RE: Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
(06-04-2012, 08:45 PM)anlu247 Wrote: We´re leaving on Saturday and before getting to Worcester we would like to see the Cotswolds a little. By the way, I´d appreciate if the people who know the area could suggest a route to do from Gatwick airport to Worcester visiting the most interesting places in the Cotswolds.
Hi Antonio - nice to hear from you.
Brighton would certainly have been a little more convenient, but Worcester is an interesting alternative.
Regarding LGW to Worcester, there are a number of options. You won't want to do too much the day before a race so if you are looking for a scenic drive, you could do worse than this sort of thing -- http://g.co/maps/tewbw
I've tried to take you off the motorway as much as possible, apart from the beginning and the end.
This route takes you to Stonehenge, which you should see once in your life (though the monument is awkwardly situated close to a main road), then up through the delightful towns of Bradford on Avon and Chipping Sodbury, and on up to Worcester via Stroud. If you have a SatNav, make sure you put the correct Bradford into it, as you won't want to go near the other one. The places mentioned are just waypoints -- the real pleasure is all the charming Cotswold villages in between. If you have time (unlikely) then you could stay off the motorway after Stroud to see more rural England.
But to be honest, even this route shown is pretty long. Google Maps reckons just under 5 hours, so you would have to get an early start as you might have to build in a bit of extra time to cope with unfamiliar driving conditions.
An alternative would be this: http://g.co/maps/pyaex which is quicker, and takes you through Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace). It means more time on the motorway, though you still get to see some pretty countryside once you get off the M40. It's not quite so Cotswoldy, but still very pleasant. Both routes have loads of excellent country pubs to enjoy lunch and a few pints of pre-race strong ale.
How much time do you have after the race? If you have another leisurely drive available to you, you could go up one way and down the other.
Worcester itself is a nice town, though you may not have the time or energy to see much of it.
Good luck, old chap. We'll be very interested to hear the tale.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
RE: Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
Yes, best of luck Antonio, I hope your knee doesn't cause you too much grief. At our age it's best just to try and enjoy the race and not worry about the times too much anyhow! Have fun!
RE: Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
Muchas gracias, everybody.
EG, I think we can do one one route on Saturday and the faster one on Monday morning.In the afternoon, we´d like to go with Sweder, Camilla and anyone else that can come on a run in the Downs and visit the place where Chris´ ashes are.
I hope your thigh is better, EG.
MLCM, I agree with you. I think that the most important thing is to be able to do some sport. The time it takes doesn´t really matter much.
RE: Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
Gracias, BB. We want to visit Worcester and its beautiful cathedral as well.
We´ll take the drive easy enjoying the scenery and the little towns stopping to eat something and have a drink -an alcohol-free drink the driver- of course.
RE: Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
After Almería half marathon where I just managed to finish in two hours 30 minutes because of an injury in my right hamstring. Fortunately, I could go on training softly for a week and harder and longer the next weeks.
On Sunday 18th March I picked up Antonio G. at six am and drove to Murcia. He´s going to do Worcester marathon on 15th April whereas I’m going to do the half marathon. It is his first marathon. He’d like me to do it with him but I don’t feel well enough. However, when I finish the half marathon, I want to go back and do with him his last miles.
It was a lovely day in Murcia although later it got hotter. We picked up our race numbers and went to have breakfast at a café near the sports pavillion. There were two races at the same time: the half marathon and the 10 km race. There were 2400 entrants for the half marathon and 600 for the 10 km race. The atmosphere was fantastic. There were also many soldiers from a parachuting brigade in Alcantarilla, 10 km away.
We started together but after one kilometre I felt that I could increase my pace and left him behind. I greeted Rafa, the companion I did many kilometres with at Almería half marathon. Later, I learnt that he had to do just 10 km because of strong pain in some muscles. I saw a balloon with the 2 hours target just 300 metres ahead but I didn’t want to force since I didn’t want to get injured again. Anyway, I managed to do the first 12 kilometres at a 5´45´´ pace the kilometre. However, in the last kilometres I had to slow down since I felt tired. In kilometre 14 I met a man, Amadeo from Elche de la Sierra, who had a problem in an artery and although he had done a half marathon under one hour forty minutes, he couldn’t force to avoid big problems. So, we went together talking and enjoying the race. We arrived together and congratulated each other. After picking up a technical T-shirt and a bag with fruit, water, juice, a cap, etc I saw Antonio G arriving. He had done the half marathon in two hours 23 minutes. Then, we went to where the awards were given and gave our race numbers to take part in a draw of ten legs of cured ham. The gave a prize and a boy took out a race number. I was the first lucky one but Antonio G. was the third one. So, we left with our legs of cured ham to the car and decided to go to Sierra Espuña, in the province of Murcia, to have lunch. In that natural park we found a nice restaurant with fantastic views where we had a fantastic meal. The restaurant is called El mirador de Gelves. After that, we went to Lorca where we visited a friend of mine, who is a Franciscan friar at the local sanctuary. He showed us the beautiful building which was affected by the earthquake last May. He also showed us a part of the town where some blocks of flats had to be demolished for security reasons.
RE: Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
You won't be getting cured ham at Worcester, that's for sure!
A big well done for the Murcia Half. Interesting the bit about Lorca, I remember seeing the church on TV at the time of the earthquake.
Good luck for the Half Marathon. I see that you'll be heading for Droitwich which is where my sister works (at Morrisons supermarket). It looks like a nice route with lots of country lanes. Look forward to the report and the photos. All the best!
RE: Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
Good luck from all of us, Antonio. I'm sure your usual dogged efforts will get you round. And all the best to the other Antonio G. It is probably a couple of centuries since Worcester had such exotic visitors, so I'm sure you'll be a great hit.
Can't wait to hear how it all went, and also, if you manage to get a run out on the Downs if you are hooking up with Sweder later.
Again. good luck! Or as they say in German-speaking Switzerland, "bon chance!"
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
RE: Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
Thank you very much. Just a few words to say that it was a wonderful experience. We were lucky with the day since it was sunny. The atmosphere was nice at the start and in the course. The scenery was beautiful since it is in the rural outskirts of Worcester.
I felt strong the first 7 miles doing them at a 9 minute pace but later I had to slow down due to lack of training because of the knee injury and the hills. When I got to the finish line, I was given a T-shirt and a bag with a beautiful medal in which is engraved the cathedral of Worcester, a bottle of water and a cake.
Antonio G. managed to do his first full marathon in 5 hours 16 minutes feeling glad and not too exhausted.
I´ll write a longer report and post some photos as soon as I can.
Objectives: Under two hours and under eighty kilos
