Little Eaton to Elvaston Castle then Ran the RAMathon.

  After the heat of Friday and the recovery afterwards to writing the blog I was enjoying and finding the sunshine tough to run in. I was also excited about the prospect of another sunny run today. That is until I saw the weather forecast for Today and experienced the rain of yesterday. Heavy Rain and thundery showers.. Had I spoken too soon?

I woke early this morning to stunning sunshine again and drove down to Little Eaton sure that it was going to be one of those beautifully clear mornings until breakfast and then lash it down for the rest of the day. On arrival in Little Eaton and following a quick review of B & K house I was told that the sunshine was now forecast to stay until 12 o'clock but to pack a 'cagoule' for later. Anyway it was now time to leave so I will let Ben continue from here:

Early start today, well it was meant to be. Damo finally stopped talking and we left the house 15 minutes late to make our way to the start of the Derby RAMathon. By coincidence the distance from my house to the start was almost exactly a half marathon. So we set off with Damo running, and me cycling next to him, as my RAMathon warm up. I was slightly out of breath on my cycle. Damo was able to talk at me the whole way.

Despite the cloudy forecast the sun was shining and it got hot. Very hot. I kept passing Damo his salt tablets (at least that’s what he tells me they are) to keep him fuelled up. (Ben, you have very shapely calves in this pic, is this your pre-race warm up?)

We arrived at the start a couple of km short, so Damo ran off to do a few extra laps of the castle, while I met everyone else and slapped on the sun cream.

Damo had promised to run with me, or at least if not me, then Katie. But he shot off…..I heard him mumble something about “slashtag: losers”. And that was the last I saw of him, until 2 hours later when he was waiting to cheer me into the final straight jumping and cheering looking disgustingly fresh. He then made me walk an extra 1 mile up a hill from the finish to the castle for his free t-shirt.

We sat down for a post race carvery where Damo then liberally added some more “salt” to his meal.

All in all a lovely day. A great challenge and a great cause. Maybe I’ll join him for another one later in the year. Ben

Thank you Ben, as always you did a sterling job on the bike and it was a pleasure having you for company. Shame the river path was so soggy as it would have been great to run in it instead. Mind you the run into Derby wasn't too bad given the lack of traffic early on a Sunday Morning. Here are a few more memories from the day.

I don't think I have ever been to a race where there has been so many tuby grips, neoprene bandages and K-Tape on display. It appears to becoming a form of expression within the running community. I feel a Systematic Review coming on...

Ben today stopped to help a lady who had blacked out and was fitting at the side of the road when all other runners in front of him had carried on running past! WTF!! Ben I salute you and this needs a special mention. This is the second race where he has done so. If only other runners acted in such a way !!

The RAMathon was brilliant fun today, always good to be running with familiar faces but also in a race that is superbly organised from a brilliant location with ample parking, through to enough water and electrolyte drinks all at a sensible price. Oh and one with a massive medal!! I might take it off in the morning...

Official RAMathon 1/2 result was 1:46:36 after a steady start as I had stiffened up slightly at the halfway point. I also bumped into my old, or rather ex, tutor Ros at about 26k and ran and chatted to her for about 4k. This helped to get through the toughest part of a marathon and a particularly hot section of the route. Thank you Ros and well done for your run in that heat.

This brought me out with a total time of 3:23 for the day. Happy with that considering I could barely walk down the stairs this morning!