Weekend ahead with the Barns Green Half

Well Hello,

It's friday, and you're looking at the weather forecast and perhaps ignoring the end of half term and the return to traffic chaos next week. We're still recovering from Beachy Head - cataloguing over 19,000 images online always takes it's toll. Sitting on the Head with a 40mph wind in the face for 4hrs is easy by comparison, I should say I have no idea how hard a marathon it is to run, but am reliably informed - it's a toughie too. With that cheery outlook, enjoy friday afternoon, and here's just a few things for the weekend ahead.

1. Time: the clocks go back on sunday - that's an extra hour in bed, or if you have small kids like me, getting up an hour earlier than you need to until they figure it out. Eventually. For some, it means getting to a race an hour earlier than you mean to - this is ok.

2. Races: we're going to be at Barns Green Half Marathon - one of the most popular races in Sussex and one of the few on-road half marathons in the sussex countryside (note for event organisers - someone needs to sort one out for the spring late feb, early march please). Apparently entries are still available on the day...

It's our seventh time of covering the race which has grown and gone from strength to strength each year. Remember to turn up in plenty of time - to get good parking in the field and beat the road closures. Weather forecast is a little uncertain at the moment, but that's never really caused a problem and no one has ever been stuck in the field afterwards.

The Serpentine Halloween Jekyll and Hyde Duathlon is also on sunday, and unfortunately we don't have enough resources so can't cover it this year, but it is the finale of the London Triathlon League, so some good racing and a great atmosphere with many of the competitors in fancy dress. Entries are open on the day - so you can still give it a go if you want to. Great course which is easy to support and spectate on around Hyde Park.

3. Mr Testicles: a friend of mine Darren ran the Brighton Marathon 2010 in fancy dress to raise money for Testicular Cancer research. He was also filmed for a short documentary called "I don't think it's a potato", so if you like a tense ending - watch this, filmed and produced by Kristyna Vosecka www.kristynav.biz :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZdN9CP0iSw

and then think long and hard before you consider doing anything in a fancy dress costume like his !

4. Image usage: Nice to see ones work being used to good effect here: http://www.run247.com/articles/article-776-beachy-head-marathon%3A-stuart-bags-seventh-first.html 

Looks like a nice day out doesn't it !

5. I'm just about to start working on the Abingdon Marathon Fetch video - it's the first chance I've had to get onto it and I'll post a link here as soon as I've done that. The race gallery is still here: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=29nzg7a

I'll leave you with a piece of corporate communication which has obviously been written by someone trying too hard, courtesy of my previous employers job vacancy pages. Not cool and not Dan Brown:

"Operating across international markets the Director will responsible for identifying and driving incremental and emerging digital opportunities to help crack the digital acquisition code for Fee Based and Proprietary acquisition." Thank yourselves that you don't work there either and enjoy the weekend - you don't have to go back there on monday, and neither do I.

Wherever your racing this weekend - have a good one, keep warm and dry, and do try not to get injured.

Until next time,

Anthony

p.s. did I mention - Sevenoaks Tri sold out in 12 hours last weekend and this time there's only going to be one race in 2011, so well done if you got in on that one - probably the best thing you can be doing on the 10th of April next year !

Click here for our race finding link page on the blog

Race Finding links
Who ?	Just click on the Logo
Fetch Everyone: Race finder
The Sussex Race Planner	Sussex Races
Active Europe Calendar - Running
Run 247
Runners World - events
Running Diary

More images from Beachy Head Marathon

 Good news ! After two of us have suffered what can only be described as "deficio administratum" on the post event processing, we have managed to make a further 2000+ or so images that couldn't be found - findable on the gallery. Yipee !

Bonus news is for anyone ordering all their pictures - there may well be a few extra in there for you.

Everyone else - please go back to the Beachy Head Gallery (even if you have been there before) and have another search for your race numbers - this time - that one you like (you know - the one where you're exhausted, windswept and cold, looking like you have conquered the world, but might be a little bit tired, that shows you did it and proves it forever) - might now be there for you !

So please everyone - go back and have another look :
Here's the quick link: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=an3zg3c

Thank you to Neil for finding and sharing with us the mistake, which has now been corrected ! yep - he's going to get a free one...

until next time,
Anthony

Click here for our race finding link page on the blog

Race Finding links
Who ?	Just click on the Logo or link below
Fetch Everyone: Race finder
The Sussex Race Planner	Sussex Races
Active Europe Calendar - Running
Runners World - events
Running Diary

Beachy Head Marathon 2010 now live

The 2010 Beachy Head Marathon official race gallery is now live here: 
http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=an3zg3c
 
A quick point of order - junior race numbers are mixed in with the senior race - but we figured you would know which is which when you see the thumbnails.

Additionally, to make the searching a bit easier - finish folders are sorted by time-of-day groups - so scroll down the gallery page and click through onto the relevant folder if you can't find yourself with '000'

We covered some 4 different locations on the course as well as the finish line. The cut off at the finish was about 7hrs:30mins, so if you finished before 4:30pm then it's likely that we have a photo somewhere for you.

Saturday Morning
With a forecast of galeforce winds, locusts and tsunami hitting the south coast at 9am on Saturday it wasn't the deepest nights sleep as the tiles rattled on the roof. However with only a passing shower with 1 minute to go to the start, it was some 5 hours later before the next rain came through, leaving blue skies and a strong tail-wind for the last 7 miles of the run.

Clearly by 4 miles some of you were wondering why you had started out, or had forgotten to turn off the oven... you can see the route in the background (the hedge-line in the background)

  Some of you were pleased to have made the top of the hill,

 meanwhile the humour of 1066 as a race number for a Hastings Runner wasn't lost

 So whils the sun glinted off the fields and the houses in the distance from the view on Beachy Head, Stuart Mills was tidily putting together his seventh win - a good 1 minute faster than last years run, in 3h:02m. I'm not sure if that was his plan, or just sheer conincidence with his race number (remember to search on "01" - two digits if you want to see him floating about the course, we only got ~90 pictures of him)

 There were some nice views back over the hill brow to Belle Tout.

 Someone else obviously just realised they had forgotten something - never mind Emma, it'll keep, and you won the Ladies race !

 Some friends enjoyed the run - probably far too much. I don't think they kept this up all the way round ?

 And there was Danny (see previous blog) going about his business with his usual charm,

 Then the rainboz lit up the sky for a while after the rainstorm passed and the sun backlit the scene.

 Emma Richards looked strong into the finish,

 as did superdad caryying his responsibilities with him,

Tom was given suitable encouragement to keep running all the way to the end.

 Some acknowledged the crowd and the achievement of completing one of the most scenic marathons in the country;

 Others used a bit of canine power to get them dragged round the course

 whilst several people were welcomed back enthusiastically on the last hard yards to the finish line;

 and the welcomes spanned across the generations.

 All in all it was a great day, justifying a great big smile !

So enjoy the gallery here:
http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=an3zg3c
and if you don't, well have a look through the advertised links on the site instead !

Until Barns Green Half Marathon next Sunday  !!

p.s. Sevenoaks tri - now down to only 1 race per year - and sold out in under 12 hours on sunday. Well done Mike and the Sevenoaks Team !

until next time
Anthony

Click here for our race finding link page on the blog

Race Finding links
Who ?	Just click on the Logo or link below
Fetch Everyone: Race finder
The Sussex Race Planner	Sussex Races
Active Europe Calendar - Running
Runners World - events
Running Diary

Abingdon Marathon now live

The Abingdon Marathon is now live and online here:

http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=29nzg7a

There is now over 17,000 images now live on the Abingdon Marathon race gallery for you to enjoy and remember your great day out.

It was a cold start on sunday - with a layer of frost on the cars first thing, and a slippy track for most to contend with. I just had to sort out my snapped alternator belt - it gave up the ghost about a mile from the track.

The cold meanwhile didn't seem to put anyone off as over 700 runners started on their way at 9am. As ever up until the last 5 minutes it always looks like there is nobody about, and then as if my magic, everyone appears.

Also, some had come prepared for the cold - the balaclava look was most definetly not a fashion problem this time.

By 4 miles it looked like most had warmed up - ready to go through the town square on the new route through the middle

Great spectator support was there throughout the course, even on the countryside parts around mile 9...

 

and not forgetting to mention the now traditional Fetchpoint watering hole and jelly baby station out on the course.

The start of the second lap after running along near the river was taken on with relish by some,

and with a beer by others...

Finishing the route was of course the high-point of the day for some !

 although I think Danny has done enough not to get too overwhelmed by these things,

 but some great teamwork and support helped a lot of runners get round the route

 much to some peoples relief and amazement.

This is but a handfull of the images on the gallery, so please go and have a look there and find yourself and your friends. Use the share link or the share buttons to do it quickly - although to be honest - the facebook one doesn't work very well - their code is a bit flaky and can't cope with our dynamic gallery code for links.

Congratulations to Gary, Paul and alll the rest of the race organisers, volunteers, marshals, race sponsors and other people who without them this race simply would not take place - so thank you. It's a huge undertaking with over 200 marshals alone - road closures, and of course people who don't understand what is going on on a sunday morning who all need to be dealt with somehow. A challenge and a feat of organisational management that always leaves me impressed.
Also thank you to the second AA chap who came to relay me back home at 3:30pm (the first one didn't fancy fitting an alternator belt), my second AA call out ever, and yet the same AA chap 3 years later ! very strange, but at least this time he could actually rescue me.

So please enjoy this gallery, I hope it gives you many hours of happy memories, and don't forget to get your copy before it is archived in about 3 months time i.e. january ish. Thank you.

Right, time to catch up with the rest of the work, that's been 48hrs of almost solid indexing and cataloguing, and its 3am now...

see you at Beachy Head - (for the marathon) on Saturday.
until next time
Anthony

 
Click here for our race finding link page on the blog

Race Finding links
Who ?	Just click on the Logo or link below
Fetch Everyone: Race finder
The Sussex Race Planner	Sussex Races
Active Europe Calendar - Running
Runners World - events
Running Diary