Greensands Marathon Race Report

What better way to spend a damp autumnal day than to go for a ramble in the woods?  The ramble in question was the Trionium Greensands Marathon in Surrey.  I set off nice and early Sunday morning so that I’d be in Dorking with plenty of time to collect my race number and get myself ready for the 10am start.  Once everyone had amassed at the race start there was a short briefing from the race organiser which was followed by everyone singing Jerusalem to a small gathering of onlookers.

Ready for action

The singing of Jerusalem before the start

At 10am we were set off and immediately had to climb the first hill of the day.  The Greensands marathon is relentlessly hilly.  None of the hills are that big, but there isn’t much that is flat.  As soon as we reached the top of the first hill we immediately started to descend again on a steep path covered in wet, slippery, fallen leaves that also hid numerous tree roots.  I almost slipped or tripped about three times in the first half mile.  This was an early indication of what the day would be like.

First hill of the day and into the woods

Once over the first hill we started a gradual ascent towards the foot of the next major hill and landmark on the marathon route, Leith Hill, at just over six miles.  Anyone not making it to the top of Leith Hill in 73 minutes were stopped and sent back to the finish, which was the fate of 12 runners this year.

Those who made it beyond Leith Hill had to tackle numerous climbs and descents on woodland trail to get to the turn around point.  In places the path was submerged under large puddles, in other places the mud would attempt to suck the shoes off your feet.  I had to tighten my trainers after almost losing them on one occasion.  The turn around point was a road cone in the middle of the forest at no particular landmark.

The half way point

There were many unavoidable puddles...

...and deep, sticky mud to pull off your trainers.

The out and back run meant seeing runners going the other way.

As I turned to head back home I realised I was far more knackered than I should have been at the half way point of a marathon.  The second leg was going to be tough.  Someone also seemed to have remodelled the landscape.  I thought the run from Leith Hill to the half way point had been fairly undulating on the way out.  On the run back there seemed to be far more up hill sections than I’d remembered.  I was reduced to a walk on climbs that would normally not have been a problem to run up.  It was a relief to get back to Leith Hill and to know that the next 5 miles would be almost all down hill at a shallow gradient.  Then there was just one last hill about half a mile from the finish.

Made it!

 

Just a little muddy

I reached the end muddy and knackered and in 12^th place overall in a time of 3 hours 47 minutes.  I was very happy with my result.

Race goodies at the end included a medal, mug and long sleeve technical T-shirt, which is very good for a fairly low key marathon with about 200 entrants.  A cooked breakfast was also laid on for all runners.

The only downside of the run is that I seem to have picked up an injury.  My right ankle has been in agony every since getting home Sunday evening.  I’m hoping it’s just a minor strain from the times that I almost twisted my ankle on tree roots.  I’m really hoping I can get out and run this weekend given that I’m supposed to be running the 88 mile Druid Challenge on the Ridgeway from Buckinghamshire to Wiltshire in about 3 weeks time.

(I've taken some photos from another blog, after first getting permission: http://kristhehungryrunner.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/race-report-greensands-marathon/#comment-382)

Ready for Greensands Marathon

Tomorrow I'm off to run in the Greensands Marathon in Dorking, Surrey.  This is billed as one of the toughest UK marathons.  It doesn't got particularly high, but there isn't much in the way of flat bits.  You can see the course profile here:

http://www.trionium.com/greensand/

I didn't do any running for about 10 days after the 92 mile Toad challenge.  My first foray back to running was taking the Sweaty Betty running club for a few 800m laps of Midsummer Common on 3rd October. 

The following weekend was then taken up with my other challenge of the year, which was to row the Channel with seven of my kettlebell clients.  We did this on Sunday 7th October.  Our only goal was to row across, have a good time and raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.  To our great surprise we actually ended up breaking the course record by 16 minutes to set a new fastest time of rowing the Channel in a Cornish Adventure Gig of 4 hours 3 minutes.  You can read all about it on my other blog:

http://ckchannelrow.blogspot.co.uk/

I had a couple of easy days after the row and then ran again at the Sweaty Betty night the following Wednesday.  My next serious training run was to do two laps of a very hilly 4 mile loop around Royston Heath last Sunday.  I used to go to Royston Heath quite a lot a few years ago. I'd forgotten just how tough those hills are.  Hopefully, it's been good training for tomorrow's marathon.

Over the rest of the week I did an easy 6 mile run Tuesday morning, followed by an afternoon interval session with a client, and the usual Sweaty Betty night on Wednesday.  Then I just did an easy 5 mile run yesterday, just to get me out of the house later in the day.  I contemplated parkrun this morning, but realised I'd be making the mistake of going from doing hardly anything over a couple of weeks to suddenly a lot in one go.

I'm looking forward to getting out and running a rural, hilly marathon tomorrow.  I'm not looking forward to getting up and leaving at 7am.  As a result of tomorrow's marathon I'm also sacrificing an afternoon and evening out with friends, who are at the Oxjam day.  There's live music in four pubs from 12 noon to midnight.  Tickets cost £10 to all four venues with proceeds going to Oxfam.  I thought about going for a couple of hours, but didn't want to end up drinking and staying out later than I'd intended.  I would have gone earlier in the day, but none of my friends made it out until 5pm.

Thames Path 3-day Ultra

Where has the time gone?  I’ve been really rubbish at keeping up to date on this blog this year.  I was definitely more diligent with last year’s blog (http://12marathonsin12months.blogspot.co.uk/).  I guess I could use the excuse that I’m writing two blogs this year.  My other blog: http://ckchannelrow.blogspot.co.uk/ , is all about my training for a cross Channel row, which should take place this coming weekend if the weather is kind.  I’m doing this with seven of my kettlebell clients and we have been in training since April.

So what have I been up to since my last entry in July?

Throughout July I only managed a few long runs of up to about 14 miles.  August seemed to suddenly arrive from nowhere and my next running challenge was to be the 90 mile Thames Path Ultra starting on 21st September.  As I was due to be on a two week holiday in August, with no idea of how much running I’d get done whilst away, time suddenly seemed to be slipping away.  I had also planned to see the women’s Olympic marathon on Sunday 5 August and the men’s the following week. 



Watching the men's olympic marathon with friends

As I train with the Channel crew on a Saturday morning it meant all long runs would have to be squeezed in to some other time in the week for a couple of weeks.  I managed a 14.5 mile run on Friday 3 August, and then 15.5 miles on Thursday 9 August.  The following weekend we were at a barbecue at a friend’s house in Longstanton on the Saturday.  I was able to drive and get a lift home.  This provided the opportunity for an 18 mile run on a different route to normal as a means to collect the car the next day.  We must have had the hottest weekend of the year that weekend, and I had chosen to run along the guided busway for the last 4 miles of my run.  The footpath alongside the busway is wide and with no shade at all.  Heat was being thrown up from the tarmac surface making the air temperature evening hotter.  By the time I arrived at my friend’s house on Sunday morning I was dripping head to toe in sweat.  Her toddler son stood in the kitchen starring up at me whilst I downed a couple of pints of water and dripped sweat onto the kitchen floor.  I don’t think he quite believed that I was the same person who was chasing him around the garden the day before.

The following week we were off to Chamonix for a fortnight’s holiday.  Our holiday in Chamonix would coincide with the running of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc race (UTMB).  This is a race that I very much want to do at some point.  Ruth had booked our holiday not knowing that the race was going on whilst we were there.  There are actually four races that take place over several days.  The UTMB is the classic 168km race that circumnavigates Mont Blanc starting and finishing in Chamonix and going into Italy and Switzerland.  It has a time limit of 46 hours.  The CCC is the 100km baby brother of the UTMB which starts at Courmayeur in Italy, goes through Champex in Switzerland and finishes at Chamonix, hence the name CCC.  The TDS is a 112km trail race that also starts in Courmayeur but goes in the opposite direction to the CCC and on a more challenging route than the UTMB.  TDS stands for Traces Des Ducs De Savoie.  The 112kms includes a total ascent of 7150m, the CCC climbs a total of 5950m and the UTMB 9600m.  It’s the climbs that make these races really, really tough.  60% of starters do not finish.  If you think that these sound tough then the fourth race, the PTL, is totally mad.  PTL stands for Petite Trotte a Leon.  It’s a 248km race with a total ascent of 21,500m.  Up to 80 teams take part with each team comprising of 2 or 3 runners. 

Start of the UTMB in Chamonix

I’m hoping to be able to run the CCC next year and the UTMB the following year.  However, to enter you first need to get points from other ultra races.  I now have enough points for the CCC.  Next year I need to do a long ultra run to get an additional 3 points in order to apply for the UTMB in December 2013.  Unfortunately, the race is also over subscribed each year so getting the points does not guarantee getting a place.

I knew of someone who would be taking part in the TDS race.  Neil Thubron the race director at Extreme Energy (www.xnrg.co.uk) who organised the Isle Of Wight run I did in July, the Thames Path race last weekend and an event I’ll be doing in November with them.  Neil had sent out a general email to all his clients saying he’d be in a particular bar on the Sunday after the TDS if anyone happened to be in Chamonix, so I knew he’d be in town at some point.  I actually bumped into him and his wife, Anna, whilst I was out for a 9 mile run one morning.  I ran a short way with them both and wished Neil luck and said I’d see him in the bar after his race.  However, Ruth and I then both bumped into both of them again that evening and had a drink with them. 

The TDS started the next morning, just as the weather changed from glorious to damn right miserable.  As it wasn’t going to be a day for walking in the mountains Ruth and I decided we’d look into getting to a checkpoint on the TDS route to see if we could see Neil on his run.  We managed to get a bus to the 60km point of the race, where we once again bumped into Anna.  At least we then knew that Neil hadn’t passed already.  Less than an hour later we saw Neil approaching and ran with him briefly just as the weather changed from ok to awful.  Neil was looking pretty good considering he’d just run 60km.   He had a further 52km ahead of him, which he would mostly be doing through the night.  We got back on the bus for the 3 hour journey back to Chamonix.

Neil at the half way point of the TDS chatting to Ruth

Moments later and the weather changed for the worse. Neil's wife, Anna, is under the umbrella

In all the UTMB races the vast majority of runners use walking sticks to help with the climbs and to steady themselves on descents.  As I’d never tried running with sticks before I thought I’d give it a go so I’d know what to expect if I do get a place in the CCC next year.  So I borrowed Ruth’s walking sticks and went off for a 16 mile run in the Alps.  On my run I managed to climb a total of just over 1000m and the 16 miles took just over 2.5 hours.  The next day my legs were wrecked.  Still, it was a fun run and I really enjoyed hurtling down the mountain paths and using the sticks to help with climbs.  I didn’t manage any more runs in Chamonix after that, just lots of walking.  Amazingly the weather improved as soon as all the races were over and we had lots of sunshine for the rest of our holiday.

Proof that we did have good weather in Chamonix

We were back in Cambridge with just two weeks to go before the Thames Path 3-day Ultra.  I decided I needed to get out for a long run, so on Sunday 9 September, which was another hot day, I set off to run 22 miles along the Roman Road to Balsham and then back home via Fleam Dyke and Fulbourn.  It was a tough run, but I was glad to have it under my belt before doing almost 30 miles a day for three consecutive days.  The following weekend I ran an easy 12 miles with some of the Sweaty Betties, which was a nice sociable run.

So I am now almost up to date.  The weekend of 21 to 23 September I took part in the Extreme Energy Toad Challenge or Thames Path Ultra.  This was just my third running event of the year, which seems remarkable compared to the 16 marathons I ran last year.  As my run didn’t start until 12.30pm on Friday, I travelled down from Cambridge by train early that morning.  Once at the race HQ in Oxford I spotted a couple of runners I recognised from IOW, so I had a chat to them whilst getting ready to go.  As with all Extreme Energy events, the slow runners started earlier at 11am, then the first wave of runners at 12:00, and I set off with the fast runners at 12.30pm. 



Day 1 start - The overall winner, Justin, is No.50

The first day was a 27 mile run from Oxford to Moulsford.  I immediately set off too fast, believing I could keep up with Justin, a Royal Marine who well and truly beat me at IOW.  During the IOW race I ran with Justin up to the second checkpoint on day 1 and I believed I’d be able to do the same at this event.  However, I checked my Garmin and realised I’d run the first mile too fast.  It then took me the next 3 miles to slow down to a sensible pace, this is what typically happens if I start too quickly, I find it hard to re-adjust my pace downwards.  Justin disappeared into the distance with another runner, Luke.  I then ran most of the day entirely on my own, apart from briefly saying hello to people from the earlier two waves as I passed them.

The first checkpoint was at the 9 mile point in the picturesque town of Abingdon.  We crossed a series of bridges over weirs and locks to cross the Thames to reach the checkpoint.  I passed a large number of runners from the earlier group at this point.  Whilst they stopped to take refreshments at the checkpoint I ran straight on through.  In my head I had told myself that today’s stage was JUST a marathon and, therefore, I didn’t need food at every checkpoint.  This was probably a mistake.

Checkpoint 2 - a brief stop for food

I carried on running well to the second checkpoint at mile 15 and had a little bite to eat.  Most of the run on day 1 was on narrow muddy tracks close to the waters edge.  It was very similar to a run I occasionally do from Cambridge to Ely, only 10 or 11 miles longer.  On the way to the third checkpoint I almost went off course, which we had been warned about in a briefing.  When crossing a lock at mile 17 the main path seems to lead away from the river to cross a bridge.  I got halfway across the bridge and thought I’d better just double check I was going the right way.  Sure enough the Thames path went under the bridge.  Lots of people made the same mistake, but I don’t think anyone went too far out of their way.  I reached the next checkpoint at mile 21 starting to feel knackered, which isn’t good on the first day of a three day run.  I stopped to have some food and was soon joined by Luke, who by rights should have been ahead of me.  He reckoned he’d gone about 10 minutes off route.  He seemed keen to make up for lost time and continued through the checkpoint without hardly stopping.  I continued at my own pace. 

I started to flag on the last 3 miles.  However, I passed Luke who was obviously suffering more than I was.  As I made seemingly slow progress over the last 2 miles I kept expecting Luke to catch up with me, but he never did.  I crossed the finish line in 3 hours 32 minutes.  I had predicted it would take me about 3.5 hours, so I was happy with the time.  Luke crossed the line 4 minutes after me, the 4^th runner (Ken) was just 6 minutes back and 5^th (Ian) 8 minutes after me, closer than I was expecting.  The next runner arrived 17 minutes after me.  The first lady (Michelle) was the 7^th person to finish the stage, 21 minutes after me.  The remaining 50 or so runners would continue to arrive over the next 3 hours.  Justin had a massive lead of 15 minutes over me going into the second day.  I was extremely pleased to be in second place overall and I wondered if I could hold on to it.  There was clearly no competition for first place, but second and third could end up going to any one out of me, Luke, Ken and Ian.

Stage 1 winner, Justin Montague, and race organiser, Neil Thubron

Accommodation on the Friday night was in the sports hall of Moulsford School.  The dinner ladies cooked us a great evening meal.  I rather enjoyed having dinner in a school dinning room and chatting to other runners.  The school dinner was definitely better than the ones I remember having when I was at school.  I’m sure Jamie Oliver would have approved.  The school itself is also very well appointed, right by the Thames with great views of the surrounding countryside.  The first floor balcony at the front of the sports hall made it almost feel like an African hunting lodge.

Stage 1 finish at Moulsford School

Friday night accommodation

Runners relaxing on the balcony overlooking the Thames

That night I didn’t sleep a wink.  I don’t know why not, I certainly felt tired enough and although there were a few snorers they weren’t that loud.  Talking to other runners it seemed that everyone had been as restless as me.  The lights to the sports hall were turned on at 6am to wake anyone fortunate enough to have slept.  The walkers then had an hour to get themselves ready for their departure at 7am.

7am group of runners/walkers have their daily briefing

Being in the faster group of runners meant I had plenty of time to get ready.  So I lay in my sleeping bag listening to the commotion around me, and then got up to watch the walkers leave.  I then had a leisurely breakfast with a group of other runners and watched the 8am group depart.  I then had an hour to pack my bag, which was more than enough time, before us fast runners set off at 9am.

The 8am group get ready to leave




9am group ready for the off.  Justin (50), Ian to my (47) right and Ken (69) to my left. 1st lady, Michelle, behind Ken.  Luke far right.

I decided I wasn’t going to even try to stay with Justin on the second day.  I found myself running with Luke over the early miles and we watched Justin disappear ahead of us.  Ian and Ken were close behind.  At some point I found myself letting Luke run on ahead of me, whilst I settled into a comfortable pace for 33 miles of running.  About half way through the day I passed Luke again, he seemed to be having trouble running.  He obviously had some sort of niggle.

The route on day 1 was far more rural than day 2, staying close to the Thames on the border of farmers’ fields.  On the second day we passed through a number of villages and towns where the route of the footpath moved away from the river, making it easier to go wrong.  Fortunately, there were enough Thames path signs and Neil had also put out some XNRG arrows to also mark the route.  But it was still possible to miss a few of these.

The sun shone all day on the Saturday making places like Henley seem particularly lovely.  I was with Ken and Ian as we ran through Henley, and we almost went wrong.  We hadn’t realised we needed to cross the main town bridge to run on the other side of the Thames.  We stayed on the same side of the river but soon suspected that we might be going the wrong way.  We asked about 6 people if they knew which side of the river was the Thames path, but everyone seemed to be visiting for the day.  An ice cream seller put us back on course, and I’d guess we’d only wasted about 5 or 6 minutes.

From Henley we still had about 10 miles to go to the finish.  Ian, Ken and I stayed pretty close to each other for the rest of the day.  Sometimes we’d be running side by side, sometimes we were in a long line with maybe 100m separating each other, and the person at the front would constantly change as we each took a short walk break.  I tried to keep my walking restricted to any significant inclines, which pretty much meant the ramps up to any bridges, as hills are very rare alongside the Thames.  Ian would take a short walk break almost every 2km, and then run fast to catch up with myself and Ken, a strategy that wouldn’t work for me.  Ken would stop and walk about mid way between checkpoints to have something to eat, but would then catch up again. 

Approaching the 26.2 mile mark I had told myself I would have a short walk whatever happened as a way of ‘celebrating’ reaching marathon distance.  Just as I stopped to walk Ian caught up with me and decided to walk with me.  Shortly after Ken caught up with the two of us and thought about running on, but he stopped and said, “F**k it, if you two are walking then so am I”.  We only walked a couple of minutes together and then ran as a group to the next checkpoint, which was only about a mile away.  We stayed very close over the next 3 miles towards the finish in Marlow. 

With about 3 miles to go Ken seemed to speed up.  I tried to stay at a consistent pace, but also found myself increasing my speed slightly.  The path on the approach to Marlow was busy with walkers out enjoying a sunny Autumn Saturday.  I think this helped me keep my pace high towards the finish.  Coming into the town we passed a statue of Sir Steve Redgrave, which looked nothing like him from a distance.  We weaved through the town to finish outside the school that would provide our Saturday night accommodation.  Ken had finished 1 minute ahead of me, and Ian came in 1 minute later.  Once again Justin finished well ahead of everyone else, 15 minutes ahead of Ken.  Runners kept on arriving over the next few hours.  The benefit of being a slower runner was that you’d get a louder cheer at the finish as more and more people were on hand at the finish line.  A while after I’d finished I met up with Luke.  He had to pull out at one of the checkpoints as he had too much pain in one leg to run.  He wasn’t going to hang around with an injury, so he wished me luck and we said our goodbyes.

Having tea and cake at the finish of day 2.

Michelle finishes with an entourage

The 33 miles on day 2 took me a total of 4 hours 38 minutes.  As it was early afternoon and the sun was shining I decided to have a walk around town.  I was joined by Michelle, the first female runner.  We had a very pleasant walk and chat, and then found a nice little café to have a big portion of tuna salad.  I was walking around thinking of burgers, but a tuna salad packed with vegetables and new potatoes seemed a more sensible choice as recovery food.

Saying "hi" to Sir Steve Redgrave

In the evening we were treated to another school dinner and a talk about the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc from Neil.  Afterwards I was sure I’d have a good nights sleep, but still only managed to get about two hours complete sleep.  I woke the next day feeling tired, but knew all would be well once I started running.

The "elite" group get ready for day 3. Top 6 men at the front from L to R - Justin (1st), Ian (4th), Ken (2nd), Me (3rd), Hammish (5th), Jeremy (6th). Michelle just behind me was 1st lady and 7th overall.

The starting times on Sunday were the same as the previous day, and the distance would be roughly the same.  The route would also get more urban as we got closer to London.  Once again Justin went out ahead of everyone from the start.  This time Ian, Ken and I were also joined by Hammish, a first time ultra runner who had clearly been taking it easy over the first two days.  The four of us stayed close up to about half-way.  Then Ken seemed to find a lot of inner strength and sprinted off at a pace that I thought was suicidal.  I tried to keep with him for about half a mile and then thought better of it.  If I’d kept with him I’m sure I’d have ended up injured, which was something I couldn’t allow to happen.  So I eased off and stayed with Ian for most of the run.  By this point Hammish had slowed slightly and was trailing behind us.

There were two outstanding landmarks on the third day of running.  The first was Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s railway bridge at Maidenhead.  This appeals to the old civil engineering nerd in me.  It might not look so unusual today, but it was the first brick arch bridge to be built with a low parabolic arch over such a long span.  Engineers at the time scoffed at the design and said it wouldn’t be able to support its own weight let alone the weight of trains going over the top.  Brunel proved them wrong and it is still being used as a railway bridge over 150 years later.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel's bridge at Maidenhead

Without any doubt the most impressive view of the day was of the approach into Windsor with the Castle dominating the landscape.  Even though we were running in persistent drizzle, it couldn’t be denied that the western approach into Windsor was amazing.  I imagined American Ken wetting himself at the view.  I wasn’t with him to check if this actually happened.

View of Windsor Castle from the west along the Thames

We still had about 15 miles to go from Windsor to the finish and my legs were starting to really complain.  I had a consistent throbbing pain in the back of my right knee.  I momentarily thought about giving up.  My reasons where clear, I couldn’t afford an injury as my income depends on me being fit.  Then I thought about something Neil had said the previous night.  He told us that during long runs you will hit low points when you will think of all sorts of reasons for not carrying on.  I was feeling slightly disappointed with myself for not being able to keep up with Ken.  I had pretty much resigned myself to coming third instead of retaining my second place overall and this little detail felt like failure.  At the time Ian was also ahead of me and I questioned whether I could keep up with him and started thinking that I might actually end up in fourth place, which might as well be last.  As these thoughts went through my head I remembered Neil saying that one time when he was running in the UTMB he considered given up but then imagined the letters DNF next to his name on the results list.  I considered this and realised that I was being incredibly stupid.  I was just using my knee and my finishing position as an excuse.  Who cares what position I finished in? Its not as if the results would be published anywhere and they wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else anyway.  The most important thing was not having DNF next to my name on the results page.  I focused on the pain in the back of my knee and decided it was more of a dull ache than excruciating pain and when I really thought about it I didn’t think it would lead to serious injury.  So I gave myself a little motivational speech and decided that come what may I would finish the day. 

Soon after my little pep talk to myself I caught up with Ian again and we ran together for the rest of the day.  As the route came increasingly more urban and occasionally deviated away from the river it became easier to make a wrong turn, which we did on a couple of occasions, but we never strayed too far from the course. 

As we approached the finish in Walton on Thames it was pouring with rain and we were soaked and getting cold.  The final approach to the finish was along a gravel track that had practically turned into a stream.  At first I tried to dodge any puddles, but I quickly gave this up as futile and splashed my way through puddles that were a good two inches deep over the last quarter of a mile.  I arrived at the finish HQ and gave a loud cheer as I crossed the finish line.

It wasn’t until I was indoors that I realised just how wet and cold I’d become.  I couldn’t get my fingers to move to undo my shoe laces.  Fortunately, there were plenty of willing volunteers to help me.  The first priority was to shower and get on some warm clothes.  I met Ken in the changing room.  He finished 10 minutes ahead of me, which meant he had overtaken me for second place overall by 5 minutes.  I was more than happy to come home with a trophy for third place.

Once showered and dressed I sat around with several other runners having tea, coffee and plenty of cake.  Several people complimented me on my running form, including Justin, the overall winner.  It’s not something I necessarily think about but the others all said that out of all of them my running form looked just as efficient at the end of the run as it did at the start.  I can only put this down to having a rock solid core, which is vindication for all the kettlebell training I do.  I tried to convince them that they had to try kettlebells, but most said they were too lazy.  How ironic is that?  A group of people who had just run 92 miles in 3 days felt they were too lazy to add another exercise regime to their repertoire.

Once refreshed I decided it was time to make a move for home.  It would have been nice to hang around to witness everyone finish, but that could take hours.  I needed to get a train back to London, get some food on route and then get back to Ruth in Cambridge, where I hoped more food would be waiting for me.  It was the end of yet another excellent weekend organised by Neil and the team at Extreme Energy.  I can't wait to have a go at their Druid Challenge along the Ridgeway in November.

One Boozy and Soggy Weekend

Well it's now two weeks since I ran in the Isle of Wight Ultra Marathon.  I thought I'd better start off with some light running again this week.  So on Monday morning I just headed out to do a little 3 mile run, but ending at the Vinery Road Park to do some pull-ups, which I've been neglecting recently.

I'd usually do a longish run Tuesday morning, but I just wasn't feeling up to it this week, so I skipped a run (shock!).  However, I did run 3 miles with a client that evening.

Wednesday evening was Sweaty Betty night, and I'd usually run there and back so that I can total up just over 10 miles in total, but once again I didn't quite feel up to it, so decided to listen to my body and take it easy by cycling into town instead.  I then had the girls running a pyramid session around Midsummer Common, and in total we covered just over 4 miles.

Thursday is my busiest working day of the week and I never have time for a run.  So by Friday I really felt that I should get out for a decent run.  So early in the afternoon I set off for an 8 mile run out through Fen Ditton and up to Bates Bite Lock, then back down the river to Chesterton and home.  As soon as I set off my legs didn't quite feel right, but I figured I just needed to start slow and give them time to warm-up.  By the halfway point I had a slight pain in my hip and my left calf was feeling like a solid rock.  The run felt terrible.  I felt as if I was running really slow, but my Garmin was telling me that I was running a little slower than a 7 minute mile pace.  So not bad, but not great.  I was relieved to get back to my front door without the pain in my hip getting any worse.

That evening I was out with my friend, Jason, to celebrate his 40th birthday.  I completely forgot about my usual 4 pint limit and can honestly say that I have no idea how much I drank.  I'm hanging my head in shame as I write this.  I do remember going to bed at about 3am, to then be woken by Ruth at 6.30am, who hadn't come out because she was going to London early.  Because I had been disturbed, I had to get up to go to the loo, Ruth then thought it was ok to start a conversation and ask if I wanted a cup of tea.  I groaned an answer which I hoped would be interpruted as "shut-up and leave me alone" and crawled back into bed, but a few minutes later Ruth came back into the bedroom to say "goodbye".  Life was feeling very unfair at that point.  I hadn't woken Ruth when I crawled into bed in the early hours.

A couple of hours later I had to get up as I was due at Milton Country Park by 10am to lead a kettlebell workout for a group of clients who will be rowing the chanel with me in October.  Jason was also supposed to be there, but never made it, which was no great surprise.  The workout lasted a little under one hour, and I was feeling the worst for wear afterwards.  I went home, got a few chores done and returned to bed.

Thankfully, I was feeling much more with it this morning.  I'd agreed to meet the crew at 10am at Girton Recreation Ground to take them around the trim trail there as a change to our usual routine.  I first went for a 10 mile run along the river, which was close to bursting it's banks after all the heavy rain, and then through Milton village and on to Girton.  I was relieved not to feel the pain in my hip again, and the run felt pretty good, but still not quite back to my usual peak fitness.

Only four others made it to Girton, plus Jo, Jason's girlfriend and Sweaty Betty runner.  We then spent an hour running around the half mile trim trail and completing each obstacle and fitness station.  The field was like a swamp in places and it was impossible not to get wet feet.  However, it was good fun but also really hard work.  Everyone was exhausted by the end of the hour but, hopefully, it will make our 4 hour sea row next weekend seem like a breeze.  Everyone completed the trail between 4 and 6 times each.

The field was a little wet in places

Rope climb - no legs aloud



The five crew members who made it tackle one of the easier obstacles

Isle of Wight 2-Day Ultra Marathon

Every year hundreds of yachts and thousands of yachtsmen and women gather in Cowes on the Isle of Wight for the Round Island Yacht Race.  A few years back Neil Thurbon, the race director at Extreme Energy, had the idea of organising a foot race on the island over the same weekend.  He thought the spectacle of the yacht race would be a great distraction for the runners who’d, no doubt, be experiencing great pain in their legs whilst running up and over the cliff tops.  And so the Round Island Ultra Marathon was born, with the objective of running the entire 69 miles of coastal path over two days.  It all started three years ago and I was one of the 50 people who took part in the inaugural event.  I loved it so much that I went back for more this year.

On Saturday 30 June some 1000 yachts set off from Cowes to race anti-clockwise around the Isle of Wight.  That same morning about 120 runners also set off from Cowes to run around the Island in the opposite direction.  The runners set off in three waves.  The first group of mostly walkers started at 8am, then a second group departed at 9am, and I was in the so called ‘elite’ group of 13 that started at 10am.

The previous night almost all competitors bunked down in the sports hall at Cowes High School.  This was our first chance to get to know a few other runners.  However, group dynamics being what they are, most people were very reserved the first night and kept themselves to themselves.  I hadn’t even noticed that I’d put my sleeping mat down right next to a former member of the Sweaty Betty running club that I coach.  I didn’t recognise her until breakfast the next day. 

We didn’t exactly have a peaceful night on the Friday.  With about 100 or so people sleeping in one place there was bound to be a few snorers.  I swear I didn’t get more than a few minutes sleep.  The whole hall reverberated to the sound of snorers and the loudest seemed to be sleeping right by my head.  However, this gave the majority of us the first piece of shared experience to comment on over breakfast, as we tried to find out who had slept and who hadn’t.  Anyone who admitted to getting a good night’s sleep was eyed with suspicion.  This is how I started taking to Faye, and we both did a double take as we recognised each other.

The worst thing about being in the ‘elite’ group was that we had so long to hang around and wait for our starting time.  We all found ourselves sat in distant parts of the sports hall at 9am, which suddenly seemed to get a lot bigger.  Then one or two started to introduce themselves and I started to get to know a few of my competitors.   I was the only one in the group who had run this race before, so was questioned on what each day was like.  My memory of the previous event was surprising sketchy, but I definitely remembered that the second day was easier to run and to navigate.  Most people had got lost at some point on day 1, and it was my intention not to go wrong at the same points this time around.

It felt like a great relief when it was our time to leave the school hall and jog down to the Cowes chain ferry.  We boarded the ferry in West Cowes.  The race would start as soon as the ferry touched dry land in East Cowes.  Everyone suddenly leapt from the ferry and ran up the road at what I thought was a fast pace given we had 38 miles ahead of us.  I found myself at the back of the pack and decided to move up to the front to keep an eye on the lead runners.  My goal was to try and finish in the top 5.

I found myself running next to Chris, who was from the Island and who knew the route well.  I thought he’d be a great guy to keep with, so I struck up a conversation with the intention of getting to know him better.

For the first mile or so the 13 runners in the ‘elite’ group kept reasonably close together.  But after a few miles it started to open up and I was in a lead group of five runners.  I was happy with the pace and fairly confident that I could keep with the other runners in the group for most of the way and see my top 5 finishing position come to fruition.  Chris was in this group and proved to be a valuable tour guide.  He led us around the route so that we didn’t need to refer to the map or route description.  He even pointed out a few landmarks.  By the time we reached the first check point at about the 10 mile point our group had dwindled to four. 



With the leaders at Bembridge Bay (I'm on the right)



Two of the runners went through the check point without even stopping.  Chris and I had a quick bite to eat and took a drink of squash and then set off in pursuit of the two leaders.  We were soon back as a group of four, mainly because the two at the front almost took a wrong turn, but Chris shouted at them and in having to double back a few yards they were back alongside Chris and me.

At about mile 17 we reached the first real climb of the day going up from Whitecliff Bay to the top of Culver Down.  It might only be 104m above sea level, but it was a steep climb which had me walking for the first time.  The front two runners managed to put a sizeable gap between me and Chris at this point, and I wouldn’t see them again until the finish.  Once at the top of Culver Down I took a brief moment to admire the view of the yacht race.  The sea was littered with 100s of boats with brilliant white sails billowing in the very strong wind, which had just started to become a head wind for us runners, adding to our test of endurance.

From the top of Culver Down we had a long down hill run to Sandown, where the second check point was located at mile 19.  At this point in the race we started to overtake many runners who had set off an hour earlier than us.  We’d already passed the majority of walkers from the 8am group.  Chris left the check point before I was ready to leave, meaning I’d be running the remaining 18 miles by myself and without my trusty guide.  I met up with Faye and her boyfriend, Matt, at check point 2 and asked how they were doing.  I was surprised to have caught them so early.



Arriving at the second check point



The next two miles or so were pretty flat and very easy to follow, given that it just followed the continuous promenade through Sandown and Shanklin.  The biggest hazard was meandering holiday makers who were understandably oblivious to our race.  Once we’d reached the end of Shanklin we had 156 steps to climb, which was hard work for tired legs. 

A view of the Round Island Yacht Race.

From the top of the cliff the coastal path wound its way through woodland where the path was very muddy from the recent heavy rain.  I wished I’d chosen trail shoes at this point.  In road shoes I was reduced to a walk in many places.  It was a relief to be back on concrete and running on the flat again through Ventnor and then reaching the third check point at about mile 25.

I had told myself that I had to at least reach marathon distance feeling reasonably o.k.  So far, so good.  The real test would come over the next 13 miles.  I fully expected to have to walk more and more as I got closer to the finish.  However, I also told myself that I wouldn’t walk if the terrain was flat or downhill.  At times I started to wish for an uphill section so that I had an excuse to walk. 

The next serious uphill came soon enough at mile 28, where the coastal path turns inland and up through the village of St Lawrence.  The next mile was mostly on road and all uphill, and I walked almost all of it.  I had just caught up with a female runner at this point and we walked together and chatted as we made our way up through the village and on up the hill that overlooks it.  Fortunately for me she was pleasant company, but I didn’t get round to asking her name.  I continued on my own once we’d got over the steepest part of the climb and turned due west again.  The path continued to go mostly up for the next 3 miles, which brought us to the final check point and the highest point of the route at 164m.

I left the check point hoping to be able to continuously run the remaining 7 miles to the finish. From a distance it looked like the route would be either downhill or at least flat all the way.  However, the last stretch of coastal path was completely exposed to the westerly winds, so even running on the flat was hard work.  The slightest incline was an almighty test.  I was reduced to a brief walk on several occasions.  But I was encouraged by the fact that I was constantly catching and overtaking runners from the 9 o’clock group.  Some would try to keep up with me, but none were able to.

Final few yards to the finish

I reached the finish line having taken 6 hours and 9 minutes to run the 38 miles.  Two years ago it had taken me 7 hours 25 minutes, but I did get lost on that occasion and had run an extra 3 miles.  To my amazement I was also told that I was in second place overall.  This I could not believe and was convinced that someone had made a mistake.  But it turned out that one of the first two runners had withdrawn due to a pain in his knee, and I had overtaken Chris when he nipped into a public toilet.  He later told me he saw me ahead of him when he came out of the loo but couldn’t catch up with me.  Chris found the second half really tough and eventually finished 21^st overall on the day.

In first place at the end of day 1 was Justin Montague.  He was 37 minutes ahead of me.  David Ross was third and just 6 minutes behind me.  Fourth was 13 minutes back.  The last person took over 13 hours to complete day 1.

Saturday night was spent at the Brightstone Holiday Camp.  Most runners opted to sleep in tents, but several sensibly individuals had booked one of the chalets for the chance to sleep in a comfortable bed.  But the few that I spoke to Sunday morning didn’t seem to have slept any longer than I had.  Although I was exhausted when I turned in for the night, I got very little sleep.  I was kept awake by a combination of adrenaline and aching legs.  I couldn’t switch my brain off and kept analysing the day’s run and thinking about the 31 miles that were to follow the next day.

By Sunday morning several of the runners felt like good friends.  This is the beauty of a multi-day event.  You very quickly bond with the people around you as a result of the shared experience.  Once again I had to watch the walkers depart at 7am, then the first wave of runners at 8am and then wait around a now quiet camp site for my start time at 9am with the remaining handful of runners.

The 8am runners set off on day 2

As soon as our run was underway Justin, David and myself immediately went to the front of the pack.  David was definitely making it clear that he was going to challenge me for 2^nd place.  I was happy to follow the two of them, knowing that David would need to build up a lead of at least three quarters of a mile if he was to beat me by more than 6 minutes.

A view of the first 9 miles of day 2 - exposed cliff tops into a head wind



The first six miles were along exposed cliff tops all the way to Freshwater.  Fortunately, the wind had abated slightly overnight.  There were some steep climbs over the first few miles.  David and Justin ploughed on up them at a reasonable pace.  I felt that I wasn’t prepared to put in such a hard effort so early on, so allowed them to both build up a lead.  If David really wanted to beat me that much he was welcome to it, I’d settle for third place overall.  However, in Freshwater I witnessed the two runners ahead of me take a wrong turn.  They were too far ahead for me to shout out to them.  I followed the correct route and made my way up Tennyson Down which leads to the Needles at the far western end of the island.  On my way up the steepest part of the climb I saw David and Justin emerge onto a path that approached the hill from a different point.  They were now just slightly behind me, but soon caught up with me again.  When we reached the first check point at the Needles Battery at mile 9 they were both a few minutes ahead of me again.

Approaching the second check point

The next check point was just after Yarmouth at mile 15.5.  I’d started to overtake some of the 8am walkers/runners.  As I passed one group of runners I got a big cheer and I was told that I was the first of the ‘elite’ group to pass them.  This I couldn’t believe, but another group I passed later on also confirmed this.  I could only conclude that David and Justin had taken another wrong turn.  Navigation was very much a part of the challenge and I suspected that David was so keen to beat me that he wasn’t paying close enough attention to either the map or route description.  Maybe he was relying on Justin to guide him around.  It was possible that having run the event before I had a good advantage over them both.  I reached the second check point and it was confirmed that I was the current leader.  This news spurred me on to try and put as much distance between me and David as possible.

The next check point wasn’t until just after mile 26.  This was the greatest distance between check points.  The terrain was mostly flat and was a combination of woodland trails, coastal promenades, quiet country lanes, and one section of wooden boardwalks over swamp.  Justin managed to catch me again just after the second check point, but I kept him in my sights for the entire run to the third.  He never managed to get any further than 400m ahead of me.  On long straight sections I’d look over my shoulder expecting to see David gaining on me, but he never came into sight.

Justin ran straight through the final check point, but I had to stop to fill my Camelbak and to have some food.  The finish was just over 5 miles, but I knew that there were a few challenging hills on the last stretch.  After leaving the final check point the route first followed a footpath over farmland.  One section of path was muddy and completely churned up by cow hooves.  The mud was sticky and deep.  I later heard that several runners had their shoes pulled off their feet by trying to run through the mud.  I tip toed through the least muddy part of the path, which happened to be right alongside an electric fence that was humming and cracking centimetres from my bare, wet legs.

I continued on through Thorness Holiday Park, down to Thorness Bay and along the sandy beach.  Two years ago my legs were completely dead at this stage, but this time I was actually feeling pretty good.  I could remember having to walk up the hill that leads over the headland to Gunard Bay.  This time I managed to run all the way up the hill and down the other side at a fair pace.  The idea that David might catch me on the last stretch kept me pressing on to the finish.

Before I knew it I’d reached the sea front in Cowes.  I ran along the esplanade at what felt like great speed, considering the distance I’d run over the previous 2-days.  I then reached the final climb that would lead me up to Cowes High School and the end of the epic run.  As I turned the corner into the school entrance I could hear clappers and symbols and people cheering.  What a welcoming committee.  I ran the final few yards as fast as I was able and gave out a loud whoop.  I couldn’t believe that I had actually finished in 2^nd place and had taken about two hours off my overall time from two years ago.  Justin was the first person to congratulate me.  Ten minutes later David arrived at the finish.  The three of us then exchanged notes about the run whilst drinking sugary tea and eating cake.

After a shower I hung around the finish line with more tea to welcome in other runners.  About an hour and half after I’d finished my run, Neil, the race organiser, decided to have the first prize given ceremony.  I’ve never won any trophies before in the ten years that I have been entering races, but this weekend I came away with two, one as runner up and one for first man over 40.  I was feeling rather pleased with myself.

First three men - Justin, centre, and David, right.

I should mention my wonderful support crew, which consisted of Ruth on a hire bike.  Whilst I ran around, Ruth cycled on the round the Island cycle path, which is mostly inland from the coastal path, but at times the two join.  Ruth would try to beat me to the points where the two paths would meet to cheer me on.  On one occasion she didn’t get to the meeting point in time, but she mostly just made it in time to see me run past.  She made it to the finish of day 1 just 30 seconds before I arrived.  I’m now under strict instructions to not run any faster if I enter this race again.  My reply to this was that maybe Ruth should undergo some training in order to cycle a little faster.  This comment didn’t seem to go down too well.