The Transalpine in review

The dust has now settled on our Transalpine Race which we completed 5 weeks ago today. During the recovery period, we've had the opportunity to relax and enjoy the achievement, but also to reflect on the race. My thoughts here are to document the things that went well, went badly and what we learnt with a view to how we would approach things differently next time - should there by a next time! [And I think there will.]

This should in no way distract from the immense achievement of finishing the race, placing beyond our expectations in 13th overall and enjoying every (non-pain inducing) step of the journey, but there's always ways to improve and look forward to the next adventure.

What went well

Peaking at the race
Despite starting the year with a few injuries and lack of form, both of us started the race fresh and injury free. The build up wasn't ideal, but combining the endurance base from the Bob Graham training and success, with a short specific tailoring phase and a well executed taper meant that we toed the start line in good shape for what lie ahead.

Recovery
We'd thought about this beforehand and so had a rough plan to follow each day. Still, the first few days were agony, but by day 4 or 5 the soreness was subsiding and the muscles felt a lot better. Our main aims in recovery were to limit the damage caused during the day and then kick off the healing and refuelling process as best we could, ready for the next onslaught. 

This involved hydrating and eating pretty much as soon as we finished to get all the right building blocks in the system and to help carry out all the crap. We then tried our best to find a suitable ice bath to really flush out the toxins and reduce any swelling. We succeeded most days with the, sometimes ornate, town square centre pieces often becoming a make shift ice bath. If not, there was access to a fast flowing and perishingly cold glacial stream. 

Back at the camp we followed the same principles; getting protein and hydration in the form of powdered milkshakes and protein bars; then some stretching/foam roller action before squeezing into our compression gear. Again, an attempt at keeping the swelling down and the good blood flowing. If we could, we'd get gravity on our side too by raising our increasingly chubby feet, ankles, legs up as high as possible. More food and more hydration would then follow at the pasta party. 

The last part of the recovery process was to get some decent shut eye. Towards the end of the week this wasn't too difficult as the hours racked up but early on, the ear plugs and face masks/buffs were just what was needed. [Not that they helped when sleeping in a school corridor with motion detection lights coming on every other minute!!]

Ice bath-ing with Ryan and Ben (AKA The Reservoir Dogs)

Camp recovery

Pacing (after day 1 at least!)

We tried to run at a sustainable pace each day and the effort matched the incline and terrain we were running on. This meant that most days we would run into the finish pretty much spent, but most importantly we hadn't massively blown up earlier in the day. Any small dips in energy were quickly dealt with, with Jelly Babies or gel together with a suitable adjustment in pace. 

Race plan

Right from day 1 we had in mind that this was an 8-day race. Pushing too hard at the start was a sure way to pick up injuries or general fatigue and plummet down the rankings. We therefore ran our own race each day and didn't get enthralled in too much day by day racing (unless the net result was being 'chicked' of course!). As vast numbers of teams started to drop out we settled into a pack of similar runners and our day by day positions remained fairly static until the last couple of days when injuries slowed us down. Not that this mattered as we had built up a decent time buffer over the teams behind us in the first two thirds of the race.

Even better if

Shoe choice

We both suffered with our feet, but for completely different reasons. In the weeks leading up to the race we concluded that our regular fell shoes (inov8 x-talons and Mudclaws) would not be the most appropriate for the mainly hard packed trails we expected. We needed shoes with a bit more cushioning for the punishing descents, robust soles with good grip but also for the shoes to be as light as possible. We would have to lift these up 15000m of climb when all said and done. 

We both settled on Adidas Kanadias and ordered these in the weeks leading up to the event. Whilst Andy fitted into his fairly comfortably, I struggled on the first few outings. This is something I should've pre-empted as I often have issues with new shoes for the first few runs. Ultimately I'd left it too late to break them in properly and as a result had to go with my inov8 roclites. 

These definitely fitted the grip and weight requirements but the '2-arrow' profile meant next to no cushioning. During the race, this lack of protection meant that my knees took more of a battering than they should've done. However the biggest problem turned out to be the low cut of the laces which bruised the top of my toes. Progressively this got more and more painful until I was popping the vitamin I every morning before the off.

Fortunately, I managed to avoid the most common complaints from footwear, blister and battered toenails. Andy wasn't so lucky. The Kanadias didn't stop some gargantuan blisters forming on the soles of his feet and  an undue amount of pressure on the toenails.

The lesson here is clearly to get your footwear sorted well in advance and ensure they are broken in and tested on the type of terrain they will be used on, obvious really! I think I'd also recommend having a variety of shoes (as many of the competitors at the front end of the race had). Then selections can be made on the anticipated terrain and weather. Indeed, in the dry, even regular road shoes would've been fine.

Specificity in training

Finding similar terrain in the UK is always going to be a challenge. We certainly don't have altitude or the long climbs. Even hilly hard packed trails of more than a few miles are hard to come by. The Lakes come close, but I'd say this is limited to the height of summer when all the puddles have dried up. I think the coastal paths of the South West, the trails up, down and around Snowdon and the forest trails of Keilder Forest would be a good mix. Of course, they are so far apart you'd have to pick your terrain and then pick your weekend.

With tackling events such as the Fellsman, LAMM and SLMM earlier in the year, we focused more on the general fitness and endurance rather than the terrain. Not to forget the Bob Graham round. Unfortunately all of these involve running on pretty much the roughest terrain available and the climbs are often not runnable. This is where specific terrain and distance would've come in very useful.

Whilst we had a good two months after the SLMM before the Transalpine; holidays, other events and the Olympics meant that we simply didn't have the time to get out to specific terrain. If we were to run the Transalpine again, I think I'd pencil in a couple of weekends and head for some specific terrain. Even an extended weekend in the Alps would be feasible and of course, offer the most specific training imaginable.

Kit weight 

This is a minor one, but we did stick diligently to the specified race kit list, at least for the first few stages. Our experience of '4-seasons in one day' in the Lakes and Scotland meant that we were prepared for anything. Indeed, had the weather really 'come in' on those first few days we would've been in our element. 

It appeared many of the Europeans were cutting kit pretty close to the bone. Extensive first aid kits were replaced by the odd sticking plaster, 'waterproof' jackets were replaced by featherlite pertex windproofs and as for the 1 litre water container, well, maybe they were carrying a plastic bag?

We gradually ditched parts of our kit as the event progressed and the kit check became more of a question of having some kit, full stop. Although, we always had what we felt we might need, making choices largely on the weather forecast.

This would've been a sensible approach right from the start and may have provided a marginal gain on the first few days results. Of course, by the end of the week, the time gaps were vast and a few grams here and there wouldn't have made the difference.

I'm not quite so sure this principle applies to Mountain Marathons....

Transalpine Run 2012

A month ago to this day (is it really that long!) Adam and I stood on the start line of the biggest challenge of our lives.

I guess we have put off writing this blog because for the last three weeks we haven’t wanted to accept that this incredible adventure is over. For over a year, for both Adam and I the Transalpine-Run had been our target, our ambition and our drive. It didn't let us down. Much like the sensation in the weeks after our successful BGRs, it feels a shame that the race is over.

Although the pain has now finally passed (along with my big toe nail) the incredible memories of eight epic days in the Alps remain clear as ever.

Here are a just a few of them...

Tops Brits, 13th Overall and 8th in the Men's Category

We did it!! 321KM and 15000m +/- climb over 8 days in the Alps. We also exceeded our expectations in terms of results, finishing as the top placed Brits and 13th overall out of over 300 international teams that started. At the end it was more about surviving the stage than racing but as teams dropped out, we gradually climbed the leader board and consolidated our position over the last few stages. Our average pace over the whole race was 7:07 per KM or 4:59 per marathon.

Reports, photos and videos (!) to follow...

Taper...counting down the miles and the days

I've never quite seen the benefit of tapering after my disastrous first marathon back in 2009 - a planned three week taper felt counter productive at the time and ultimately it didn't help in the slightest. Since then, I've only ever experimented with small tapers, the odd day here and there before half marathons, marathons, mountain marathons etc.

However, for my Transalpine training plan, I was conscious that heading into the race tired wouldn't be a good start. I therefore introduced a two week taper, of which I'm about two thirds through. After my last long-ish run this morning, things seem to have gone well. Rather than reduce the number of runs each week, I've just reduced the intensity and length of each run and have generally been feeling quite easy.

I'm suffering a bit with tightness in the calves and ankles and my new Kanadia's need a bit more breaking-in, but other than that, I'm pleased with the way the training has gone. I've stuck to my original aims and completed four hard and two recovery/medium weeks; clocking up mileage way in excess of what i've achieved before. I've also done some consistent, week-in, week-out hill sessions and definitely noticed the difference here.

The key indicators here have been my past couple of races. A second place at the Richmond Park trail challenge and then a win at the Guildford Parkrun on Saturday. At 17:25, it's some way off what I've run before, but with very little speedwork completed recently, I see this more as an indicator of fitness. A steady 9 mile warm down, together with feeling pretty fresh at the end, means I'm feeling pretty positive.

With only three days to go until we fly out, I've got a couple more easy runs and a final sports massage to go. Hopefully some light stretching in between and a serious amount of carbo-loading will set me up for what will be an awesome week in the Alps!

It's come round so quickly....

We'll try and get some reports up on the blog whilst we're out there, but if not, hopefully Twitter (@tyneandweary) will be a little bit more accessible and results should be up on the main Transalpine web site - http://www.transalpine-run.com/alps_cross_results.htm

3 weeks to go!

Finally, a chance to briefly update the blog having returned from a busy but very relaxing UK holiday with Rosie.

Despite being on 'holiday' last week, I still managed to get some all important training in:

Firstly, visiting an old favourite training ground of mine the Peak District- blasting around Kinder Scout before heading south (VERY south!) and exploring the beautiful countryside of Kent, finally meeting up with Adam for him to prove he is in great shape by pushing me hard over a three hour run in the undulating Downs.

The week was capped off with a lovely evening with Adam's friends Paul and Sam - AKA "Team Hampshire Hobblers". With four of the five people around the dinner table very much looking forward to being on the start line in 3 weeks time, it is fair to say Rosie had to endure a lot of TransAlpine related conversation!

I have been inspired by the London Olympics and having experienced the incredible atmosphere and insane pedigree of athletes first hand at the mens Marathon, I now cannot wait for our own adventure to start!

Final plans are coming together, the last hard training sessions are imminent and the excitement is most certainly building.

With less than three weeks to go the TransAlpine Run now seems very real... Bring it on!

6 weeks to go!!

Today (21st July) marks 6 weeks until the start of the Gore-Tex Transalpine-Run. The main preparation races and events (HighlanderMM, Fellsman, Bob Graham, LAMM and SLMM) are long behind us and the next 6 weeks will be spent tailoring our training to the event and preparing for the start.

Neither myself or Andy have had an ideal lead up to this point with various injuries getting in the way between January and July. However, it appears the winds have changed and both of us are entering this period of refinement in good form (touch wood). Perfect timing?

Having built up a strong base and recovered from the above events, I have three stated goals for the next phase, in priority order:

1. To reach the start line uninjured and fresh to race
2. To have an uninterrupted training period (ie. not get injured during the final lead up)
3. To be on the start line in top condition to race

I've developed a training plan that focuses on number 3. However, I feel it would be careless to not bear in mind numbers 1 and 2 as I progress through. The slightest inkling that fatigue, illness or injuries are creeping in and I'll amend the plan suitably.

The plan builds on the last few weeks and takes me through a cycle of hard and medium training weeks before a two week taper to the race itself. I've planned around a few notable events; including a couple of days that I have off work to see the Olympic athletics and gymnastics events; Marc and Kim's wedding and Andy's planned visit 'dawrn sarrfff' in August.

In preparing the plan I've focused around 5 key points:

1. To improve my climbing ability (weekly hill sessions)
2. To maintain leg strength and conditioning for the long down hill sections
3. To ensure sufficient rest and recovery (a few sports massages and eating/drinking the right stuff)
4. To teach my body to cope with the demands of running hard day after day after day (robustness)
5. To teach my body to recover quickly between sessions and learn what works in terms of recovery ready for the race itself

I'm looking forward to following the plan and building up confidence for the race. It's fair to say that I've never tried to follow such a structured plan so am heading somewhat into the unknown. Fingers crossed!

Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon

The Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon has a reputation as being a beginner friendly MM, allowing novices to experience the same mountainous terrain and navigational challenges that feature in any MM, but in a more condensed area and with the luxury of refreshments at the Mid Camp. The SLMM, much like the RAB, has a solo category – the Klets course – along with some longer standard courses to challenge the more experienced runners.

Day 1

Entering the Klets course meant that Adam and I would spend the weekend independently testing our hill fitness, route choice and navigation skills. An added twist for this year’s event, held at Wasdale Head, was that all of the Klets competitors would have a mass start, involving an exam room style race to mark up the maps before deciding on how best to divide the 22 controls into two days.

Having run together in a number of MMs over the last 3 years, inevitably Adam and I chose completely opposite routes!

Day 1 routes

Adam chose to pick off two outlying checkpoints around Great Gable before taking a clockwise route to the midcamp, leaving a shorter more direct run back over familiar terrain to the finish on Day 2. I chose the more popular option to take an anticlockwise route, picking off 14 checkpoints and leaving the flatter run around the south of Wast Water for Day 2.

Once again on a MM the MWIS forecast was far worse than the weather we experienced, with cloud above the summits and a light breeze to keep us cool all weekend.

Within the first hour of running Adam and I both had reason to doubt our route choice. With Adam questioning his decision to pick off the outliers as he ran back in the opposite direction to the majority of the Klets field, I didn’t have time to explain that I was now working my way back through the field. I had dropped from 1^st to almost last having over shot the very first control!

After playing catchup up over the next few controls I began to struggle on the climbs around Seatallan. Here the route choice was more interesting with a variety of options and order to pick up eight central controls, depending on which you planned on leaving for Day 2.

Generally I seemed to pick efficient lines and the rest of the day passed quickly, I ran pretty hard over the grassy tussocky terrain catching back up with Mark Ford after seeing the presumed leader, Ant Emmitt, heading back towards us up Seatallan. I pulled away from Mark over the last few controls only to lose my advantage on the penultimate checkpoint by looking for the control at the wrong point (note to self – check control description, and mark the control number on map).

Mid Camp

Mid camp was great – the sun was out, friends were arriving from different directions and each joining in with their mid camp routines in the luxury of the afternoon sunshine. Adam arrived an hour or so after me and we began discussing the day’s events whilst enjoying our beer and milk and a luxury nights sleep, with twice the usual space having each carried our own tent.

Andy Burton, Adam and Jonny Muir enjoying beers in the sun at midcamp

One advantage of this year’s Klets course was that it gave us the chance to accurately plan our route for Day 2, with everyone knowing which controls each had left. Adam and I took advantage of our new knowledge of the terrain to help each other plan efficient lines for Day 2 routes.

Day 2

The fact that no-one really knew who had done what or where people sat in the field proved a hot topic of conversation and meant that Day 2 really was a case of pushing as hard as you could, then wait and see how things unfolded as people downloaded at the finish.

Day 2 routes

Taking identical lines, Mark and I used other as a means of stretching the pace over the rugged but runable terrain. We had soon pulled away from those following who had taken the same route on Day 1. A number of people had shorter days than us, having already picked up our second control of Day 2 on Day 1. Mark and I began to catch them up despite making two small mistakes, one on the way to and one locating a control on a bend in a gorge.

From here on in it was a 12km push to the finish.  In one particularly boggy section my legs struggled to maintain Marks pace, but some strong contouring and a fast run in to the finish into Wasdale allowed me to pull away and take 4^th place in 9hrs18m, 16minutes behind the winner who had chosen a more balanced day 1 and day 2.

It had been a fast paced and short weekend of racing, starting at 7am on day two and taking only 3hrs25mins to finish, unusually I was one of the first back to the finish. Adam did, unfortunately, suffer from his decision to pick off the outliers on Day 1 but finishing in 14^th position, despite the additional distance and climb, reflects how well he was running.

Another good weekend racing in preparation for the TransAlpine – only 8weeks to go!!

Saltwell Harriers Fell Race

Being just 20 minutes drive from my house, the Saltwell Harriers fell race provided a welcome opportunity to catch up with fellow Northumberland Fell Runners members and take part in a short, fast paced race for a change.

Starting from the road just north of Stanhope, the 5.5mile loop around the undulating moorland involves a gradual and runable climb through the heather up to Collier Law mast, before turning around to follow a combination of fast trods, the C2C route and an open grassy descent to a river checkpoint. From there the river is followed downstream until the final sting in the tail – a 200m climb up a track to the finish.

As a counter in both the NE and NFR championships there was a good turnout of 120+ runners. With a view to saving my legs for the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon at the weekend, I had convinced myself that I’d be able to restrain any competitive urges and just stay relaxed and jog round.

Settling into a pace roughly in 20^th on the first climb I was finding the pace very steady and began to work through the field. I thoroughly enjoyed the fast running through relativly easy terrain, the squelch underfoot from the recent heavy rainfall made some sections heavy going but that didn’t stop Nick Swinburn setting a new course record.

Punching into the checkpoint in the river was an interesting twist, by this point I had passed Will Horsley and had 10^th place in my sights. Still feeling relaxed I continued to pick off the places, digging in on the last climb to finish 5^th, helping NFR to pip DFR to the team prize.

My ankle felt great – the nearest it has been to 100% on rough ground although I might regret the fast pace this weekend if my legs are still heavy at the Saunders!

The good company, food and prize giving ceremony in the Moorcock pub afterwards was very enjoyable, the whole field got a mention and a bottle of beer for their efforts. Thanks to Keith Wood and all at Saltwell Harriers for putting on a great evening of racing.

Andy's last BG recce - touch wood.

Some two hours after Adam will have started the Fellsman I found myself imagining myself charging off Ingleborough, hunting down the leading three runners as I was this time last year. After a difficult decision to pull out of the Fellsman, I was surprised that I was no longer frustrated at missing out. I was content: Running comfortably along the road from Seatoller to Seathwaite I was surrounded by the familiar Lakeland fells.

So the first part of the plan had worked: Like the company of an old friend, being in the Lakes had immediately made me content and eased my mind. As good as this Lakeland medicine is, it couldn’t take away the fact that my ankle was still not right. The rest of the plan, a leisurely 8-10 hour day - Legs 4 and 5 of the BG route and at sub BG pace- really would put it to the test and let me determine if I can be confident in my attempt in two weeks time.

Deliberately wanting to be tired at the start of Yewbarrow I ran fairly hard to Wasdale, in 1hr05, but found it very difficult to run comfortably on the rocky downhill sections of path. This was to be the story of the day – on the ups I was very strong and had no pain from my ankle. On the downs I struggled to jog without any discomfort and relaxing and striding out was impossibly painful.

My splits for the run reflect this, I smashed the splits for a 22hour schedule on Leg 4, especially on the significant climbs, but lost over 5 minutes time on the short grassy drop into Honister. The weather had been relatively kind, clouds above the tops and dry but with a constant and biting cold 20-30mph northerly wind to contend with. This allowed me to discover some new trods, particularly a very efficient line to pillar which I hope to find on the day.

Having polished off leg 4 in just under 4hours I sat for 10 mins at Honister to take on some food and cooled off very quickly in the wind. The painful descent to Honister had left me in two minds as to whether I should get the bus or continue and run back to Keswick. I was feeling very down and the prospect of not being able to attempt the BG seemed very real. A chat about my BG attempt with another runner encouraged me to continue, the logic being that if I couldn’t push on now, then I’ve no chance in two weeks, and if my ankle didn’t hold out over the next 3 hours or so then I’d have no choice but to put off the attempt.

The company, and consequential steady pace, of a hill walker meant that the climb up Dale Head was enjoyable, matching a 22 hour BG pace before a steady jog round to Hindscarth, back inside the splits. The flat ground was causing no pain in my ankle so I continued to jog – I managed to ‘Test of Man’ the gradual climb across to Hindscarth into a fierce headwind but marched the grassy slog up the last of the BG peaks, Robinson.

The return to Keswick was new ground for me - I thoroughly enjoyed it. I chose to take the steep grassy drop off the start of High Snab bank, which led to a very comfortable grassy track to the start of the road section which was jogged all the way back to moot hall, finding all the short cuts easily on the way. Just imagining how I will feel running in with Richard and seeing Rosie and all my support at Moot Hall made me quite emotional – I’d better hold it together on the attempt!

Upon arrival in Keswick it was amazing how my mindset had changed, I was now feeling very positive. In the grand scheme of things I hadn’t lost much time on the steep descents, and otherwise I was feeling very strong, especially on the climbs. I was reassured that the 28 miles hadn't seemed at all hard and I was feeling good at the end of it. Mentally I am prepared; The pain in my ankle had been intermittent and manageable, even without any Vitamin I. I know the routes well and have run every line that I want to take at least once, some as many as five times. I know there will be times where I feel like I cannot go on, like last year, but this year I know I will push through them.

The BG is most certainly on!

Highlander Mountain Marathon

Last weekend saw team Tyne and Weary heading north to compete in the A Class at the Highlander Mountain Marathon (HMM).

The HMM is a very friendly and compact two day mountain marathon, offering a Score course and linear courses from D to A Class. The novelty of the warmth and the exciting atmosphere generated within the marquee at the overnight camp, which hosts a live Ceilidh, hot food, quality ales and burgers, make this MM unique and even more appealing.

At the beginning of the year Adam and I had high hopes of a strong performance in this event, however my ankle injury set back in March meant that pushing the pace was not an option. Rather than withdrawing from the event the weekend was taken at a steadier pace to test my ankles recovery and maintain some strength in my legs. Tripple Echo Productions were filming the event for the adventure show so there is a chance that we may make another TV appearance...

On Saturday the weather was very kind if not cold – the patchy cloud sat above the summits for the majority of the day, only dropping with the occasional heavy hail shower, resulting in relatively easy navigation and some impressive views.

Starting from the car park at Incheril where most Munro baggers would start and finish a day’s walk up Slioch, the course planner (Alec Keith?) had put together a fantastic course for us with some interesting route choice over very mixed terrain and some incredible mountain scenery. With my ankle heavily strapped and a steady dose of Vitamin I, I was able to run much more of the course than anticipated, although contouring and steep down hills were very painful if taken at anything more than a tentative jog.

The traverse and descent from the Beinn Tharsuinn Chaol ridge was a highlight of Day 1 and catching the rib back across Loch Maree to the mid camp was a fun end to the day’s work.

Mid camp was the usual buzz of excitement as the SPORTident results kept updating and teams shared their tales of route choice the day’s adventures. Despite being conservative due to my ankle we were surprised to have finished Day 1 in 5th place only 30min behind the leaders.

The disqualification of the favourites Sam Hesling and Andy Fallas, who had destroyed the course but visited an incorrect control, had thrown the A class wide open: Three teams now had a fighting chance of winning the Sword, Mark and Jacqui Higginbottom’s consistent navigation and pace had earned them first place on Day 1, but would it be sufficient to hold off the chasing teams? Duncan Steen and Robin Sanderson, good friends of ours, were 14mins behind in third with Andy Burton and Tim Martin just 5 minutes behind in second.

With our tent pitched and the first few courses of warm food cooked up we joined the fun in the marquee. The Ceilidh, a venison burger and a pint of yellow hammer meant evening soon turned to darkness and we headed in for the night. My wife Rosie had joined the Hands on Events team to help with the marshalling for the weekend and it had been great to see her and our dog Riley at mid camp.

Day 2 dawned cold and wet. Following freezing overnight temperatures we were keen to get running and after our Breakfast of Power (© Duncan Steen) and packing away a wet tent following a heavy sleaty shower we were soon marking up the map. We rushed out of mid camp to attack Day 2, hoping to maintain our position in the top 5 and push a little harder than on Day 1.

Our performance on Day 2 consisted of strong running, hampered by poor route choice and an early navigational mistake, which saw a determined Duncan and Robin catch us by the first checkpoint. A very strong leg 2 brought us back into 3rd place but a poor choice of route meant that having reached the end of the snow lined and very rocky Beinn Eighe ridge, our checkpoint was some 250m below us. Negotiating our way around some serious crags down steep snow covered slabs was not a fun place to be - understandably we forgot about the race and carefully dropped and cut down on the safest line we could find to the checkpoint, where we effectively rejoined the race now some 40minutes down.

Adam and I ran hard over the last four checkpoints to the finish and were pleased that our strong running had balanced out the mistakes to maintain our 5th place overall.

Despite a very determined run by Duncan and Robin bringing them first home on Day 2, by over 11 minutes, consistently good pace and route choice by Mark and Jacqui Higginbottom saw them hang onto the lead and take home the coveted sword as their trophy.

In summary: a great weekend in some awesome hills, which has given me confidence that my ankle is healing well. Thanks to all the team at Hands on Events for putting together another fantastic event, we will be back next year for sure and recommend the event to all.

What is the Gore-Tex Transalpine Run?

So the evenings are getting lighter, the temperatures are back in double figures and the first signs of spring are appearing on my regular stomping ground - the North Downs. We're now well into 2012 and the Gore-Tex Transalpine Run is now only six months away! How time has flown since signing up to this race way back in 2011. Preparations have started to take place - the important bit is done - we're entered! Flights are also booked and a training plan is coming together (slowly). More on this in another post, but for now I thought it might be worthwhile giving a bit of info about the race itself.

2012 will be the eighth running of the Gore-Tex Transalpine run, an eight day stage race through arguably Europe's best known mountain range. The Alps spill into no less than seven countries and during the race we'll have the pleasure to visit three of these. Starting in the German border town of Ruhpolding, the race quickly enters true alpine country as it crosses the border into Austria on the first day. The next three days are spent traversing Austria's finest mountain terrain before crossing into northern Italy. The final four days loop through the northern Dolomites before finishing in the town of Sexten.

Traversing a whole country over a four day period is no mean feat and the stats add up to back this up. The whole route is in the region of 320KM and therefore averages 40KM per day, or, to put it in simple terms for your average Joes, about a marathon a day. Of course, the race doesn't divide up so nicely; day one is a whopping great 49.6KM and is fortunately the longest day. The shortest day, day five, is a meager 32.8KM.

Each day, or stage, is expected to take the leading teams around 4 hours, give or take an hour depending on the distance, height gain and terrain. Times are accumulated over the eight stages to decide the overall finishing positions and the winning time is historically somewhere between 24 and 30 hours. There's no rest day or 'easy' day as there may have been in previous years. Hopefully it does not seem too much like a walk in the park, and I haven't even mentioned the climb yet!

It's no surprise that the Transalpine Run is mountainous to say the least. Ruhpolding, the start line and lowest point on the course sits at 656m above sea level. The high point, a pass at Birnlucke in Austria, reached mid way through stage four, sits a couple of kilometres higher at an impressive 2665m. All but two of the stages exceed the 2000m mark at one time or another and the total climb is expected to be at least 15000m. Or, back in average Joe's terms, nearly twice the height of Everest (or 50 Eiffel Towers or 40 Empire State Buildings for the urbanites amongst our readership).

Of course, the Transalpine Run is not just a challenge but a race as well. There are five categories to be contested, all for teams of two. Myself and Andy are a little shy of the veteran mark of a combined eighty years (a sprightly fifty two at the last count!!) and therefore will be competing amongst the elite in the Men's category. There are 275 teams from all over the world all in all, of which about 90 are senior men's teams. A top 100 category finish should be possible then!

We'll take a more in depth look at the individual stages in the coming months but for now, sit back, relax and take in the scenery (and if you're entered, start to dream):

Team Tyne and Weary on the BBC's Adventure Show

On Tuesday 14th February, we made a couple of appearances on the BBC's Adventure Show covering the 2011 OMM in Perthshire. We finished 16th of the 43 teams that started the Elite course.

Coming into Control 4

Leaving the 4th Control

At the start of Day 2

Introduction to Team Tyne and Weary

In September 2012, Team Tyne and Weary will toe the line at one of the world's most famous stage races -  covering somewhere in the region of 320km and 15000m of vertical ascent over rough alpine terrain in 8 days visiting 3 countries - the Gore-Tex Transalpine Run. We've set up this blog to allow you, the reader, to follow our progress in the lead up to the race, through our training sessions, races and challenges. There's many a mountain to climb, many a fellside to descend, many a river to wade, many a trod to find, many a bog to trudge through and many many miles to run on the way but 2012 promises to be one awesome journey. Join us!!

Team Tyne and Weary, aka, Andy and Adam are two 20-something mountain running aficionados from North East England. They are both graduates of Durham University where they both represented the university in national orienteering and cross-country running competitions. Never quite the quickest members of the team but certainly two of the hardiest, their real calling came in the form of mountain marathons and other long distance off road events. They first partnered up for the Highlander Mountain Marathon in 2010 and came tantalisingly close to a podium finish in 4th place on the A class, only 2 and half minutes down on 3rd. They've since joined forces again during 2011 and despite numerous injuries come away with a 2nd place at the Highlander on one of the shorter courses and a 7th and 16th place at the LAMM and OMM Elite respectively.

Coupling strong individual performances through 2011 and a strong teamwork ethic, Team Tyne and Weary are hoping to surpass the achievements of the past year with a race schedule something along the lines of:

• April 14th/15th - Highlander Mountain Marathon
• April 28th - Fellsman
• May - Bob Graham Round
• June 9th/10th - Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon (LAMM)
• August 11th - North Downs 50
• September 1st-8th - Gore-Tex Transalpine Race
• October 27th/28th - Original Mountain Marathon (OMM)

Bring it on!!