London | Ian Corless host of Talk Ultra podcast

Dimitrios Theodorakakos and Silvia Serafinii

They both won! Silvia running so quickly that she was 4th overall and this may very well have been a top 3 had she not been of course multiple times through poor course marking and complacent marshalling. Dimitrios ran 3:25:19 and Silvia 3:39:15.

Dimitrios almost lost the race due to errors from course marking and marshalling…. from a comfortable lead he ended up being neck and neck with 2nd place Julian Rendell and then pushed away again in the closing stages to secure victory!

Dimitrios said “the course markings are terrible and the marshals are too busy on phones… by the time they realised I was there it was too late… six times I went of course. The organisers seriously need to look at some significant improvements for next year!’

Silvia confirmed “I went off course so many times… it’s terrible! If I am running a ‘marked’ course I want it to be marked. Today was too stressful. It as all very well when running slower and you have the time to look around but if you are racing I just want to concentrate on speed and effort… not worrying if I am course”

Not great! Considering the ultra had a small field in comparison to the Half Marathon (12,000) the race had some great pluses. A wonderful course around the parks of London, post race massage, good food provisions post race and a great setting. If only they could get the course marking to that standard… in addition, each runner got a wooden medal; a nice touch!

This race has great potential and will be a perfect race for those venturing up from marathon distance. It includes road and easy trail and at 50k it is the perfect step up distance.

Here are images from the day.

The Endurance Life crew went to see the Olympic Torch in Devon last week and thought, how come this relay involves shuttling the Torch about in a car!? Being ones up for a challenge or two, they developed a cunning plan for a real relay…

Endurance Life release

The Real Relay
Runners attempt 8000 mile non-stop relay around Britain

An extraordinary attempt to run the entire route of the Olympic Torch Relay will begin next week in Cornwall. Starting out from Land’s End at midnight on Monday 28th May, the Endurancelife Real Relay will involve hundreds of runners from across Great Britain who will collectively run every step of the 8000 mile route in one non-stop adventure.

Each runner will take on a section of the continuous route, passing the Real Relay baton down the line. Despite starting out ten days later than the official Olympic Torch Relay, the Real Relay aims to reach London’s Olympic Park ahead of it. For this to be achieved, the Real Relay must keep going for 24 hours of each day with team members running non-stop through day and night.

Organisers of the Real Relay, Endurancelife, are inviting runners from all over Britain to run their local section. To be eligible, runners must be capable of maintaining a ten minute mile pace for the duration of their section and make a minimum £10 donation to the Real Relay’s official charity, CHICKS.

Sections will range from ten to one hundred miles. Runners can sign up online via the Endurancelife Facebook page.

Over forty sections of the route between Land’s End to Bristol are currently online, with the remaining sections to be added over the coming days and weeks.

Endurancelife Director, Andrew Barker, who conceived the idea of the Real Relay said:

“We watched the Olympic torch pass through our Devon village last weekend and, as the torch bearer jumped in the van to drive on to the next destination, we looked at each other and thought, but what if the torch just kept on running? It’s an awe-inspiring challenge we’re setting and many will say it simply can’t be done.

“But we’re confident that the Real Relay will capture the imaginations of the Great British public and enough runners will be inspired to take part and make it happen. We’re determined to prove that the 8000 mile journey can be done the real way, non-stop and on foot.”

A uniquely designed Real Relay baton will contain a special tracking device so that anyone can follow its progress online throughout its 59 day journey.