Chocathlon

No FRA rules here...number on leg!

Yes, you read it right, a Chocathlon race on Easter Saturday. Held in Marsden this race is a fun one, and I thought why the heck not. It was 9km long and had two chocolate feed stations on the way round. Bonus! I managed to recruit five other Glossopdale Harriers to have some running fun too. Meeting up at the start area the four GDH ladies donned their bee costumes, they were going to be warm in the fine weather. Myself and Alan had chosen to run as normal dressed runners. We were joined by Tim, official team photographer and chief supporter of the day.

Flying near the start

I'd looked at the route online and chose trail shoes, to be fair, xtalons would have been better for the mid portion of the race. What I hadn't appreciated was there was a blinking steep climb and descent. Advertised as an easy trail route I'd beg to differ! The first few kilometers were along the canal tow path,

Some great fancy dressed runners

muddy but well suited to trail shoes. Then a bit of road and the first chocolate feed station. I chucked a couple of bars in my bag, knowing I didn't actually need food for the race. Then came the hill, about a 70m ascent up a road but only gaining about 400m.


Wind knocked out of me and Zoe and Alan had pulled well away. As I reached a mast I could see runners heading along a nice hillside - and a bumble bee Zoe charging ahead. Go Girl! I had no idea where my fellow GDHers were behind me, not in sight, but with many twists and turns they could have been right with me.

Zoe is over there somewhere

I'd swapped places with one lass on the canal path a few times and managed to hold on to her along the road, gaining a bit as a we hit the muddy, rocky path more akin to my local running trods. The conditions under foot were muddy, and while my trail shoes coped ok there were a few sideways slides and tentative steps on steeper sections. The path undulated, a few gates, more undulations and then a long section on road. I'd been on my own a bit and started to wonder if I'd gone the wrong way. Then as tired legs from a 21km run on Thursday joined in the fun a few runners gained on me. We reached a very significant right turn....down we go.

I supposed that with all that ascent there'd be a steep down too to regain the canal path. So down we went, slip sliding down a bit on a grassy track. Then no flags? By the time I'd ummed and arrred about which way to go - there was a left or right choice to drop off the hill - there were about eight other runners all scratching their heads. Someone said right so down we went. Onto a road. No signs. More head scratching. It must be left or we'll be at the finish having only done 5km. Left it was.

Alan way ahead on the path

As we made our way past houses we could see other runners higher on the hill. Hmmm. Oh well. Some of us were on the wrong path! After about 700m we were joined by other runners coming down the hill....and we were back on track. The tiny yellow flags marking the route really weren't clear in lots of places and the indication there'd be marshals at key points just wasn't the case. Somewhere in this section I'd lost hold of the lass I kept with on the canal path. Nothing for it but to stick with the group I was with, my legs were heavy by now and my heart rate not recovering even on flat sections. So much for going out for an easy run! Somewhere in the next stretch was another chocolate feed station (a few more bars stashed in my bag, a swig of water) and some very slippy steps which I managed to negotiate safely (there were marshals here).

Approaching the final bend

At about 6km in Alan came past me chatting on about having gone the wrong way...it seemed Zoe was way ahead and had probably gone the right way. Hmmm. Did someone switch a sign around? Alan gradually pulled away from me, I stuck with a couple who seemed about my pace, or at least the pace I could manage. We turned on the course and regained the canal tow path. Now I'd done a recce of the finish earlier, mainly because we were early and were trying to stay warm by moving around. I joined the path at lock number 34 and needed to get to (I think) lock 39. So how far apart were these locks spaced? I had no idea. More mud splashing on the path, a few short rises by each lock. All of it took it out of me and I was reduced to a walking pace a few times just to regain my breathe. I was probably holding around 5:00-5:30min/km pace in places (sometimes a bit quicker) but my heart rate would not come down. Nothing for it but to keep pushing. The end must be soon.

Sure enough, the bridge we had to duck under came, the final rise by the canal and then a slight left and up a section Tim had challenged me to run...I did, reaching the top I expected him to be there with the camera but he was a little further along. I reckoned this last flat stretch was about 400m (I should pay more attention when I do recces!). No-one close enough behind me to require me to keep pushing, but that final stretch-people will be watching consciousness that just kept my legs turning. Straight through the puddles, past Tim, and round the final bend into the finish area. Yey!

Glossopdale Bee's

Chatting about shoe choice at the finish line with Liz, Vicki and Alison

Zoe had indeed secured first lady and won a prize of a large Easter egg, Alan was second Glossopdaler in, me third, followed shortly after by Alison, Vicki and Liz. Well done all! During the run I was way too warm in my jacket - it got tied around my waist after about 2km. A lesson to me, though I do have a strong dislike to being cold. Time to dig out my gilet I think. My gloves stayed on most of the way round, if only to protect my hands should I have fallen. No results up as yet, I think I was provisionally 21st overall. All in all, a super event, and I got a super finishers t-shirt...

Tim...at the start of his cycle ride home

Buying running shoes for off-road and the fells

The main things to bear in mind when shopping for shoes for off-road and fell running are:

1) they have decent GRIP - compare off-road with road shoes and you'll see the amount of grip you need. Off-road trail and fell running challenges your feet because of the uneven ground and slippy nature of mud, grass, heather etc.

Comparison of the grip on fell shoes - Inov8xtalon 212s (left) and Inov8 Roadx 238 shoes (right)

Grip (and mud from today's run!)

No grip

Mudclaw 300s with more aggressive grip

2) they FIT *YOUR* foot.
You will only know this if you try them on.
Unless you've worn a pair or tried on a reasonably new pair from a friend, avoid buying online. Some shoes suit narrow feet, others are broad fitting, but our feet are unique. It's also worth looking in the other gender's shoe section too...many men wear 'womens' shoes, and vice-versa. There really isn't any need for the separation, with the exception that 'most' men have larger feet than women, and vice-versa, there isn't a biomechanical need for the separate departments. This can be especially useful to know if you are a 'small' shoe size man, or a 'large' shoe size women. The cross-over tends to be around size 6-7. I know a few small shoe sized friends who also find shoes that fit them in the kids section.

Buying in a shop ***beware of the sales person***
Ask them what running they do....do they in fact run? Do they give you confidence? Do they they know what they are talking about? If not, trust your instincts.

Also, ***do not get baffled by anatomy and science***
As I said above, the key things for off-road shoes - grip, and fit. When the assistant starts talking about pronation, over-pronation, neutral fit, etc....remember one thing - they are a SALES person, NOT a biomechanical specialist (unless they actually do have a degree in that subject - it is worth asking). I'd go as far as saying you should avoid running on their treadmill to have your gait assessed unless they are actually qualified (eg degree/PhD level) in biomechanics - most sales people will have been trained in-house, by someone else trained in-house....and their job is TO SELL you things. That means it's in their interest to baffle you with the fancy words and scare you into thinking you need custom made orthotics. The vast majority of people don't need them. I'm not saying everyone working in shops are out to get your money, but they are there to make a profit, and sometimes commission.

Key thing to remember - everyone's foot pronates - yes, that's right. Pronation is a natural part of the gait cycle and you'd have a bit of difficulty walking/running if the bones in your ankle and feet didn't pronate.

"the body absorbs the impact of the foot by rolling in pronation" http://www.physio-pedia.com/Gait_Cycle

"Pronation is a normal part of the gait cycle"  Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine,  edited by Lyle J. Micheli, M.D.

The trail shoes I've used and been happy with for comfort and grip are the Adidas Kanadias. I know a lot of people who wear them, and you can probably grab a pair for about £40, or less maybe.

My current trail shoes are the New Balance WT110 LD33 NB Trail. so far so good after 80km in them.

Any questions?
Drop me an email and I'll do my best to help you or point you to someone who can answer better than me. All information in this post is obviously my opinion based on my experience.

New Trail Running Shoes

In my search for new trail shoes (because I've started to destroy my Adidas Kanadias) I discovered the New Balance WT110s at a bargain price, and with a further new year discount. Sold.

At just 175g they are really light!! Just the sort of thing I want, as my usual INOV8 xtalon 212s are a super feel and I don't want to move away from that too much. According to the info-blurb online "The lateral forefoot area has been adjusted to make the platform more neutral, keeping you lower to the ground and enhancing responsiveness.". They've got a 4mm differential which is just what I'm after for keeping me running in the forefoot style.

They also have an "Aggressive Outsole - Outsole tread which offers superb traction." and having used them twice on some really muddy terrain, I did feel really safe and non-slippy in them.

The technical information online about these shoes, and New Balance generally is all a bit baffling to me. I go for what fits my foot, feels comfortable and will give me a decent amount of wear for the running I do. So far (I'm three runs and 20km into this pair) I'm happy with my choice. The uppers feel fairly lightweight so I suspect they won't last as long as the Kanadias have (over 500km logged on those). I'll report in when I destroy them.

Oh, and they are a really cool colour, with amazingly dazzlingly bright laces!