Robin Hood Half Marathon

Today I am doing my seventh Robin Hood Half Marathon, L is doing her ninth while Daughter and L’s sister are doing their first.

L also did the Marathon back in 2003 but sadly there is no Marathon at all this year. Yet they are still promoting the races as 'Marathon Events'...

The organisers have admitted that runners found the Marathon route boring and that there were not enough spectators around to cheer them on. Of course this sort of feedback from competitors was meant to spur the organisers on into organising a better Marathon, probably as a standalone event, but instead they have thrown the towel in. So no Marathon this year which must leave Nottingham in the embarrassing situation of being the largest UK city not to have a Marathon. Hopefully it will be back soon.

What Nottingham does have is a pretty decent half marathon course with a few challenging hills packed into the first three miles followed by the rewarding descent of Derby Road leading on to the remainder of the course which is predominantly flat-ish.

I have to be pleased with my time of 1:44:22 which is thirty seconds up on last year and my second quickest on this course behind a 1:43 in 2016. My fastest ever Nottingham was an insane 1:36 back in 2010 but that was on a very different course.

L and her sister run together but they are both trailing in Daughter’s wake who runs 2:23 at her first attempt. What’s more she even seems to enjoy it.

I could potentially have been even quicker had it not been for a game of hunt the Father. My Dad was supposed to be watching from Crown Island but could I or anyone else find him? Nope. I did briefly lose contact with the 1:45 pacer while I scoured the bushes for him but I did manage to get back on.

The post-run celebratory pint has to wait a short while as the Lad has his training at 4:30pm.

(Sunday 30th September)

Final Fortnight

This morning we run the usual parkrun at Forest Rec and then in the evening we have a night out with some friends we haven’t seen for a couple of millennia.

It seems fitting to meet them in the Crafty Crow, which we also haven’t frequented for aeons, and where Charrington Oatmeal Stout becomes number 176 on my dark beer trail which is now into its final fortnight. So, I’m probably not going to quite reach the double century.

Then we eat in the Calcutta Club, just around the corner on Maid Marion Way. It’s a good meal and an excellent night out is completed with our usual pub crawl up Derby Road. We grab one just before they close in the Room With A Brew before finishing up in the Blue Monkey. I hope our friends made it home ok because I think we were all feeling a bit sloshed by the end of the evening.

(Saturday 15^th April)

A Tall Order

While we were away Doggo seemed to eat every meal for Daughter, although every meal probably did involve chicken. Now that we’re back, he’s being selective again. This morning his breakfast is served ‘avec croûtons’ e.g. with chunks of leftover bread on top. Which he eats without picking up a single morsel of dog food. Awkward old git.

Allegedly squash is back on from next week, although this still means he has a whole week to try not to get injured again, which could be a tall order. This week, I’m in the gym.

After which, L wants to power walk to the Dispensary. So the plan is to meet me off the bus and then she can continue on with MD as we have done before. This plan is hatched before L spots the Red Arrow on Ilkeston Road, never a good sign. I sure know how to pick my bus days.

It turns out that the road closed outside Wollaton Park on Derby Road and all the buses are having to divert. At Derby Bus Station, the electronic signs shows that the nearest bus is thirty minutes away... e.g. still in Nottingham. The tracking thing on their website is slightly more helpful but contradictory saying that their nearest bus is in Bramcote, a mere twenty minutes away. Then seconds later one turns up... Good technology this tracking business.

The upshot of all this is, we are late after a bit of a detour but not disastrously so. We still get there before last orders and as Daughter is home by then, so she joins us too. 

(Thursday 30^th March)

New And Improved?

The ‘new and improved’ Nottingham Half and Full Marathon routes are announced today. Predictably they prove to be neither new nor improved.

Presumably due to the traffic chaos around the QMC hospital last year they have taken the University, which has been a permanent feature of the race, out of the Half route completely to be replaced by out and back loops with 180 degree turns on both Derby Road and Abbey Street. Shoot us all now. So certainly not improved.

The Full is very much old rather than new as they have reintroduced the infamous trip out to Holme Pierrepont instead of the city centre section they had last year. It was the inclusion of the city centre that made the Nottingham Full my target race for this year but I don't fancy that course change much. I shall look at making my marathon début somewhere more exciting.

Many major cities are now introducing or re-introducing marathons but these tend to be entirely separate races and that's really what Nottingham should be doing here rather than trying to organise two events at once and not really excelling at either.

Yay, its Friday. I go for post-work run to top up my testosterone for the weekend. Unfortunately my calf goes tight just at the end of mile seven, which conveniently was as far as I intended going anyway. So I hop onto the bus to prevent any further damage. Back in Wollaton I find L and the boys are loitering on the golf course waiting for me.

(Friday 22^nd April)

Le Col du Caning Circus

The Nottingham Half Route is finally revealed and it’s not bad. Much better than in the last few years of 'sort of  fast, sort of flat but very boring' although it’s virtually the popular old route with Wollaton Park making a welcome come back and a few extra hills added. In fact, the hills look really good and the crowds should be better now that it goes to more places of civilisation. I think it has now dawned on race organisers that nobody actually likes fast and flat. 

The route still doesn’t quite make the city centre. Well the half doesn’t but the full does, the second lap of the full marathon takes them right through the city centre – Victoria Street and up Derby Road (ouch). They’ll have to at least part close roads in the centre for that, for quite a long time. Being sat outside the Borlase/Falcon a top the Col du Caning Circus with a pint in hand could well be more fun that entering.

I’m seriously tempted to run it though but I shall not enter pre-Ramathon. One disaster at a time.

L vows not to enter anything, pre or post. She says she’s a retired half-marathoner and she’s going to be the 10K Queen unless, of course, something or someone enthuses her otherwise. I wonder if Daughter would do it with me.

Another day on the bike and then more dog training

(Wednesday 13^th May)

Police Escort

I got a police escort out of Nottingham this morning as I cycled to work because I accidentally tagged on to the end of the RickshawChallenge.

I had a brief chat with Matt Baker, apparently he’s famous, before I zoomed off and left them to it.

L asks is I’ll be on telly. I doubt it although they did have several cameras inside a big van, as well as two support vehicles and two police outriders. It was quite a traffic jam.

The prospect of another big red blob lurking over her does at least get L out for a run tonight before her book club and she’s even entered the Heanor 10k. That’s two 10ks scheduled in the next two weeks now, she seems to have got her mojo back. I’m tempted myself. I might even be fit by then... although I doubt it.

It takes an age to get home even by bike because of more heavy traffic and sadly the rickshaw wasn’t waiting to escort me. I must find a better way home other than up Derby Road.

(Tuesday 11^th November)

The Near Miss Project

On the bike today and it’s a very nice morning for it. The advantage of the clocks change is that not only was it not dark this morning, it was sunny as well.

Today I am tasked with keeping a record of my cycling and more specifically any incidents that happen. It’s rather fetchingly called the ‘Near Miss Project’.

They ask for any incidents that cause avoiding action to be taken but also any interactions with other road users that cause worry or annoyance. Blimey, really? I could fill a book. Daily. I list just three.

1. The pedestrian who stepped off the curb into my path without looking in Spondon. No avoiding actions taken. In fact the opposite because I did try to run him down because he was so bloody annoying. This happens most days.

2. The car that pulled out of a side road in front of me in Risley. It was far from life threatening and I’m sure he saw me but naturally expected me to slow down to avoid hitting him, which obviously I did. I’m not sure he’d have pulled the same stunt to a car driver. This also happens most days.

3. The guy in the big SUV Noddy mobile who deliberately blocked me all the way up Derby Road as we both sat in the traffic jam. He drove millimetres from the curb despite the fact he had about six feet on the other side. I’m assuming it was deliberate because nobody can be that bad a driver accidentally.

They also asked for any incidents that involved road conditions or infrastructure, including potholes. It goes without saying that there are far too many of these to list but perhaps because I know where they all are they don’t really count anyway.

In the League Cup, Derby come from 2-0 down to win 5-2 at Fulham and make the quarter finals. Wa-Hey.

(Tuesday 28^th October)