Goiridh

oops! Ignore me.

So....I went all the way to Israel to run the Tel Aviv marathon and it was cancelled due to a heatwave!! They allowed the half marathon to go ahead but still had one death and 12 in intensive care in the end. It was pretty hot! Still... a nice city break and an interesting half marathon, but not really what the last 6 months of training have been about. I've done my sulking and I'm now signed up for the Birmingham & Black Country Half in July. I did it a few years ago and its a great race. The start line is at the C&RT workyard in Wolverhampton and finish by the NIA in central Brum. As it's all on the tow-path it's a time-trial rather than mass race. Water-points courtesy of the BCN society. This is a great run, anyone else doing it?

Ah, ditch the treadmill. All you need is a good pair of shoes (trail shoes for proper snow), nice strong ankles and some good base-layers, hat and gloves. Not quite sure how the race in Tel Aviv will go though. I live in north-east Scotland so most training is done sub-zero and blowing a 'hoolie' as we say up here. It's currently in the mid 20's in Israel so over-heating is a distinct possibility! Hey, it's all fun anyway.

A lovely run from central Brum along the Birmingham & Fazeley and Coventry to the Tame Otter pub at Hopwas. 20 miles in 2 hours 40mins. Roll on the Tel Aviv Marathon in 3 weeks, should be a bit warmer though!

13 miles from Fazeley round Pooley Fields and back today in a blizzard. Frozen mutton-chops.....that's a first! All good fun though, especially dodging the sledges on the hill at Pooley.

[quote name='Dignity' timestamp='1346704273' post='933206'] Hello all you runners,yes I run, nothing special anymore,but for 13 years I was a triathlete and did three Ironmen races.Mad runner glad to see you've tackled a half,your goal is now to get the time down to two hours.I'd encourage every one to take up some exercise,good for your mental well being,good for your body,good for the quality of your life.Its only a world of pain till you get fit. [/quote] I always fancied triathlon but i'm not a great swimmer. Maybe should work on it. The last swim I had was in the Birmingham & Fazely, thankfully at the Fazely end and not the Brum end. Wouldn't recommend it, especially in November!

Sounds great. I've just signed up for the Tel Aviv marathon...different if anything. Budapest is a lovely city!

Absolutely right! I've discovered some nice running off towpath that you wouldn't notice otherwise. Pooley fields is one. Chasing a moving boat is fun and a great way to pile in done extra miles but on more than one occasion I've been at a junction trying to remember our cruising plan!

Well done, it's a great feeling at the finish line. You're right about the time that marathon training takes, it really does take over your life completely, and for months on end. You can train for a half and still live a life.....and drink the odd glass of beer too.

Hi Paul, I've don't the GNR a few times too, absolutely fantastic for atmosphere! The forth & Clyde coast to coast sounds great, I'm going to look into that. The Burmingham and Black Country half is a good canal run. Starts at the BW yard beyond Wolverhampton top lock and finishes at Brindley place area.

Hi mad-runner, great that you've got your first half under your belt, how did it go? Ever thought about going for the full 26?

Come on now folks, it's not really that bad. Ange, I'm sure Darren would let you have a whiff of his oxygen if you needed it. And starry, Lycra is not compulsory. Didn't Jade Goodie attempt to run the London marathon in a comfy flannelette track suit and some light summer plimsoles? .....mind you, I think she was carted off in an ambulance half way in. As for the runners shits, never been a problem......but I have spewed on several occasions. Once in big style on the Mall, (hoping queenie didn't notice) and once spectacularly at the finish line of the Brum & black country half just outside the Malt House pub on Brindlay Place. No, don't know what all the fuss is about, it's a perfectly sensible past time. Blackrose, well done on the boat gym, u should take that to dragons den before midland swindlers get in on the act. Can see an opening at next years Crick show for this!

Next time I'm down braunston way Starry I'll take you out. Darren can come too and his zombie like wheezIng staggering up behind us will spur you on. If nothing else I'll get a good laugh out of it! Jeff X

I'm a boater and a runner. Not sure how many of us have this need to ditch the tiller for the towpath, but I think a thread for running boaters would be good. As I travel the system there's lots of new routes to be found, both on and off the towpath. Wouldn't it be useful to swap ideas and tips? Hopefully I won't be the only one to contribute, and maybe we can even rival the CWDF Banter with a CWDF Canter! Some of my regulars around Tamworth area. Fazeley onto the Coventry canal, past Alvecote to Pooley Fields park. This previous Colliery site has some great slag heaps that allow for some intense hill work. It's the only real climb that I've found for miles around (I live in Scotland and hills are the norm). It's about an 8 mile round trip plus anything done the park. Take the train from Tamworth to Brum then an interesting run back on the Birmingham & Fazeley. A great mix of urban and country. Skimpy running shorts on the Tamworth train are not to be recommended so I've left clothes etc at the C&RT services shed at the top of Farmers Bridge with a note and they've always been left for me to collect later. It's about 14 miles back so makes for a good half marathon training run. Also found: Watermead Country Park next to the Hope & Anchor at Syston on the Soar. It's a bit more clinical than Pooley Fields with more Tarmac tracks but pleasant. The towpath on the leicester section of the GU is dreadful in places, you're risking going in the cut, especially round the Husbands Bosworth area.

We met an elderly couple on a hire boat at Isis lock in Oxford last year. They asked us which way to walk to find Warwick castle.

When our new boat is finally delivered next month (hopefully) we'll be a far-flung 422 miles. It'll be absolutely worth every journey!

To try to help with the original question, we did check out Orchard and yes they do seem like a decent bunch. They did appear busy, and they are producing cheaper boats. We decided in the end not to go with them after having a very close look at one of their completed boats. The fit-out is OK on the surface, but on closer inspection some of the joinery was quite 'shoddy'. Of more concern, there was heavy use of untreated MDF (not good with water) and use of untreated wood in areas that are highly likely to come into contact with water or suffer from damp at least (again, not a good idea). The rear hatch was tough to get into, but the side hatches were completely seized (boat only 6 months old). But despite these things, overall the boat simply seemed to reflect for the price offered, i.e. you get what you pay for. However, i'd have to question the lifespan of the fit-out in particular. We decided to up our budget a bit and go elsewhere, but we've been extremely fortunate in being able to do that. Hope that's of some help, and best of luck with whatever you decide.

Thanks for that. It's certainly welcome news that LB didn't appear to go bust....just shows that you can't believe gossip. The guys at Orchard seem like decent blokes and follow the usual 'pay as they build' formula, which is pretty safe I suppose. If anyone knows someone with experience of owning one of these boats, i'd love to hear from them!

Thanks dor. I've looked at the collingwood website and that makes sense. The spec and prices are pretty similar. I'm a little nervous about going for a company that has a difficult recent history . Maybe I'm being too paranoid, but it's a lot of money!

We've been aiming to buy a second hand boat, but following a visit to the Crick Show this weekend, we are now considering buying new. We were impressed by the boat from Orchard maina and builders, it looked like a good bet for the money, with good spec and joinery etc. We're aiming for a 57 - 60ft Trad, dont want to break the bank particularly, but we want something decent. Does anyone have any experience of Orchard boats by any chance? Were they previously know as, or part of, something else? I don't know why I think this, maybe i've heard something in the distant past. Any advice would be apperciated. Goiridh

Badger, Would it be really rude to ask how mcuh that cost you...just roughly..! Thanks

Thanks for that. Any move up north would be for a number of years, so 'a grand' or so wouldn't be so bad. Goiridh