary art version of a Marathon expo. You start off like a kid in a toy shop– so many stalls, so much to see, all this stuff you really like under one roof. Then, after about an hour of wandering around, you feel hot, dehydrated, overstimulated and in desperate need of some fresh air. In between you can have a good time! There are some differences– for instance, at the Marathon expo there is no Deutsche bank wealth management lounge. Running is relatively cheap unless you get on the World Majors Marathon circuit, and it's not quite up there with the art market as an opportunity to recycle dubiously acquired cash.

Hank Willis Thomas

 Anyway there was plenty, in fact more than plenty of work of interest at this years Frieze. On the sporting front there was Hank Willis Thomas's Faith - a basketball balanced on praying hands.

The American artist has previously made some challenging work drawing comparisons between the treatment of black athletes and slavery, including 'Strange Fruit' which shows a basketball player hanging as if lynched, and the self-explanatory 'basketball and chain' (2003).

There's also his marvellously titled 'An Unidentified Jamaican Boy Used the Puma H Street Running Shoe to Run for his Freedom'

Julian Opie

Julian Opie is probably best known outside of the art world for his images of Blur for the sleeve of the ''Best of' compilation album (2000). On display/sale at Frieze 2017 was his 'Soldier', a continuous digital animation of a woman running.

This is only one of a series of athletics-inspired work he has made. In fact this image featured in a whole running themed exhibition in Oslo in 2015. The titles 'Soldier', 'Doctor', 'Taxi Driver' presumably refer to the day jobs of the runners. All of which makes me think Opie may be a runner himself, though he's not on Power of 10!

Julian Opie, Joggers.1. (2015)

Cory Arcangel's Three Stripes made a good photo background for anyone sporting Adidas, which as usual included me.  A critical reflection on brands or just more branded content? You decide!

Young Girl Running on a Balcony - Giacomo Balla

David Hockney on Jogging and Swimming

John Cale - Dreaming in Vertigo

Malevich and Matisse

Daisy de Villeneuve's Run Colour Run

Jindřich Heisler, Czech surrealist

Chris Ofili - For the Unknown Runner

Martin Creed's Work 850

Julian Opie runner at #friezelondon pic.twitter.com/2reOCDoBGH

— Neil Go Feet (@GoFeetBlog) 7 October 2017

Come to the Ladywell 10,000m

This Sunday 3rd September I will be running in the Ladywell 10000m, my first time running this distance on the track on what should be a great day out at Lewisham's Ladywell Arena.

This is the biggest event of the year for my club, Kent AC, who are based at the track. There will be six races, the first starting at 3 pm and the last at 7:30 pm, with some top club runners at the faster end chasing down times of around 30 minutes.

Highgate Harriers' Night of 10000m PBs has shown that it is possible to make watching long distance running a great day out. Seeing people giving it their all as the races unfold gradually over 25 laps, while hanging out having a drink, is a great way to spend a day. Ladywell might not be on quite the same scale as Highgate, but a lot of effort has gone in to making this a memorable event. There will be food and drink from the West Norwood based London Beer Company, and as at Highgate people will be encouraged to get close to the action to cheer on the runners.


The Ladywell 10000m represents another step forward in the revival of grass roots running in London and beyond. Following a period when some of the events organised by national bodies had become lacklustre and routine, events like Night of 10000m PBs (initiated by Highgate's Ben Pochee), Orion Harriers' Fast Friday, the Soar mile at Battersea, Hercules Wimbledon 5k night, not to mention British Milers Club events, are putting some energy and excitement back into track racing. Arguably this is a perfect time for this revival, with a new wave of people coming into club running via parkrun and looking to take the next steps on to faster times and competitive racing.

The track is behind Lewisham Hospital, come along and check it out, it's free admission. If you are a runner in SE London and looking to improve further, you might want to see the local club in action and see if it's for you- we cater for everyone from parkrun improvers to Olympians.

Check out this great short film of the Ladywell Arena, posted on twitter by Olympic 400m runner Conrad Williams, who belongs to the club:

Best track in South London @Kent__AC 👌🏾 pic.twitter.com/sdgTCSsMZa

— conrad williams (@cwilliams400) 22 August 2017

Running in Lisbon

Lisbon is a great city for a holiday - good food, drink, largely unspoilt old buildings and streets in the centre, great art galleries and museums, and beaches within easy reach by cheap public transport. But what's it like to run in?

Well like all hot places in the summer, it's best to run early in the morning. I found that by 7:30 am in August it was already getting uncomfortably hot to run,  but in any case in a busy tourist destination you need to be out early to avoid the crowds and traffic. As in most cities, early on the only people on the streets are runners and clubbers from the night before.

The other factor is that, like Rome, Lisbon is a city built on seven hills. As I will explain, there are some flatter runs possible, but not too many.

'Build sofas not walls' - sand sculpture

Lisbon sits on the River Tagus where it runs into the Atlantic so the most straightforward flat route is to run along the river. I started out on my first day at the riverfront in front of Praça do Comércio (a main square in the centre) and just turned right and headed west. You can stay on the riverbank for large parts of the run, in places there are docks and other fenced off places that push you away from the river, but it's easy enough to follow paths parallel to the river until you can rejoin it. If you're worried about getting lost, just wait until another runner comes along and follow them - there's a steady stream in the morning.

I ran for about three miles to the Ponte 25 de Abril (25 April bridge), a Golden Gate style suspension bridge which crosses the river  - it takes its current name from the revolt of 25 April 1974 that ended more than 40 years of fascist-style dictatorship. And no you can't run across it, it's strictly for vehicles except during the annual Lisbon Half Marathon where it forms part of the course.

Other runners take the train from Cais do Sodre train station to Belem a bit further along the river (where many of the museums/galleries are) from where you can run out beyond the city and along the coast out to the beaches to the west.

Not so flat, but not too much of an incline is the Avenida da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue), a tree lined and therefore relatively shady boulevard heading north west from Rossio square. This is a good run of over 1 km before you reach a park, Parque Eduardo VII. As with many of Lisbon's streets you are running on tiles or cobbles which are not always as even as they appear - so lift those knees up!

Avenida da Liberdade



In the park on the east side (the right side if you are coming up from city centre) is the Carlos Lopes pavillion, a  1920s building renamed in honour of the Portuguese winner of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Marathon in 2:09:21. Apparently there is a small permanent exhibition inside including his running shoes from 1984, but unfortunately  the building was closed when I visited. 

Carlos Lopes Pavillion

Parque Eduardo VII

Getting to the highest point in Lisbon up by the castle does mean some serious step climbing - once again best earlier not just because of the heat but because heading up through the old town Alfama district means negotiating narrow streets which can get quite crowded, not to mention dodging trams. Easy to get lost but if you come up from the river front as long as you are going uphill you are going in approximately the right direction. Don't stress about losing your GPS signal amidst the alleyways, that's goes with the territory.

Above and below - climbing up through Alfama district

The Baixa district consists of a grid of parallel streets that is similar to London's West End, with lots of globally familiar high street shops. These are a godsend to runners before they get busy, fairly flat, some pedestrianised and with the buildings casting some shade. One morning I just ran up and down the grid.

The arch at the bottom of Rua Augusta in Baixa district

As I mentioned before you can get the train - for a mere 5 Euros or so return - out the to the various beaches to the west of Lisbon. In most cases the train stops right next to the beach. We went to Estoril a couple of times, where I had a run along the front followed by swim in the sea.

Estoril

Another great thing about Lisbon is that having burnt off some calories running you can treat yourself to some of the finest pastries. Of course you can get a Pastel de nata (Portuguese custard tart) in many British cafes now. But can you buy them from places where you can choose just how burnt you want the top?!

Conclusion - go to Lisbon, and pack your running shoes.

Some of my Lisbon runs on Strava -

Along the river

Avenida da Liberdada

Baixa district

Up to the castle