Brampton to Carlisle Race. The Early Years (1998 - 2001)

The Brampton to Carlisle 10 mile roadrace is coming up very soon. I love it. My favourite race. Why? Probably because it was the first race I did properly (though I had also completed the Cumbrian run in 1994) way back in the late 90s when I was still doing cycle racing as my main discipline/activity. And also because of the 'magic' one hour marker, which, if you can beat, certainly makes for better reading than sixty plus minutes. 'Beating the hour' was especially pertinent to me as a cyclist because sub 1 hour is also seen as a benchmark for 25mile time trial, and one which, it could be argued, takes a similar amount of training/hard work/talent to achieve.

Not an avid record keeper or training diarist save for on this blog, the earliest result I found online for the B2C is from 1998. I have a vague recollection of running 65 minutes, but 1998 I took 62, so perhaps I also ran in 1997?

Anyway, here is the story of my 15 (soon to be 16) consecutive Brampton to Carlisle races, in chronological order, with supporting info where available from my old fuddled memory

1998. 97th position in 1hr 02 mins 08 secs.
The reason for running at all at this time of my life was because it fell in the period following the end of the cycling season. Having been used to training more or less daily for the preceeding year, I did a bit of running of an evening to try to remain fit (cycling wasn't really possible in the dark in this era when EverReady Night Rider lights were about as good as it got for cycling - certainly none of the super systems that are available nowadays which are as bright as a moped headlight).
I cannot remember much about doing the race but I can remember the results were printed in the Evening News the following week and I was especially pleased to have made the top 100 from nearly 450 finishers.
With only 2 and a bit minutes quicker needed to go under 60 I contemplated for the first time the idea of 'beating the hour' in a sport which wasn't even the one I was properly training for and involved in. So I decided that instead of quitting running once cycling started up again in  1999, I would run just once per week, every week, in the hope that it would give me a headstart come October and I would be able to progress to sustaining 10mph.

1998 result CLICK
other notable names on the 1998 result sheet include Dave Farrell in 17th (53:38), Steve Murdoch in 4th (51.21) and Mike Scott in 5th (51.23)

1999.  90th Position in 59 mins 49 secs.
This was huge. This was the big one.  This was hard work. VERY hard work. For many many years I could recall vividly just how hard I tried during this years version of the race. In fact, there are only two other races I can remember being tougher, trying harder, suffering more, (they were my 10k pb and my 55minute result at Derwentwater 10 in 2004)
Prior to the race I had been training a lot more than for previous runs. After the cycling season and my one run per week I had ramped up the training with the primary objective being to run inside 60 mins.  I had enlisted the help of Plucky and I can picture to this day, him riding alongside me going up Stanwix bank at the end of a dark training run telling me how fast I was going. Back then, without any measured routes to run, or GPS available, all I could do was have a cyclist riding longside tell me whether or not I was doing 10mph. I don't even think I had figured out that if I measured out a mile I could return to that place during a run and time it to see if I was on target pace.
On the day of the race Plucky came along too and now and then rode alongside me giving the all important  'current miles per hour' report.
Early on in the race I was ahead of the magic 10mph as witnessed by checking my watch against the mile markers. I remember having about 45 seconds in hand at the most. Then later on I began losing time. I can remember running along past the Linstock roundabout and Plucky telling me I was doing just 9.7 mph. Again and again I forced myself to run harder, faster. Then finally I reached the line - I'd done it! 11 seconds inside the hour. I was elated, I felt like an absolute superhero the next day on  the Border City wheelers Clubrun when people asked why I hadn't been on the Saturday ride.
I know now that having a cyclist help in this manner would be likely to see me DQ'd from a race. But way back in 90th place and with no particular aspirations to get into running properly, my only concern that day was to get the time.
Following the '99 Brampton I went back to my usual bike training and racing. But what I didn't know at the time was that the 2000 season of cycling was to be my last.

1999 result CLICK
Other notable names on the 1999 result include Alan Bowness, 2 places behind me (1:00:06) Stuart Robinson ahead of me in 86th (59:35) and a young Graham Millican taking my 1998 97th spot (1:00:08). Steve Cairns had a great run in 2nd place (49:30).


2000.  29th Position in 58 mins 29 secs.
As in 1999 I ran throughout the cycling season of 2000. I didn't  make the switch to running yet, but I did complete an evening 10k race in the summer and quite easily beat '6 pace' on just my one-run-per-week training (plus obviously my considerable fitness from cycling all the time). So when it came to the end of the cycle races and I again ramped up the run training, I was certainly expecting to beat the hour again and did so with ease. Following the race I was contacted by Border Harriers Road Relays captain about joining the club. It had been noted that if I had been in BH I would have been their 4th finisher in the race. So I joined the orange vest brigade and embarked on a new path that saw me tour the country running track and road

Nothing to do with the B2C but afterwards I decided NOT to continue cycling any longer. I would switch to running full time. 12 years of cycling had been great and I still enjoyed it much of the time. But running was a brand new challenge and also, I seemed to be reasonably good at it.

2000 result CLICK Other notable names on the 2000 result include a win for Steve Cairns (51:48) and Young Graham Millican again narrowly failing to beat the hour in 51st place (1:00:13)

2001.  21st Position in 55 mins 24 secs. 
It was surely guaranteed that I would go faster again at the end of my first full year of run training and racing. I had spent that year slowly increasing just how far and how often I could run. Two days in a row was too much at first - my bones hurt deep inside and I felt rest was vital to let this ease. But eventually I was able to run as often as I wanted. Mostly with my good friend Mike Scott, I was travelling around racing, doing intervals, longer runs etc, and also competing for Border on the track.

I had learned that whilst I could race  my bike twice per week without issue, racing a 10k or longer etc every 7 days was much too much for my body and I would actually get slower. I came to the decision that every 10 days was about right to race. So, a weekend event, then the midweek of the week after, then the weekend 10 days later etc etc.

By B2C though I was obviously well rested and I suspect it must have been a reasonably favourable wind too, because the 5:32 per mile I achieved was quicker than I was doing for 10k races at that time. I don't remember anything about that particular day to be honest. But I  sure  wasn't expecting knock over 3 minutes from my pb of 12 months earlier. A 55 was unthinkable, was never in my sights, but a 55 is what I did. I had somehow or other transformed myself  from  a very average cyclist into a considerably-above-average runner.

2001 result CLICK
In 2001 Mike Scott finally won the Brampton 10 in 50:26