With my 30^th birthday on the horizon, I decided it was time to start doing a little more exercise so I joined the Northowram Puma’s and entered the local Overgate 10k on 17^th April.  My aim was to run a sub 55 minute 10k (to prove I wasn’t over the hill!).  I was then told that Overgate is really hilly, so I had a rethink and entered the Wakefield 10k on 3^rd April on the understanding that it was relatively flat.

Walking into that first Puma’s meeting on a cold dark Wednesday in January was daunting and the biggest hurdle I’ve had to overcome so far.   However my fears soon disappeared – everyone is so welcoming and friendly that there really is nothing to worry about.  After a few weeks in group 4 with Ian running between 3 and 4 miles each week, I took the step up into group 3 in early March knowing I needed to up my miles.  Ally (group 3 leader) likes hills and off-roading which has helped up my fitness.  I also braved a couple of Sunday morning long distance sessions with the club.

I set off to Wakefield at an early hour in the cold and fog, questioning my sanity.  I’d lost my running wing man due to injury so had to brave my first real ‘race’ with just with my husband as chief supporter.

The event was well run and as I had registered early I‘d received my number, timing chip and details in plenty of time so got organised the night before.  This was good forward planning as we ended up walking an extra loop of the park to the start and everyone was just filtering down to the line when I arrived!  I left my supporter and wiggled my way through the crowd to about ¼ of the way back – completely selfish but I’d been told it’s easier to let people over take you than to have to dodge people yourself!

So the theory that the course is flat is not quite right – the start and finish lines are on a hill and it is undulating throughout!  But it is a straight out and back course so no repetitive loops that mentally flaw me.

I know that I set off too quickly and I was delighted to reach the turnaround point and water station where I gathered myself for a few seconds before pressing on – I had a time to beat after all!  Thankfully the sun came out at this stage too.

Kilometres 6 to 9 seemed to go on forever but knowing I’d overtaken the 55min pacer kept me going.

The finish line was on top of the hill and required one last dig supported by a lonely cheer!

My official time of 51:31 came through an hour after finishing and I kicked myself all day for not pushing a bit harder – next time I’ll be chasing the 50min pacer!

Event: Canalathon

Location: Start – Manchester, Finish – Sowerby Bridge

Date: 27 March 2016

Distance: 50km (31 miles)

I decided to run the Canalathon – my first Ultra-Marathon – when I received the standard London Marathon rejection. I considered other Spring Marathons but wanted to do something different. I was also inspired by the several other Pumas running marathons and didn’t want to miss out on the fun!

The Canalathon is an Ultra-Marathon with three distances on offer – 50K, 75K and 100K. I decided on the “easy” option of 50K – the longer distances can wait for another year. The 50K race starts in Manchester, and as the title suggests runs along the canal to Sowerby Bridge.

Training went reasonably well. It was great to train with other Pumas, offering support, advice and encouragement to each other was a great help. A niggling Achilles injury in February set me back a little but luckily the injury improved and I was back to where I wanted to be by early March.

Race day

The big day came and it was an early start. Made even earlier by the fact the clocks went forwards the night before the race. So getting out of bed at 5AM really did feel like 4AM! A bit of breakfast and off to Sowerby Bridge to register. As I parked my car I realised I was at the point where the gripping finale of “Happy Valley” was filmed. I wondered if the valley would be a happy one for me today.

Registration was bustling, and before we knew it the 50K participants were on board a double decker bus heading to Manchester.

The start of the race was in a very inauspicious retail car park in Manchester. I met my running partner for the day, Iain, and after a final toilet stop we were on the start line ready for the off. The first couple of hundred metres was run in the car park, which felt a little odd, but before we knew it we were on the canal heading for Sowerby Bridge. Only 50KM to go.

Pacing the race

Iain and I had agreed on a 10K an hour schedule. We also agreed to run 5 miles and walk ¼ of a mile to give the opportunity to talk on fluids and food. That seemed to go out of the window somewhat – we were making such good, steady progress we didn’t feel the need to stop and walk.

We reached 20K well under the 2 hour mark and were making good progress. We passed the first check point at around 11 miles and felt good. A quick stop and we were on our way again.

The next 20K also went very well. It was good to have a running partner as this kept the pace even and the chatting took your mind off the running.

Hitting the wall

It was after the second check point at around 20 miles where it really started to get more difficult. We stopped for a little longer this time (perhaps a mistake in hindsight) and walked a little before getting going again. The next section took you off the canal as it was closed due to the Boxing Day floods. This thought put the temporary pain we were going through into perspective – the floods devastated homes, businesses and lives in this area and it will take many years to recover.

This stretch was perhaps the hardest of the race. It was all on the road from Todmorden through to Eastwood. It was not made any easier by us knowing that we had to find a small entrance back onto the canal at some point to stay on the course. This seemed to take forever and I had convinced myself several times that we had missed it!

Anyway, we did find it. The small steps we had to go over to get back on the canal were a killer, but we were back on the canal and psychologically we knew this was the final stretch. It was great for me at this point as the surroundings were more familiar. I knew we only had Hebden, Mytholmroyd, Luddenden Foot to get through and the next stop would be the finish.

Whilst those last few miles were tough and our pace had dropped quite dramatically, it was great to be on the home straight. Sowerby Bridge was now firmly in our sights and it wasn’t long before we approached the finish.

I think we actually managed to speed up and crossed the finish line in 4 hours 59 minutes. Not bad given we had set a target of 5 hours! It was fantastic to see a few Pumas at the finish line to support us, it really was appreciated. My parents had also made the journey up from Sheffield as well, so it was great to see everyone.

Whilst on the course, both Iain and I mused that this would be our last long distance race and half marathons would be our maximum in future. However, two weeks on and I’m now thinking…maybe 75KM next year….

Results and pictures

Andy and Iain smashed the course and came 8th and 9th respectively (out of 166).

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Saturday 26 March 2016 “Run in the Footstep of Champions” (or “Beaten by Mo Again!”).

The World Half Marathon takes place every two years, with the UK and Cardiff having the honour of hosting the event this year.

The race was a bit ‘special’ as it was targeted as a good warm up for elites aiming for the Olympics this summer. There was also a mass participation race added to the event hence the above strap line, which is what attracted the author to enter: lining up with the best in the World! (And prep for the London Marathon…).

The days leading up to race day were beautiful – dry, cool, sunny ideal running weather. However, the forecast for the Saturday was not good: cold, windy, with the probability of a storm coming through. The forecast was exactly right!

The race start was right in front of Cardiff Castle, and followed a fast and reasonably flat anti-clockwise course round the sights of Cardiff, via the coast and over the barrage back into the city to a finish near the City Hall.

The author’s aim was to tuck in for the first few miles (into a cold head wind), run fast in the middle section with hopefully a tail wind and then see what was left for the last couple of miles. In the event, the course was reasonably sheltered and so the main effect of the weather was from the aforementioned storm – a brief thrashing of icy cold hail from the left as we crossed the most exposed part of the course. This literally made everyone gasp in shock and acted as a mid race ice bath to refocus. No chance of slowing down as we were too cold and wet! (Many of you may have watched the elite race on TV and seen that the storm was so bad that coverage was lost for a few minutes!).

The race winner was Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor of Kenya in 59:10. This was a spectacular effort as he got tripped and fell right at the start so set off bleeding and at a significant disadvantage. Muchiri of Kenya was second with Mo Farah a very good third in 59:59. The elite ladies’ race was a Kenyan 1-2-3 with Pascalia Jechirchir winning in 67:31 followed by Limo and Ngugi.

Paul Hopkinson was the only Puma running as far as he knows and finished in 1:43:07 – 2,341 out of 11,348 finishers and 80th out of 336 in his age group. Jenny Hopkinson was unfortunately injured and so could not run.

In summary, the race was extremely well organised, the course excellent and the City is well worth a visit. The bling and tee shirt were also of top quality! There is the normal Cardiff half marathon on 2 October 2016 if anyone’s appetite has been whetted for a weekend break.

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Report by Paul Hopkinson

On Sunday the 13th March 2016 fourteen members of Northowram Pumas Running Club (NPRC) completed the Epilepsy Action 10k in Bradford. 1,150 runners took part in the race which started and finished in Centenary Square.

The city centre road race was fast and flat. Starting and finishing in Centenary Square the course went past the new Broadway Shopping Centre, on Canal Road towards Shipley and back. There was an orchestra and steel drum band on route providing the entertainment and a water station at 5k. The perfect route for making a debut or to beat a personal best.

From the NPRC’s team the first male was Neil Coupe who powered across the finishing line in a time of 45 minutes and 26 seconds. The first woman was Jenny Hopkinson who finished with a time of 47 minutes and 53 seconds. The other Pumas achieved amazing times with several making their Pumas 10k debuts.

• Neil Coupe: 45:26 (new PB, previous 10k 57:54)
• Paul Hopkinson: 46:22
• Christopher Ellis: 46:29
• Matt Newton: 47:16 (new PB, previous 10k time 50:03)
• Jenny Hopkinson: 47:53
• Jonathan Meynell: 49:42 (new PB, previous 10k time 53:00)
• Julie Bowman: 50:48 (new PB, previous 10k time 55:05)
• Gabriella Kenny: 51:29 (new PB, previous 10k time 56:28)
• Helen Jackson: 54:43 (new PB, 10k debut)
• Jo Louise: 57:54
• Melissa Hall: 58:48 (award for dedication due to amount of Prosecco consumed the previous evening)
• Wendy Hewitt: 1:00:45 (new PB, 10k debut)
• Sarah Firth: 1:01:12
• Simon Wilkinson: 1:01:47

The Pumas hope to compete in the tenth Epilepsy Action Bradford 10k next year.

The members thoroughly enjoyed their trip out together to the race and would like to thank NPRC for organising the coach and Northowram Sports and Activity Club for preparing the well deserved breakfast butties.

Have a flick through some of the photo’s below….maybe it’ll inspire you to come along to the next event!!!

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Well the race is season definitely upon us with races coming up thick and fast… Mel and I decided to try our luck at the Dewsbury 10K.

The race started at 9am with hardly any wind and the sun came out to play too was the perfect setting for us to get our PB’s.

We took the first two miles nice and steady while we settled into the race and then began to pick up the pace, we had a slight hiccup with a few cars driving on the closed road but we didn’t let that detract from our effort on our search for a PB

The course it’s self was a fast and flat out and back in, very well marshalled plenty of water at the feed stations. Definitely worth a go and hopefully we can make a team event of it!

Here’s a map of the route.

We both came in to the finish with a sprint and a cheer from the other runners.

Our official times were:

• Mel: 56.17
• Matt: 50.03