My first Ultra - The race to the stones 19/07/2014

A tough introduction to marathon running at the inaugural Yorkshire marathon last year (injury interrupted training culminating in a 3hr 36mins and a severely cramped walk/run finish) left me feeling a little crestfallen but determined to do a better job of running further and faster in 2014.

The hills are my true passion and in the days following the marathon I became inspired by the amazing endurance feats of the trail legends I read about in 'Feet in the Clouds' and the unbelievable things being done by today's ultra stars.  I decided then that the next thing for me should be something long and on the trails.

When I saw this race it looked a perfect first ultra; lots of runners, lots of aid stations, hills, but not too intimidating and a distance to be respected.  But more than anything it captured my imagination and excited me, 100km on the oldest trail in England.  I wanted to know what it feels like to run such a long race.

The volume in the training plans and the thought of 'back to back' long runs was intimidating at first, as was the thought of eating 'real' food on the run.  This time I promised myself I would listen to my body, run my long runs slower and get through the programme without injury. 

Time on the trails was so much easier on the body and the mind than the road had been.  I was surprised by how easily my body adjusted to the increased mileage compared to the marathon programme by simply slowing down a little on my long runs and allowing for better recovery.  My training adventures took me into the North York Moors, the Yorkshire Dales and the Wicklow hills in Ireland.  I had loads of fun in my first trail races, The Baildon Boundary Way, Reeth 20k and the Swaledale Marathon.  I even managed a half marathon pb on the road at the Edinburgh Marathon festival, running slow and long had made me run faster!

The day finally arrived and I lined up alongside around 1,600 other runners and walkers in Chinnor ready to take on the Ridgeway aiming to finish at the stone circle at Avebury a long time, 1,250m of ascent and 100kms later.  My sister Rachel and my girlfriend Bobby were along for the ride and would meet me on the route to top up powders, hydration tabs and other goodies.

On the start line at Chinnor

The weather was incredibly humid and after a drizzly start I remained drenched for pretty much the first half of the race which took us through beautiful woodland trails and pretty villages.  Staying hydrated was going to be super important and I was careful to drink at least one of my 600ml bottles between aid stations.  

The first part of the race had many more runners as some were breaking the challenge into two days with an overnight camp.  I quickly realised I was running alongside some serious endurance types, ironman veterans and experienced ultra runners.  I had a brief chat with the 'Marathon Man' who was running a marathon a day for a whole year.  It felt great to be running alongside these inspiring people and the vibe was one of smiles and encouragement for the first few hours.

My initial target was to average as close to 6 min/km as possible for the first half of the race as this was what I had managed on my longest  50km training run.  In the end the heat and the hills put paid to that.  Nevertheless the big aid station at 48km became visible high on the ridgeway from several kms away and I passed through the chip timer in reasonable shape in 5hrs 09mins.  So far I had stopped only long enough at aid stations to top up the water bottles but I spent a little longer here and tried to eat, although my stomach wasn't quite ready for the pasta and Bolognese which some of the other guys were chowing down on here.  There were one or two seriously tired looking faces cooling off in the shade here and I hoped I was looking stronger than them.  I attempted to eat a plain chicken sandwich which took more chewing than I would have liked but I knew it was important to eat and fortunately it remained in my increasingly unhappy stomach.  I was feeling a little tired but confident for the challenge ahead, I knew that I would soon be in unknown territory.

From this point on I was expecting much more of a battle and I was not disappointed.  It started badly by losing the well marked trail and running down hill off the route on 54km when I was making good progress.  If it wasn't for someone kindly hollering me I would have carried on to the bottom of the hill when I should have been gaining height.  It looked like loads of runners were passing ahead of me as a result and it seemed to take ages to regain the height and the trail.  I felt gutted, I had lost momentum that had taken me a long time to build.  In the end my Garmin revealed I had only lost around 500m and 4 minutes here. 

The heat continued to rise and the course opened out as the Ridgeway became the highest point for miles.  Beautiful sweeping views stretched into the distance backed by purple skies as the storm clouds gathered.  I wondered how wise it was to be running on the highest point around.  The hills grew steeper and more frequent and the terrain became tougher with deep ruts caused by tyres in the mud and chalk. I tried to maintain momentum up the hills by hiking quickly up them, but as the day wore on, my definition of uphill began to shift.  At this point I was largely running alone as the field had become stretched along the trail.

On the Ridgeway

Around 65km I was met on the hill near the famous white horse by Bobby and Rachel clutching ice cold water supplies and encouraging words but I had hit a low patch.  I crouched down briefly and my hamstrings immediately cramped resulting in expletives and a slight sense of humour failure. I handed over my now dead Garmin and quickly moved on, internally scolding myself for the negative thoughts, I knew this was going to happen, keep drinking, keep eating, keep going...

Sense of humour failure at 65km

After every uphill hiking section it was becoming increasingly difficult to start running again, starting with a shuffle and building to a slow and increasingly painful trot.  I was praying for one of the thunderstorms rumbling either side of the ridgeway to hit and provide some cooling relief.  We finally got one around 75km, however the rain was warm and it didn't really bring the relief I was hoping for.  Then out of the blue there were Bobby and Rachel on the side of the busy road under brollies in the torrential downpour shouting encouragement, crazy girls, amazing support and this lifted me immensely.

The storm breaks

The next 14km were the hardest of the entire race and I had to mentally push myself in a way I had never had to before.  The desire to just walk was overwhelming at times but I knew I needed to run where I could or I would still be out there for many hours yet.  I realised why they say so much of this ultra thing is in the mind.  Despite this I passed a few runners during this time and I tried to offer some encouraging words as I passed.

The final checkpoint came into view after a steep pull at 89km, and then the sun came out.  My amazing race crew were there again and I trotted into the checkpoint and refueled with full fat coke and a banana.  My watch told me I had 1hr and 30 minutes to run the last 11km to break 12hrs.  Sounds easy now, but I was feeling really tired and whilst I knew it would be close I wasn't sure I would do it.  I resolved to dig deep and run the entire leg, surely I would do it then.

Running into final checkpoint 9

In the end I did end up doing some hiking on this leg but not much.  It was seriously mind over matter by now and my feet whilst blister free were feeling pretty battered.  I didn't let myself think of the finish, just concentrating on maintaining the momentum. Suddenly a village appeared in the valley below I guessed at around 5km away and when the descent started, I checked my watch and tried to push once again.  Eventually emerging onto the road the village sign came into view and thankfully it read 'Avebury', next the ancient stones and with only 2km to go I realised I was going to break 12 hrs even if I walked from there.

Rounding the final corner and seeing the line, I had the final few hundred metres to myself and the people there were making such a racket just for me!  I finished wearily, but proud in 11hrs 52mins and it had been an amazing adventure.  I had lost close to half a stone but gained an experience I will never forget.

 Finish!

My first foray into the world of the Ultra had been a tough but rewarding adventure.  Just over a week later and the legs have recovered well.  For anyone thinking of doing this race I would say it was well organised and well supported on a beautiful trail.  Thanks to the support from all of the crews at the aid stations and those who came out to support, it really did make a difference. 

The biggest thanks has to go to Bobby and Rachel who followed me around all day offering encouragement and support.  It would have been so much tougher without you - legends!

I already know I'd like to see what else lies beyond the marathon.  There are so many exciting races out there in some spectacular places.  I can't wait to get started on the next project.