Blogs

Gritstone Grind: the power of the phalanx

Published by Paul Chrisp on 13/09/13

The phalanx was a formidable formation of infantry in ancient Greece, traditionally associated with Sparta - would it work for a formidable formation of modern day Spartans taking on the Gritstone Grind?

Gritstone Grind 2013

Published by John Kleiser on 13/09/13

It’s 4:57am, “I might as well stop my alarm before it goes off and get up”. I wonder downstairs, “today is going to be a day to remember”. Bottles filled. Sandwiches packed. Running kit on. Fellow Spartans, Rob and Ged arrive and we drive off in the dark to pick up Andy. Everyone’s in good spirits and I’m enjoying the company as I’m expecting to spend most of the day alone. Park up in Disley. Register and board the bus to Kidsgrove surrounded by more Spartans.

Gritstone Grrr, Not Again

Published by James Hack on 10/09/13

What a day out! Fantastic Spartan presence, great results from our guys. And above all the ethos of our club really shone through. It was a great trail, event and day, but the Gritstone Grind was not a smooth one for me. Why? Cramp. And lots of it from really early on.

Lakeland 50 - its Glastonbury for phycos.

Published by Jim Moreton on 12/08/13

Well, here is the blog that nobody was waiting for, but I wanted to write it anyway.

Gritstone Trail part 2 of 3

Published by John Kleiser on 11/08/13

"You know how we were saying these trails were great, well this bit isn't".

Ultra Marshalling an Ultra Marathon: Lakeland 100

Published by Matt Boot on 09/08/13

Marshalling a race always seemed a thankless task, but then I've only ever done shorter races, up to half marathon distance, until just recently. Standing around, wearing a high viz vest, saying well done, keep going has never seemed fun. Then I was persuaded last year to marshal the Lakeland 100 mile race, as Spartan Steve Mee was entering, Spartans Dave Douglas and Martin Clayton were running the Lakeland 50 mile race, and it was a way to show support. As a result, I got a free place for this year's race, and because my superhero alter-ego is Captain Sensible, I marshalled again. Having done this twice now, the whole thing still brings up more questions than it does answers.

LAKELAND 50: ‘Spartan Spotting’-The Supporters Story!

Published by Val Whittaker on 02/08/13

So after months of preparation (you know the kind; occupying children singlehandedly at the weekend, organising childcare for the race weekend, preparing a flag to the exact specification of a 4 year old “it has to be just like my Spartan top - but big enough to drape around my shoulders like an Olympic runner”) the race week finally arrived and the countdown and last minute checks began......

UTLD 50: Coping in the absence of a Plan B

Published by Nick Wishart on 02/08/13

I am sat in a comfy chair at Mardale, cup of tea in hand, trying to focus my eyes, stand up and face the climb up Gatescarth Pass. It wasn’t meant to be like this, with the taste of vomit still clinging to my throat. I expected to breeze in, share a few happy words with the Spartan Army and fill the bottles before marching on to Kentmere.

The weekend so far had been fantastic. Camped in a field with around a 1000 like minded ultra nutters gave me a buzz and the air of anticipation was heightened after cheering off the 100 runners.