Frostbite Ultra 06/12/2014

"Run fast, don't fall over, have fun" - Sarah (Bobby) Fisher

These were the strict instructions given by my missus before the race.  I only achieved one off the list but it was the most important...

Keep running up that hill

The Frostbite is a 30+ mile ultramarathon around the skyline of beautiful Nidderdale from Pateley Bridge. This was the third running of the race and for various reasons to date no two have been over the same course.

Ever since I ran a recce of part of this route a few weeks ago, I had been really looking forward to this race.  What a beautiful place to come challenge yourself on the trails and a brilliant last race to top off a great year of running adventures.

A cold dawn breaks over Nidderdale

Arriving to a beautiful morning and a hard frost just raised the excitement for this run, perfect conditions for a race called the Frostbite!  The race HQ was at the scout hut in Pateley Bridge where I grabbed a coffee and a banana whilst I registered (aka signing your life away).  The room was buzzing with nervous energy and I indulged in a little people watching.  A wide range of ages, characters and kit on display.  I carried a couple of 9bars (awesome seedy flapjacks) in my race vest as back up but I knew there were going to be aid stations at 10 and 20 miles so packed relatively light with just the required waterproof and O/S Map apart from my two vest bottles which I'd made up with Torq Energy drink the night before.  I wore running tights and a base layer on top, a wooly hat and gloves which proved a perfect setup as I was neither too hot or cold all day.

Rob the race organiser gave a quick safety brief, and we all filed out the cosy scout hut into the fresh morning air.  I said a quick hello to my sister who had dragged her friends Ruth and Greg and their dogs along to wave me off.  Thankfully given the temperature we were off pretty sharpish heading out South alongside the river on the road which provided a great little warm up for the climb to come.

The Starting Horn Sounds

The first 10 miles were a loop ending back at the Scout hut including a steep climb for which there was going to be a 'King of the Mountains' prize.  I had made my usual mistake of starting too far back and I did get a little slowed down by other runners whilst we hiked up the narrow trails.  Once the top was reached, I was able to get by a few and it was great fun, hurtling back downhill on the frozen trail, blue skies overhead, all of Nidderdale in front of us and Pateley Bridge down below.  This is why we do this...

Descending through the woods after 4 miles I tripped and faceplanted.  I'd been enjoying the run so much I wasn't being careful with my feet.  Fortunately just a graze and a bit of bruising was all.  I joked with the fella behind me that it was good to get my fall out of the way now rather than after having run 25 miles!

A few miles later and another runner near me laughed at our pathetically careful descending skills down through the old mines and joked we'd never make fell racers.  I was being careful not to trash my quads on the descents early on after having learned the hard way at the Swaledale marathon in June.

 

This first section seemed to fly by and we were back at the scout hut in no time.  I topped up my bottle and smashed a 9Bar (I passed on the Jagermeister though) and was out on the long loop I was familiar with from my recce a few weeks earlier.  This time though, the bullocks which had chased me out of their field when I was here last weren't there.  The muddy trail was still frozen so good progress could be made, but I knew once thawed this was going to be hard work on the way home.

Soon we were running alongside the reservoir and then crossing over the river to Ramsgill, the trail heading uphill through farmland before a steep descent and then ascent to the pretty village of Middlesmoor after 18 miles and just under 3 hours.  It was here that it started to get tougher with a 2 mile steady climb over In Moor.  This was made much tougher by the broken up old road we were running on, I was on my own by this point with a group of three racers ahead of me, I matched their hike/run strategy along this section and tried to at least maintain the distance behind them.

At Scar House Reservoir

When it came, I was pleased to start the steep descent to Scar House reservoir and the second aid station to regroup.  That last section was deceivingly tough and the beautiful weather was being replaced with a cold wind and mist.  I quickly topped up the water bottles again and was just about to set off when the marshal stopped me in my tracks with an offer of hot Ribena which was too good to resist.  It was hot, strong, sweet and just the job.  Its amazing how little things can lift you when it's getting tough.

Then off again across the dam at Scar House reservoir in pursuit of the three ahead, climbing high onto the grouse moor with Nidderdale down below on the right and we were now heading home.  Frustratingly I was catching up with them on the hiking sections but would lose ground again when the running started again.  At one point I got within a couple of yards and I think that gave them a surprise when they saw how close I had got and this coincided with a flat section.  They trotted into the distance, I wasn't able to hold onto them and was alone again.
 

The next hour was about maintaining the momentum across the increasingly misty moor.  When there is still a long way to go and the legs are stiffening, it becomes a mental and physical battle.  It was an advantage having run this section before and good to know that most of the days climbing was now behind me.  Eventually I recognised the spot to turn right to make my painfully slow descent into the valley and my watch clicked over 30 miles in just under five hours.

I knew the course was likely to be longer than the advertised 30 miles from my recce but I hadn't anticipated quite how far there was still to run.  I admit to feeling a little sorry for myself for a moment as the realisation sunk in.  I guessed another four miles and perhaps another hour.  It made the next few miles mentally tough despite being so close to the end.  The trail had now defrosted back into the churned up mud and the light was starting to fade, it had certainly strayed into 'class B' fun at this stage (that special type of fun you don't realise you're having at the time...).  It is really hard to make yourself run when your legs and feet feel so trashed, but the alternative is worse, hours of walking to the finish.

Another runner caught and passed me, and then a lady appeared at my shoulder soon after.  I told her how strong she was looking and she said she was rushing to the finish because she was so thirsty! I had half of one of my bottles left which I shared and we chatted briefly before i urged her on for the last two miles.  She was much stronger than me despite having got lost along the way and ended up finishing second lady.

After five and a half hours I started to sense the finish line and I was about ready for it.  The bridge and scout hut came into view and it was all over.  Rachel and the guys had waited all this time and it was really good to see them there at the finish.  33.7 miles, 3,553 feet of ascent in 5hrs and 39 minutes, 12th male and 14th overall.  I was disappointed I lost those few places near the end but I really couldn't have given any more on the day.  The day had become really gloomy, it seemed so long since we set off under blue skies and I thought of the other runners still out there battling, some of whom would surely be finishing in the dark.  Well done to everyone who finished, a real test.

I have to say this was a great day out, thanks to Rob and his team for putting on the event in a beautiful part of the world and for the sarnies, cake and hot soup which really hit the spot at the end.  This is one race I'd love to have another crack at, highly recommended and at £20 entry, great value for money too.

Next up, the training begins for SDW100 next summer and preparations for the Hardmoors 55 in March 2015...

Kirkstall Abbey Trail Marathon 22/11/2014

"The reason we race isn't so much to beat each other,... but to be with each other" - Christopher McDougall, Born to Run.

After the Vale of York Half, my focus switched to building the mileage back up for two long races back on the trail and more longer term, the ultra events I have planned for 2015.  I initially entered these races to give me something to focus the training on at the end of 2014 and also for some company rather than weeks and weeks of banging out hours of lonely miles on my own. 

I hadn't intended taking this race too seriously but when it comes around and you stand on that start line, you can't help that competitive urge to race and give it everything you've got on the day.

I had gone long the previous two weekends (24 miles) and so hadn't tapered like you would normally for a marathon.  In fact I hadn't tapered at all... However I had felt good in my training and in the days leading up I wondered whether I might be able to do a personal best despite the slow course, given my only previous race at this distance had ended badly at the Yorkshire Marathon (road) in October 2013.

The event was organised by Kirkstall Harriers and was their first running of this race.  Three laps of a course on trails, riverside towpaths and tarmac around the grounds and nearby trails of Kirkstall Abbey.  The laps were quite hilly compared to a typical road marathon but obviously not to the scale of a race on the fells.  

We lined up on a dank and cold morning in Leeds, the beautiful ancient Abbey looming out of the mist.  80 or so mostly club runners and one or two random lunatics with nothing better to do than get up before dawn to run a marathon most people have never heard of.  If you're wondering which I am, I'm not in a running club.  Some of the runners sported 100 marathon club or '10in10' vests.  One fella was about to complete his 100th marathon and we all applauded him before the start which was a nice touch.

Having nosied at the other racers at the start, there was a mix of trail and road shoes on display, I went for the road tyres as the tough grips on my trail shoes tenderise my feet on the tarmac over long distance.  I gambled it wouldn't be too muddy and hoped I wouldn't regret it.  In the end it was muddy.  The correct footwear choice on this terrain is wellies.  The saving grace was that it was that slippery, cloying mud which just accumulates on the soles and up the sides of your shoes.  It didn't seem to matter what you were wearing, everyone was doing their best Bambi impressions on the trail.  In particular, one greasy downhill section which I amazed myself on by not going arse over tit in my usual style, particularly on the third lap with tired legs.

I set off at a fair pace to at least give me a chance of going sub 3.30 if course and conditions permitted.  I skipped and danced (well in my mind anyway) over the puddles trying to keep my feet as dry as possible on the first two laps. Around half way I caught up with Malcolm, one of the organisers and a veteran of over 150 marathons who said he normally goes under 3.30 so I tagged along with him for a while. On the third lap, the dancing went out the window as I just plowed through the muddy water, too stiff for dancing. To be honest I didn't care by then, and besides each freezing puddle was numbing my battered feet for a few seconds afterwards.

Malcolm started to drift away in front of me as the mud, hills and my recent mileage started to take their toll and I couldn't hold on to him.

It became pretty obvious after 20 miles I was going to have to wait a little longer for that sub 3.30.  As I rounded the out and back along the towpath for the last time, the chirpy marshal took my name, gave me a toot on his horn and said he didn't want to see me again!  Fair play to him, it was a pretty grim morning to be stood out on your own on the canalside in the cold and he seemed really happy to be there.  It gave me a lift for the final stretch.

It was tempting to just jog it home for the last 10km given there was still one last testing muddy climb to come and I knew my time had already slipped away.

I dug in though and kept racing and was glad I did.  I didn't think there were many in front of me so there was still something to race for.  

There was drama to come on the home straight for the seven spectators and passing dog walkers when cramp stopped me in my tracks with only around 50 yards to go and the finish line in sight. I had seen noone behind me only a few seconds previously but the next guy had rounded the corner, seen my struggles and sportingly put in a burst to try to pip me to the line (to be fair I'd have done the same).  I made a pretty sad sight as I waddled over the finish line like a drunken penguin to beat him by 1 second into 8th in 3.36.  It would have been a cruel way to finish had he beaten me.

 Nice Selfie!

The final note on this race is that a few people I spoke to agreed that the course measured long and whilst I'm not claiming another ultra finish, my Garmin measured 26.4 miles. I clicked through 26.2 in 3.34 which would have been a new marathon pb and would have avoided the dreaded cramp (before the finish anyway)!  I had fun and came away with a decent placing, only 4 minutes behind 4th and despite the time, a much improved performance on the Yorkshire marathon given the course, conditions and preparation.  Whilst the time might not show it, I've come along way since then.

Well done to the Kirkstall Harriers and other organisers for putting on the event and the volunteers and marshals for being so friendly and welcoming.  Thanks too for my wicked medal and ribbon featuring a fat friar!

Next up Frostbite 30 ultra...