Hardmooors 55 - 18/03/2017

Why do we fall sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up - Alfred Pennyworth

Wow, not quite sure where to start with this one.  This was my second attempt at this race having had a good day out back in 2015.  It would be my sixth ultra over fifty miles since 2014 so I should be getting better at this thing by now right? 

This year, the race would be run the opposite way from Helmsley to Guisborough with the hills in the second half and a sting in the tail in the form of Roseberry Topping, the perfect mini mountain which is the jewel in the crown of the wild and woolly Yorkshire Moors.

Taking the warm up seriously with my trail partner Ben...

In a nutshell, things didn't go to plan.  The wheels fell off early and it ended up being my roughest race day yet.  To be honest I'm still getting my head around it so I forgive you for skipping to the end if you want to avoid a gloomy read.

I am taking on the challenge of a lifetime this year at the UTMB.  It is the pinnacle of ultra running and I have worked so hard just to get to the startline.  This race, along with several others in the diary are all about preparing for it but that doesn't stop the racer in me wanting to perform well (it is a race after all) and this is where some of my problems started.

My preparations were very different to what they would be for a target event, I didn't taper, I had a heavy weekend with two late nights prior and work commitments meant I was away in the days preceding.  This meant interrupted sleep and little time to get my head in the right place in the days leading up to the event.  None of these are excuses, but the optimist in me is clinging to the chance that these factors may partially explain why I had such a miserable day.

Let the agony commence!

The day started well enough as the ground is quite runnable between Helmsley and Osmotherley.   I had made a schedule to beat my 2015 time of 10hrs 20mins which meant getting to Osmotherley (the first major checkpoint, 23 miles in) in 3h 30 or so. 

Heading down to Rievaulx at the race start

Smiling because I don't have cramp yet...

Unfortunately, the cramps had already set in by mile 17 and whilst I was still on target, my energy levels felt really low.  I even felt a little faint as I entered the village hall at Osmotherley for the first major checkpoint where my dropbag was waiting.  The weather was mild out of the wind and I was cooking so I lost my base layer here, stuffed it into my pack, and scoffed down my trusty rice pudding hoping the calories might lift me.

At White Horse still moving ok at this point.

Unfortunately on this occasion the cramps were in for the duration.  No amount of stretching would ease them off and they only worsened as they spread from my calves to my hamstrings on the first proper climb onto Clay Bank after Osmotherley.

At Clay Bank and caked after a fall in the woods near Osmotherley.

I already knew it was going to be a long and painful day from here. Photo credit Craig Kilday

By the time I reached half way and the three sisters in five hours I was already reduced to a run walk and was contemplating what to do for the best.  My plan was in tatters and I was contemplating my first DNF.  I figured if I quit now I would be able to reduce the soreness caused by the cramp and resume training quicker. 

For better or worse, stubbornness won out and I resolved to stick it out despite my misery and finish, even if only to save my first DNF for another day.  I called Bobby to adjust her arrival time at the finish.

Things did brighten a little as the cramps receded on the long descent into the second major checkpoint at Kildale.  I got talking to a fellow runner about his Bob Graham exploits which distracted me from the pain for half an hour or so but the relief was short lived. 

It was a relief to reach Kildale.  I took my time here as my only remaining goal now was to finish.  The volunteers here were great as ever and I refuelled on pizza and coffee.  Now resigned to my fate, the pressure lifted and in a weird masochistic way I started to see the funny side of my predicament as I headed back out into the fading light.  

Runners streamed past as I hobbled (think foot dragging zombie) my way up to Captain Cook's Monument, the penultimate climb of the day.  Whilst I had planned to not have to use the headtorch, there was a silver lining in getting to see the beautiful snake of lights heading up and down Roseberry Topping in the dark.  From there, all that remained was a five mile limp to the finish on legs battered by 8 hours of unrelenting cramp.  I made a sorry sight by the time I finally left the old railway track and hobbled the last few yards to the finish at The Sea Cadets in Guisborough.  I had added one and a half hours to my 2015 time.

On a much more cheery note, a special congratulations to my old mate Ben.  Seven years to the day he quit smoking, he has had his own epic journey to the start line of his first 50 mile race.  It really was the best moment of the day to see him bound through the door at the finish with the biggest grin of all.  What an achievement, well done mate you are ultra!

Looks like you were powered by smiles all the way round mate

I've suffered with cramp in sports off and on my whole adult life and it seems I am going through a particularly bad phase at the moment.  When it struck at the Hardmoors 30 in January I was able to manage it and still have a good day, but here it hit me much harder. 

Thank goodness that is over.

This performance has rocked my confidence.  There are one or two mitigating factors but I still feel a long way away from being in shape to finish one of the toughest endurance events in the world.

All I can do is keep plugging away, upping the training and commitment and trust that my conditioning will improve and see off the cramps.  If this happens again in the Alps there is no way I will make it to the finish and I'm worried...

Fingers crossed for a more enjoyable Hardmoors 110 in May and an upswing in form.