Dave's Races
STUBBINGTON'S Dave King has been clocking up the miles recently as he reached 50 races for the year.
Dave headed for Essex on August 5th to compete in the Harlow 10. "I had intended to race at the Tenbury 10km in Worcestershire, but with so much uncertainty about the race because of the floods they have had, I opted for Harlow," he said. "I trained as a journalist here 25 years ago, and the place still hasn't got any better."
On a boiling hot day, with temperatures hitting the 80s, Dave struggled round the course for a time of 1hr 19min 27sec."I had nothing left at all," he added. "There was a devilish hill at 8 miles and by then my legs were like rubber. I didn't enjoy that race one bit."
Five days later, Dave was off to South Wales to compete in the Mynyddislwyn Mile, reckoned to be the toughest mile race in the UK with a course record of 7 minutes 50seconds. The village of Mynyddislwyn is in Gwent, just round the corner from Newbridge with Pontypool the nearest town of note.
About 50 runners, including a four-strong contingent from Portsmouth Joggers, took part in the Friday evening race up a hill with a one in eight gradient.
"It was unbelieveable," said Dave. "For starters we had to jog two miles to the start and as we ran down the hill the gradient was so steep you had to stop your legs from running away with you.
"As for the race, there was a small plateau at half way before the hill kicked in with an even sharper climb for the second half.
"I ran almost to half way, but my pace was almost reduced to walking. In the end I thought it was sensible to speed walk for a bit until about 100 metres from the top, where there was a gentle downhill to the finish." Dave finished in a time of 12 minutes 15 seconds - his slowest mile ever!
Two days later, it was off to the Isle of Man for the Isle of Man Half Marathon. The event attracted a strong field from across the UK, Ireland and Europe which started and finished at Ramsey Football Club on the eastern edge of the island.
The race was run alongside a marathon, and the first four miles saw a series of testing climbs along the coastal road which offered spectacular views across the Irish Sea. The course then headed inland to more gentler terrain before looping back to Ramsey.
"This was a great race," said Dave. "My confidence had taken quite a knock after Harlow so I needed a good run and got it. The course wasn't easy, but I felt good at the end."
Dave finished 40th with a time of 1hr 38min 15sec.