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Martin King
Martin King, The Independent's Online Editor, has been working on Internet sites for about 14 years. Which is why he needed to get off his backside. Other people take screen breaks, he just entered a marathon.
Back in early April, when I was training for the London Marathon, my runs took me around the Royal Show grounds at Stoneleigh in Warwickshire. Today sees the start of the last Royal Show, once the biggest agricultural event in the world. Time, I thought, to repeat my plea: Don't ditch the Royal Show, re-invent it.
Posted on 7 April 2009
The Royal Show - once the world's largest agricultural event - will soon disappear from the Great British diary. At exactly the wrong time.
About 400 of the 500-odd miles I have run since the end of October have been on rural roads - coincidentally about 100 of them close to the Royal Showground in Warwickshire, a site that is not just the geographical heart of the country but also the heart of UK farming.
I declare a bias: I covered the show (as an agriculture correspondent for the Coventry Evening Telegraph) in the late 1970s, when it enjoyed six-figure crowds and brought surrounding roads to a halt even on set-up and clear-out days.
Over 30-plus years, I have seen the show's decline from what was once THE key event for the UK's agricultural community - and even the broader rural community. But I was still astounded by the announcement that the 2009 show (7 to 10 July) would be the last in its present form. How bad can it have been to give up rather than evolve?
The Chairman of Trustees, Hugh Oliver-Bellasis, told Royal Agricultural Society of England members: "In the aftermath of the Foot and Mouth disaster in 2001 closely followed by very bad weather two years ago and Blue Tongue last year, the event has struggled – both financially and in its ability to attract both farming and non-farming visitors."
It's not the time to de-camp. Re-group instead. But don't just blame the RASE; it's also down to the Government, to all of us. Let's use this spur to review our nation's attitude to agriculture:
1. We are becoming more concerned about the quality, freshness and variety of our food, about how local it is, and sometimes how organic it can be. "Eat local" need not be a protectionist cry; it matches the needs of those seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and eat fresher produce.
2. Climate change is an opportunity as well as a challenge to our food-growers. The UK weather is only predictable in the increasing unpredictability of its extremes. Yet some warmer countries may soon see their productivity potential withering in the heat, and we could be well placed to cover the shortfall. Look how much of our farming land is barely used.
3. Both 1 and 2 above point to placing agriculture at the heart of what should be our ecological future - from rural employment and minimising water wastage to a calm debate on genetic modification and flood prevention. 'Back to nature' should also be a route to the future. And let's remember the RASE's forestry responsibilities as well.
4. While the finance sector is battered and manufacturing is weak, agriculture is the best placed for potential growth - while also taking further advantage of its natural ties into the fourth revenue generator, tourism.
The public perception of farmers may have been dimmed by years of their apparently excessive moaning, which the farmers' union tried too late to restrain. After the good years, even a hint of unpopularity made them easy prey (bankers take note) for the cutbacks that brought so many so low.
That was then. And now the RASE wants to focus on what it can deliver in 2010 and beyond.
What's needed is not to plough up the Royal Show, but to have faith that it should be re-grown. Start by pruning it back to the basics (think of a marquee and a field and grow from there), not just for the sake of the farming community, or even the rural one - but for the sake of the UK economy.
Don't ditch the Royal Show, re-invent it.
Today's news about the separation of Katie Price and Peter Andre may come as little surprise those who followed their fund-raising progress in the London Marathon recently.
Peter Andre raised more than £22,000 for the NSPCC. And Katie Price raised £48,000 for the Vision Charity.
They may may have finished together in 7h 11m. But neither of their justgiving pages mentions the other...
I've have run to the end of my Marathon journey. In the best Indy tradition, here are my 50 Best tips - for next year's newbies - picked up over the past 580 miles pounding the roads.
* If you're not prepared to build up to a few 20-mile runs in the months before the marathon, forget it!
* If you can't build to at least three training sessions a week, you'll struggle.
* The ballot entry for 2010 closed early because of record demand. Panic not: check out guaranteed charity places - but you'll have to pledge to raise a certain amount. Get in early!
* Some charities are hugely over-subscribed with would-be runners. It helps to prove links.
* Check out what charities require of you (and soon). The Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity wanted an £1,800 pledge for this year. But it provided good support with timely information, the shirt and even sports massages for runners at the post-marathon reception.
* Book the dates now. The 2010 London Marthon is on 25 April. You'll need to register just before the race at the marathon exhibition; it's at ExCel in London's Docklands from 21 to 24 April, 2010.
* Buy the Teach Yourself book 'How To Run A Marathon' by Tim Rogers for simple, clear advice and an easy-to-follow training programme. My main guide throughout.
* Write a blog; it helps you to push your sponsorship and also encourages you to dig out the knowledge to support your training.
* Trainers: the key piece of kit. Common advice is they lose their bounce after 300 miles, so you'll probably need at least a couple of pairs. Asics and Nike have video gait analysis set-ups in major stores; this is not a luxury!
* Learn about gait analysis.
* Leggings. Everyone else called these tights, but they're better for mid-winter training than most tracksuit bottoms. Even if you currently get hot on your shorter runs, your body temperature will vary as you learn to handle the body's energy stores.
* Socks: worth experimenting with variations, of which there are many. However, I found even the best socks weren't so fantastic after a couple of months.
* Gloves: a lightweight running pair was well worth the investment. You need every help to stay motivated for long runs on cold days.
* Shirt: if you're running for a charity, it will probably supply the shirt. Get your name printed on it (I had mine done at the pre-marathon exhibition where you register). It's wonderful to hear folk shouting encouragement - as in "Come on Martin, you can do it".
* A little research into common leg, knee and foot problems may help you to spot problems early. check the marathon site here.
* Watch out for the camber if you're running on the side of the road. It can be like running along the side of a hill. Run out to the middle if you're certain there is no traffic.
* Consider visiting physio once you're into your stride. You'll need plenty of time to adapt if you're advised to make changes.
* Make time to stretch! Warm-up stretches are downplayed nowadays, but post-run stretching can make recovery quicker, help you to build muscle and develop a good gait.
* Resting is NOT copping out. Muscles need to recover before you push them again. Rest days are part of the training programme.
* Don't necessarily cancel your gym membership. Workouts can add variation to the training cycle, and the gym proved essential for me when snow halted road runs in January.
* Don't think 'I play football. I can do it'. At most footballers run sporadically for 90 minutes. Many marathon runners will run 240 minutes without stopping.
* Learn to love hills. Because the London Marathon course is comparatively flat, training on hills will provide extra reserves.
* Don't expect necessarily to lose weight. The muscle you'll gain is heavier than the fat you may lose. My weight stayed the same but folk said I looked thinner.
* What's best to eat after training? Carbohydrates (most famously pasta, but also potatoes, rice etc) supply glycogen, the muscle fuel. Experts advise that you have a carbohydrate and protein snack within 30 minutes of finishing exercise, with a carbohydrate-rich meal within a few hours after that.
* Porridge (more carbs) is great pre-training breakfast. And it's easy to repeat on the Big Day.
* Consider a GPS device to monitor your distances and pace. Downloading to a computer not only provides helpful records, but can aid motivation.
* A heart monitor can provide reassurance and also enable you to push yourself in a controlled way as you develop distance and pace. Some are related to GPS devices.
* Vary your training routes. Use an online route planner.
* Use the Met Office 5-day forecasts to plan your training if you want to avoid a soaking. Here's London's.
* Safety 1: If you're running on lanes without footpaths, the Highway Code advises that you face oncoming traffic unless you're going round a blind bend. At least you get a chance to jump in the hedge.
* Safety 2: Even in daylight, consider wearing high-visibility clothing. And if your thinking of that bright-red shirt, remember than colour blindness is more common than most people think (with red/green difficulties one of the most common manifestations).
* Safety 3: Much as you might want to listen to music, I'd advise against headphones on single-track country lanes. You need to hear what's coming up behind you.
* Check out the training routines and advice here at the 2010 marathon website
* Once you start longer runs, learn about hydration and nutrition. I used the same sports drink as the one available on the marathon course to avoid shocking my system with something strange. You'll also need to learn about gels (sticky stuff in tearable foil packs).
* You'll need to take drinks with you once you run for more than an hour (less if it's hot).
* Don't carry a bottle in one hand; the imbalance could do odd things to your gait. Look into a belt with a bottle holder. Or, if you're really serious, a backpack water pouch.
* Be aware of hyponatremia. This is caused when too much fluid upsets the balance of salts in the blood. In extremes, it can be fatal. But marathon literature will provide clear guidance on how to avoid it.
* On the big day, it's not unknown for runners to suffer the trots. A couple of Imodium tablets in your pocket could be reassuring.
* If you've never entered a mass run, try a 10k or maybe later a half-marathon. Running in a crowd is far different from heading along blissfully at your own consistent pace.
* Consider varying paces in some training runs, to simulate being stuck in a crowd of slower runners, then making up time when a clearer stretch emerges. Doing this to a consistent overall pace would have helped me on the big day.
* Having trained through a cold winter, I was caught out by the heat on the big day this year. Don't duck out of training if there's a warm March day - take advantage of it!
* If the big day is sunny, remember the sun lotion!
* If you're running for charity, a web donations page will make life much easier. The market leader has been www.justgiving.com. Next year, with Virgin taking over as the marathon's main sponsor, sees the new not-for-profit Virgin Money service - which promises 'significantly lower charges for charities than other fundraising websites'.
* Consider printing cards showing your fundraising web address to deny potential sponsors the excuse of asking "What was that address?"
* Give potential major sponsors plenty of warning so a) they can save up and b) they'll see just how long-term your commitment will be.
* You must not ignore the 'taper period' in the final weeks before the marathon; your body needs the time to recover and build up energy stores. So it's NOT the time to catch up on missed training.
* Watch the video of "Run Fat Boy, Run". The timescale is farcical, but oddly Simon Pegg's character provided some motivation for me in those hard final miles.
* Next time you see a St John Ambulance collecting tin, make a donation. The volunteers provide vital support on race day and you may be grateful for an outstretched blob of petroleum jelly to rub on sore bits.
* Remember this motivational fact: Only 441 of the 35,747 starters in 2009 had to give up - 35,306 finished!
* Don't blether on about your training endlessly till your colleagues and friends start looking skywards. (Here I failed miserably.)
My sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who sponsored me for the London Marathon. I hope to have raised more than £1,800 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital charity after getting round in 4h 28m - in 13,785th position out of 35,306 finishers. Donations still welcome at my justgiving page...
The entry ballot for next year's London Marathon closed in just two days and 16 hours, more than two weeks faster than ever before despite a system hold-up on Monday.
More than 120,000 runners have been accepted for the ballot and now face an anxious wait. Even if entrants miss out, they can still try for a guaranteed charity place, although most will expect a pledge on a minimum amount.
Click here for the full press release.
Came back soon for my retiring Marathon Man post - my 50 Best tips.
Calling all wannabe runners for the London Marathon next year! Start saving now for a GPS gizmo to record and track your training.
If you want a look at two very different solutions, I gave them the ultimate trial - round the marathon course on Sunday.
The Garmin 405 Forerunner watch (check out the newer additions to the range)
Good news:
* It proved a reliable and consistent ally from the end of October when I started the training at the end of October.
* It comes with a heart monitor you strap round your chest and which links via BlueTooth to the watch. Good for pushing the training.
* It's easy to monitor heart rate, pace, distance and time on rotating screens as you run.
* It links wirelessly to your PC you set up
* On the PC, you can follow your pace/heart race etc on a graph and a spot shows the matching point on the route. Click for full-page image of my actual marathon report page.
Bad news:
* Fiddly to set up
* The route maps are disappointing in the depth of detail.
* Another gizmo to recharge! (You lose the end of the run details if it dies.)
* Stops the clock when stationary - good news but "resting time" not recorded separately.
The Trimble Outdoors application: on a BlackBerry Curve 8900
Good news:
* Once downloaded to the phone, a simpler set-up.
* Good quality maps as standard on a good website layout (see my actual marathon report page) and easy switch to large map.
* Resting time recorded, and you can also see active and total times.
* Uploads automatically to the site when you hit stop.
* Check for other tricks on the application.
* You have a phone with you on the run in case of emergencies.
Bad news:
* The distances were a little questionable. It said I ran 28.12 miles round the marathon (not 26.2 miles), which is a bit extreme even allowing for running about about for picking up water and overtaking.
* No interaction with a heart monitor. No trackable relation between graphs and route
* You have to haul the Blackberry round with you.
* It's a lot harder to pull out the BlackBerry to check your progress than it is to look at a watch.
* It gave the marathon a decidedly mean difficulty rating of 5/10 !!!
In Common
* Both give you options to share the data (with training partners, friends, sponsors.
* Both had GPS signal hiccups near the Canary Wharf towers (which might explain the Trimble's strange distance report).
* Both tell you how much height you climbed on the route (2,300ft round the marathon).
* Both allow you to substitute satellite photos for the map. Both allow you to store comments on a run.
* Above all, both provide a powerful tool for both motivation and monitoring.
* My sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who sponsored me for the London Marathon. I hope to have raised more than £1,800 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital charity after getting round in 4h 28m - in 13,785th position out of 35,306 finishers. Donations still welcome at my justgiving page...
* Coming soon: Marathon Man signs off - with the 50 Best tips to get you in the race and round to the finish.
Where did your friend really finish in the London Marathon? Are you hearing the right finish time? You can check VERY easily.I am delighted to say I finished in the top half of the London Marathon finishers. OK, only just. I came in at 17,640 - and 17,666 finished after me. But now I'm really glad I kept running during those tough final miles.
Thanks to my daughter for digging out this reassuring fact at the London Marathon results database.
And you can check anyone by name so you don't even need to know the running number. You can even check the pace across the course - all wonderfully techie, but very user-friendly.
One final stat: a total of 35,747 people started the marathon and 35,306 finished. Amazingly, only 441 had to give up - a bulldog breed!
* I raised about £1,800 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (donations are still welcome at my justgiving page).
* Coming soon, an interesting analysis of the Blackberry app and my Garmin watch and how they varied from the official time. And some advice for folk thinking of trying to enter for the London Marathon next year.
* For full recent links, click here.
The mood in the Blue Start paddock was twitchy. It wasn't meant to be this warm. Even the 6am TV forecast said it would be cooler, with cloud increasing and the possibility of showers after lunch.Instead we were sharing sun lotion and trying to balance out how much we should drink with the desire to avoid the dreaded loo break.
But I didn't get that right at all. Despite joining the half-hour loo queue at the start, I needed to stop at around 18 miles - and ended up wasting about 13 minutes outside the portable loos. I could have joined the other men using roadside hedges and walls, but... Well, but.
I had been going well, despite the frustration of being unable to run a consistent pace through the crowds of runners, but the loo stop wasn't the last of my problems with hydration.
Having started the first half with too much liquid, I ended up with too little. I don't know about 'hitting the wall', I just know the last six miles were the hardest single slog I have ever endured. I found someone doing roughly my pace, but who looked less pained, and followed him.
So many people were walking it was hugely tempting to join them. But I thought of all those training miles I'd invested, of all my sponsors, of Simon Pegg in 'Run Fat Boy, Run' and carried on carrying on. I grabbed a bottle of water every time I could, but it was too late to correct the balance.
At least a breeze had sprung up by the Embankment. I expected the 25-mile marker would give me a lift, with only another 1.2 miles to go, but I was too weary even for that. Even when I got to the 800 yards marker, I still had a battle not to slow to a walk.
Then 365 yards, the line clearly in sight. No euphoria, just the continuing fight right to the end. Then the line. Take off your hat for the photo as you pass through, remember to smile and look cool (ha!) for your photograph, and be grateful you were too late for the BBC cameras.
My time was 4h 28m. And I'm regretting that loo stop because I'd have been a lot happier with 4h 15m.
Was it enjoyable? Well, I'd have to be a masochist to say that. Am I glad I did it? Yes, and perhaps even more satisfied I got round than I would have been had it been less difficult.
And to all those who came out to support the runners and wonder whether we hear those cheers: Yes, we do. It provides a valuable lift and to those who looked at my shirt and shouted 'You can do it, Martin' I am delighted to say I did.
* I was 13,785th out of 35,306 finishers and raised about £1,800 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (donations are still welcome at my justgiving page). And thanks to GOSH for providing very welcome sports massages for its runners at a post-run reception. The charity organisers been tremendously efficient and supportive.
* Coming soon, an interesting analysis of the Blackberry app and my Garmin watch and how they varied from the official time. And some advice for folk thinking of trying to enter for the London Marathon next year.
* For full recent links, click here.
With around 35,000 runners entered for the London Marathon on Sunday, how do you follow the progress of a single runner?
Try using the tracking system run by one of the main sponsors, adidas. Entering the shirt number will tell you roughly where the runner is. It only works to the nearest 5k, but at least it's some guidance when you're trying to spot someone in the multi-coloured bounding sea of humanity.
I make the usual warnings about handing over your mail and mobile number, but it's a big name and a good service. Click here to register.
As well as updates on a website if you have a WAP-enabled mobile, you can also ask for a text message giving the start and finish times. All you need is the runner's shirt number; mine is 14787.
All runners are given a coded chip to record the exact moment they cross the start (there are three, but they still take a good while to clear) and the finish.
As for the finish, here's one tip for runners: don't forget to look up if you've ordered a photograph. The advice came from a friend who was busy looking down to press her stop watch; a great picture of the top of her head, I gather.
* I'm running the London Marathon (a debut, aged 54) for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity and you can sponsor me here.
* For full recent links, click here.
Running the London Marathon is about a lot more than running. Mind you, there's been plenty of that - more than 560 miles of it since November, according to the Garmin gizmo, plus gym sessions.And I've learned plenty about my body, with insights into injury management, knowledge of nutrition and hydration, and balancing the need for rest with the desire for it (i.e. determination).
But with just days to go before Sunday's race, now's the time to be pragmatic. So here's my checklist:
* Register at the exhibition (did that yesterday!)
* Visit your charity stall (if and if...)
* Running shirt, with number attached
* Trainers, with timing chip attached
* Favourite shorts/underwear/socks
* Hat/sweatband and knee straps
* Arm band for mobile (and charge it!)
* Garmin gizmo (and charge it!)
* Energy gels/sports drinks/bananas/cereal bar (for before/during/after)
* Imodium (just in case)
* Suntan lotion (check weather forecast).
* Plastic cape for before race (I've seen forecast!)
* Kit bag (it must be the official one with number attached)
* Change of kit for after race
* Vaseline sachets, plasters, strapping
Alongside that is the pragmatic stuff like checking transport times and arranging meeting points with family/friends.
And I have one specific goal only. Much as I'd like to be close to a 4-hour time, I was dismayed when I saw that a lady running in a rhino kit (like the one in the photo above) hopes to do 4hr 30min. If I see that coming up behind me, I shall be VERY unhappy.
* Tomorrow, the high-tech way of tracking a runner.
* I'm running the London Marathon (a debut, aged 54) for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity and you can sponsor me here.
* For full recent links, click here.
Many London Marathon runners (and their supporters!) will be watching Sunday's weather forecast with interest. Well, above is an excerpt of the Met Office 5-day forecast for central London.
Temperatures may be jumping up towards 20C in this marvellous spring week but I doubt I'm alone in thinking that may be a tad too warm for the run - especially if you're running dressed as a Mr Man, rhinoceros or telephone booth.
There is a serious side. Runners who over-hydrate (drink too much) can suffer dire consequences. Worried about the effect on their energy of drinking too little, they can lay themselves open to potentially fatal hyponatraemia.
But the forecast shows the good weather coming to an end: there will be heavy showers, with a strong wind and a maximum temperature of 16C. Suspect the supporters may be gloomier about that than the runners.
* I'm running the London Marathon (a debut, aged 54) for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity and you can sponsor me here.
* For full recent links, click here.
