Lloyd Biddell

My urinary problems have continued but other than constantly needing the loo and some mild discomfort in my side I'm otherwise ok to run.  It was therefore a bit of a last minute decision to race the Wenlock Olympian 7.  Its a race that has sort of been on my radar for some time; I did once compete on the track at the Wenlock Olympics in my junior days and remember dad decided to enter the road race.  To be honest I can't remember much about it as it was probably 1991/92, other than neither of us won!  Some 28 years or so later I was back again to have another go! Slotting into 3rd about 1 min in. The race is only approximately 7 miles in length and to be honest I couldn't find out too much about the course other than the first half is very undulating, whilst the second half is mostly downhill back to the finish.  At the start we ran around a field before exiting along a path and reaching the road.  I was well positioned at the back of the leading group of three and

The Thursday before the race I have had a repeat of symptoms I've had a couple of years ago.  During a hard tempo session on a hot day I subsequently had urine that was very dark red.  It may not necessarily be blood as I often eat 'dyed' food such as beetroot juice and similar.  This time though I have had the constant sensation to urinate, literally every 5-10 minutes day and night which has been very disconcerting to say the least.  As a result it has been quite difficult to run and was touch and go whether I was going to do the race. On paper it was a fast course, albeit slightly unimaginative as it is pretty much an out and back along the same pathway.  At the off I settled into the back of a leading group which suited me just fine considering my recent issues.  I could tell the pace was hottish - it was one of those paces that if I dictated the pace myself I would have gone a bit faster, but was fast enough to put me off from making any move.  We went through the fi