Lyke Wake Walk

On the morning of 30 March 2024, I strode out from Osmotherley with two friends, Rachel and Nigel, to attempt the 40 (ish) mile Lyke Wake Walk (LWW), with the aim of purifying my soul.  We were all hoping to overcome a mighty challenge, but the weather was not cooperating.  The sky was bright blue and cloudless and there wasn’t any hint of wind.  How unfortunate we were to be cursed by such a beautiful day.

Rachel and Nigel at the LWW starting stone

We left the starting stone at the head of Cod Beck Reservoir just after 6.30am.  The first challenge was to cross Carlton Bank and then the three sister hills of Kirby, Broughton and Hasty Bank.  I’ve often thought that the hills should be renamed the four sisters, but I guess it doesn’t have the same ring to it, and the three sisters does make me think of the three weird sisters from Macbeth, which makes it fitting that they should be part of such a mournful journey across the Moors.

Trig point on Carlton Bank

Nigel and I were actually in the presence of a Witch, as Rachel had previously completed the LWW in August 2020.  As such we both very much left the navigation to Rachel.  I had travelled the first 18 miles previously, but not necessarily as part of the same walk/run, and it was nice to be revisiting this part of the Moors once more.

Once the four hills were behind us we had one final significant climb remaining up to Round Hill and on to Bloworth Crossing.  The going had been reasonably slow going up to this point.  Partly because of the hills and also because we made frequent stops to admire the view.

Bloworth Crossing is renowned for being very windy at all times of the year, its name literally meaning ‘place where the wind blows for all its worth’ (I possibly just made this up!), but for us it was spookily still and calm.  Were we being cursed or blessed?  The next 6 or 7km follows a disused railway line all the way to the Lion Inn at Blakey Howe.  We were able to run this section and make up some good time.  We had travelled the 18 miles to the Inn in just over 4.5 hours.  But the toughest part of the journey lay ahead.

The very runnable disused railway line leading to the Lion Inn

We filled our water bottles at the pub and then set out across the Moors to Ravenscar, some 22 miles away and where we’d next see signs of civilisation.  We almost immediately encountered bog and marsh.  Rachel disappeared into one bog up to her knee.  Not long afterwards Nigel did the same.  Once he’d freed his leg from the sucking bog it was a luminous, unearthly brown colour.  Hallelujah! This was the sort of challenging conditions we were hoping for.  Except I somehow managed to avoid sinking into the ground, making me wonder if I was already a spirit forever doomed to float over the Moors.

Crossing the marshes

Rachel and then Nigel go knee deep in the bog

The aim of the LWW is to stick to the watershed and aim for a series of standing stones and cairns on hill summits, such as Fat Betty, Blue Man-i’-th’-Moss and Lilla Cross.  The RAF early warning system at Fylingdales Moor is also highly prominent on the horizon for many miles and never seems to get any closer.

Fat Betty

Fylindales EWS visible on the horizon for many, many miles

Over the latter part of the route there are couple of becks that need to be crossed.  These both entail a steep descent followed by a steep climb.  At the picturesque Wheeldale Beck we stopped for a brief sit down to have something to eat before crossing the stepping stones.  The stones prevented us from getting wet feet in the beck, but the grassy bank the other side of the stream was a very deceptive marsh.  The grass looked lush and firm, but as soon as we stepped off the last stepping stone we were up to our ankles in water.  So much for me thinking I was a spirit floating over the land.

Stepping Stones at Wheeldale Beck

Once past the early warning system I was expecting to have a sense that we were nearly at the end of the journey.  The next significant landmark is a radio mast on a hilltop above Ravenscar.  This, too, had the knack of never seeming to get any closer.

Photo at the final trig point

The final climb of the day took us to the base of the radio mast.  It was a long, gentle and very runnable ascent.  Some people say the trig point next to the mast is the end point of the LWW, some say it is the bar at the Ravens Hall Hotel.  We took a quick photo at the trig point and then ran down the road into Ravenscar and headed straight to the hotel.  My wife, Ruth, was there to meet us.  The run/walk had taken us 11 hours and 46 minutes.

A Witch and two Dirges at the Raven Hall Hotel

We had a quick celebratory drink in the hotel bar before setting off for home.  It had been an amazing day.  The weather had been unbelievably kind, making both navigation and the general journey a relative breeze.  I also had fantastic company, which also helped make the hours fly by and for the trot across the Moors to be an absolute pleasure, apart from the constant soaking of feet in the second half.

Nigel and I can now both call ourselves Dirges.  Rachel now needs to make a crossing in reverse so she can become a Mistress of Misery.  I’m now contemplating a double crossing so I can also become a Master of Misery.  Surely, the weather won’t be so kind next time!

 

Hardmoors 110 – Chapter 2

Saturday 29 May, Helmsley, Yorkshire.  The alarm went off at 5am.  By 6am Ruth and I were in our car driving to Filey, approximately one hour away.  Filey is on the Yorkshire coast and is considered the end point of the Cleveland Way, with the start being in Helmsley.  For the Hardmoors 110 we would be running the entire length of the Cleveland Way, but in reverse to which most guide books describe the walk. 

The 110 mile long ultra-marathon is a run of roughly two halves.  The first 53 miles runs up the coast to Saltburn.  From Saltburn the remaining 57 miles first heads west to Roseberry Topping, then south to Sutton Bank and the Yorkshire White Horse, and then east to finish in Helmsley.

Ruth was going to be my support crew for the first half of the day until Rachel could take over in the afternoon.  I was only expecting to see Ruth at the very start and then just one more time at the remote Hornblower Café, which was checkpoint 3 at roughly mile 31 and a little over a mile before Whitby.

The 110 was actually the shorter of two runs taking place the same weekend.  About 35 runners had set off at 5pm the previous day to run a 160 mile run.  I’d overtake almost all of the 160 runners over the next day.  The organisers were happy to point out that we were all running a shorter race by referring to it as the “fun run”.

       

The race started at 8am and the runners were set off in waves of 30 people at intervals of 5 minutes.  There were 174 people in total on the start line.  I was in the first wave and I positioned myself towards the back of the pack for the start.  When we were told it was time to go I felt a strong urge to roar like a lion.  I resisted the urge, but at the start I felt a huge release of pent up energy suddenly escape from me and it felt like a massive relief to finally be running the 110 mile race.  I’d been training and planning for this moment for months and the time had finally arrived to test how well my training had gone.  I was feeling remarkably confident.

It wasn’t long before I found myself running in the lead with three other runners.  This was not part of my plan.  For a few brief seconds I also found myself leading the pack, which most certainly was not in my plan.  I stepped to one side and let the others pass.  I did say, “Sorry guys, I don’t want to be the pace setter, but at least I can say I was the race leader for a short while”.  I think they found this amusing.

The four of us arrived at the first checkpoint together, which was 8 miles in and just before Scarborough.  Three of us stopped to top up our water, but one runner just kept on going.  It would be the last we saw of him as he went on to be the eventual winner in a time of 22 hours 28 minutes.

I had a good chat to the two other runners I was with as we ran along Scarborough seafront, which seemed to go on for miles.  Shortly after Scarborough the two of them sped off and I was then on my own for a long time.  I had estimated my pace for the entire race.  I knew it was going to be optimistic for the final 60 miles, but so far I was bang on target, sticking to about 6 miles per hour.

At mile 22 I made a slight navigational error.  At one point the Cleveland Way splits and you have an option to go via an old Alum Works (which I believe is an old Roman quarry).  I remembered reading an instruction to ignore the sign to the Alum Works, so when I saw such a sign I continued straight on.  After about three quarters of a mile something didn’t feel right so I checked my map.  I realised I was running on a disused railway track, which is not part of the Cleveland Way.  I started sprinting back the way I’d come in utter panic.  I had to calm myself down and return to a gentle run.  It was plainly stupid to be sprinting 22 miles into a 110 mile race.  I got back to the point where the path split and started following other runners.  Shortly afterwards I passed a second sign to the Alum Works and I realised that that was the sign we needed to ignore, not the first one.  I was a little annoyed with myself and frustrated that I’d probably slipped down the field by a few places.  I had a little talk with myself at that point to remind myself that my only goal was to finish and that my overall position was completely irrelevant.  In any case, it was way too early to be thinking about my overall position at the finish.

Nine miles further on and I reached the Hornblower Café.  If Ruth hadn’t been there I might have gone straight past it without realising it was the checkpoint.  I filled up my bottles, gave Ruth a kiss and continued on my way.  Ruth’s support role was over and I wouldn’t see her again until midday on Sunday.  Amazingly I was still bang on schedule, so my detour hadn’t cost me anything.

Whitby was a nightmare.  It was so packed with tourists that it was difficult to even walk through at a decent pace.  Running was impossible.  I used to like Whitby but I can now say I won’t be sorry if I never visit the place again.  There were way too many people for my liking.

Soon after Whitby I met Rachel at Sandsend, which was approximately mile 36, just about one third of the way.  It was a good job Rachel was looking out for me otherwise I would have run right past her.  Rachel had her two twins with her, who had made a wonderful motivational sign for me.  Rachel had also laid out the most amazing banquet on a picnic table.  I almost felt guilty at not stopping for longer to graze on everything that was laid out.  We exchanged a few words, topped up my water, I grabbed some food and then I was on my way.

Arriving at Sandsend - mile 36 and still on schedule

My personal banquet

Motivation coaches for hire!

The next 17 miles of coast were more challenging than I’d anticipated and my pace started to really suffer.  We dropped down into several coves which meant a precarious walk down very uneven stone steps followed by an immediately climb up equally uneven steps or wooden stairs that at times were so steep they were almost ladders.  In some cases it was a combination of the two (see photo).  By the time I saw Rachel again in Saltburn I was way behind my original target pace, but I was still doing fine overall in about 7^th or 8^th place.

One of the many steep climbs up from a small cove. (Not my photo)

I actually sat down at Saltburn for the first time.  At roughly mile 40 my running shoes filled with sand as I ran a short section of beach.  I emptied my shoes as soon as I could of the sand and changed my socks, but a few miles further on I could tell there was still sand in my shoes.  So, at Saltburn I sat and tried to get as much sand out of my shoes as possible and I changed my socks again.  In hindsight I should have had a complete change of footwear at Saltburn and I should have washed my feet before putting new socks on.

I left Rachel and the girls and started heading away from the coast towards Roseberry Topping at mile 63.  I was next due to see Rachel at Gribdale Bank, a couple of miles after Roseberry, where I’d also meet Ryk for the first time, who would support me through the night and on to the finish.

A few miles away from Roseberry Topping I started to feel dehydrated.  In the hope that Ryk and Rachel had already met at Gribdale I phoned Rachel to see if Ryk could run down the Cleveland Way to meet me with more water.  Unfortunately, Ryk hadn’t yet arrived.  There was nothing I could do except plough on and try to ration the water I had.  This was the first time in the race that I felt I was struggling a little and several other runners passed me at this point  A short while later Rachel phoned me to say Ryk had arrived, he would drive to the Roseberry Topping car park, run up and over the hill and come and meet me.  

Start of the out and back section to Roseberry Topping.  I met Ryk for the first time just after this point.

If you don’t know Roseberry Topping, it’s not especially high (approximately 320m) but it is very steep.  As I was approaching Roseberry I saw a runner coming towards me with a bottle in each hand.  This was my introduction to Ryk.  I downed one bottle and used the other to fill up one of my own soft flasks.  Ryk then guided me up Roseberry Topping.  At the summit there was a solitary marshal who had the task of making sure each and every runner touched the trig point.  Once I did this Ryk and I said farewell.  I then had to return down the same side of Roseberry and retrace my steps for half a mile or so and then continue on the Cleveland Way to Gribdale, which I arrived at pretty much the same time as Ryk.

At Gribdale I did wash my feet as I could feel the sand was just starting to rub the base of my feet.  I changed my socks again and had a complete change of clothing ready for the night.  How I wished I had another pair of shoes to put on as well.  The sun had set by the time I left Rachel and Ryk to head up to the Captain Cook monument.  One of my original goals was to be beyond Roseberry Topping before it was dark, so I was pretty pleased that this aim had been achieved. 

The next 35 miles should have been familiar to me as this was the part of the course I had recced earlier in the month.  It wasn’t too long before I’d reached Kildale village, which was the location of the only indoor checkpoint of the entire race.  There was a kit check at Kildale.  Each runner had to have a certain amount of mandatory kit (hat, gloves, waterproof coat, head torch, phone, emergency food, whistle, survival bag and map).  Not having any one item would mean a two hour time penalty.  Not having either a phone or survival bag would mean instant disqualification.

The next 5 miles or so from Kildale to Bloworth Crossing was a long hard slog.  This was when my feet really started to hurt.  There was a long descent from Bloworth to Clay Bank where I was next due to meet Ryk.  Ryk had a hot tea and some food ready for me.  I sat down again and washed my feet once more and had another change of socks.  Then I was off to tackle the Three Sisters.

Crossing the Three Sisters was my favourite part of the entire race.  For most people this is where they face their demons, and many people had support runners with them for this stretch.  The Three Sisters are a series of three hills that all have very steep climbs and descents.  Coming off the first hill there is a short scramble over the Wainstones.  The scramble isn’t difficult, but it’s definitely more ‘interesting’ to do it in complete darkness with just a head torch.  I loved going over the Three Sisters in the dark, along with a fourth big hill that follows just after the Sisters, which to my mind is even more of a hard slog.  The moon was amazing.  It was a large yellowish orb just to my left for most of the night.  Every now and again I would change direction to almost look directly at it and it was like having a torch shinning in my face.

At some point during the night I was aware of my left shin starting to feel painful.  It felt like the start of shin splints.  With each descent it seemed to get a little worse.

The night time was followed by the most amazing sunrise, which for me happened a few miles before checkpoint 9 at Scarth Nick and approximately mile 86.  I had a drop bag at Scarth Nick with food, but by now I was finding it harder to eat anything.  I put some items of food in my pack and chucked the rest.  Scarth Nick was followed by another climb and then a descent to the village of Osmotherley, 2 miles further on.  My feet felt like they were on fire as I descended to the village and my shin was excruciatingly painful by now.  I had the energy to run but it was just too painful, so I had to walk downhill.  This was incredibly frustrating.

Sunrise on the Cleveland Way.  Not my photo, but very much how I remember it.

After Osmotherley there’s a 2 mile uphill slog to Square Corner at mile 90.  It was at this point that I had my only major wobble, which I wrote about in my previous entry.  I was wishing there were only 10 miles to go and not 20.  I was pretty much resolved to walking those remaining 20 miles to the finish.

It’s now almost 2 weeks since I completed the Hardmoors 110 and I still feel that I’m on a runners high.  Would I do the event again?  Maybe!  I have found myself thinking about what I would do differently next time.  The number one thing would be to have spare shoes.   I would do a lot more to try and look after my feet.  I also wish I had met Ryk at Square Corner and had changed to road shoes for the last 20 miles.  Why didn't I pack my road shoes like I'd originally planned?  That was my biggest mistake.

One of my biggest fears was how I would cope with the sleep deprivation.  Although I felt really groggy 20 miles from the finish at about 7am, this feeling did quickly pass.  I was also amazed at how my spirits were lifted by having Rachel and Ryk run with me for the last 12 miles or so.  Having a support runner for this type of event gives you a massive advantage.  The vast majority of 100 mile events allow support runners, usually for the last half of the event or at the very least the last 25 miles.

Taking part in the Hardmoors 110 was one of the most epic adventures I’ve experienced.  Finishing and winning the MV50 category was simply the icing on the cake.  For me, this event was a massive learning experience in human endurance.  I’ve always known that completing an ultra-marathon is approximately 20% down to fitness and 80% mental fortitude, but nothing I’ve ever done before was proof of this on the same scale.  The sense of achievement that I felt at the end was like nothing I’ve ever experienced and impossible to put into words.  God, I am now asking myself how I can possibly have a similar experience again!

Hardmoors 110 race Report - Chapter 1

I’m going to start my blog 20 miles from the end of the Hardmoors 110.  This was the lowest part of the race for me. I knew I was going to finish but I was in pain.  A short run along a beach at roughly mile 40 meant my shoes filled with sand.  Despite many attempts to get the sand out, several changes of socks and washing my feet a couple of times, there was still some sand in my shoes and I felt that I’d been running on sandpaper for the last 30 miles.  My feet were feeling raw and blistered.  I’d inspected them several times and they didn’t look as bad as they felt.  Every step was agony.  On top of this I’d had the feeling of shin splints in my left leg for about the last 10 miles.  The shin splints didn’t feel too bad when walking up hill, but running downhill was agony.  Flat was just about manageable, but there aren’t many flat miles on the Cleveland Way.  I’d resolved myself to simply walk the rest of the way to the finish and I kept finding myself doing mental calculations of my finishing time.  I’d estimated I could walk and still be finished by about 2pm.

My support crew, Ryk Downes, was waiting for me 10 miles down the road at Sutton Bank.  He had offered to meet me at Square Corner, which is at mile 90 and where I was having my bad patch.  If he had of been there I might have told him I was thinking of quitting, but I was pretty sure he would have convinced me to carry on anyway.  I think I just needed to hear someone else tell me that I could still do this.  If Ruth had been at Square Corner, and had seen me, I know she would have done everything in her power to have made me stop at that point.  For this reason I was very glad that Ruth had only been my support for the first half of Saturday.

I had told Ryk when I last saw him to try and get some sleep at Sutton Bank and wait for me there and that I would then get him to be my support runner from that point to the finish, i.e. for the last 10 miles.  However, I also said that if I was struggling I would text him and ask him to run back from Sutton Bank and meet me earlier.

Runners were officially allowed to have a support runner run alongside them from about mile 40.  Support runners could help with navigation but weren’t allowed to carry any essential kit for their runner.  If your support runner was caught carrying any of the mandatory race kit then it could result in the runner being disqualified, or at least receiving a time penalty.

So here I was 90 miles in with 20 miles to go, my brain was feeling foggy and was telling me I needed sleep.  It had become a struggle to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  I felt like I was weaving around the wide track I was on like a drunk.  My body was in serious pain and I felt like I wanted to have a good cry.  I sent Ryk a text that read: R U able to come and meet me. I’m struggling.  I didn’t get a reply, but I really hoped the message had got through.

I should mention that I’d never even met Ryk until about 9pm the previous day.  Under my original plan Rachel, my friend in York, was going to be my support crew for the entire event, but a change to her circumstances meant that this was no longer possible.  Rachel was distraught at not being able to help throughout and felt duty bound to come up with a solution.  She’d contacted several of her running friends, who were unable to help.  Not surprising giving that she was asking them to support a complete stranger for the night phase of the ultra-marathon.  But then Rachel remembered Ryk, who is a keen runner and also the race director for Punk Panther running events (http://punkpanther.co.uk/).  Being an all-round nice guy and willing to help a fellow runner in need, Ryk didn’t hesitate when it came to agreeing to help me.  I should also mention that it is mandatory for entrants to have at least one person crew for them on this event, so there was no question of me doing it without support.

So I was 20 miles from the finish and relying on the help and support of a virtual stranger to get me to the end.  I ploughed on and tried to use lots of positive self-talk to override the pain I was feeling.  I also visualised myself crossing the finish line and tried to imagine how happy I’d be to finish this event.  I used Franklin Method muscle sliding imagery to try and improve the function of all of my lower leg muscles as a means to relieve some of the pain I was feeling in my shins.  This helped to a small degree.

I passed High Paradise Farm, which is less than 15 miles from the finish.  I’d hoped I would have met Ryk by now.  I was feeling really sorry that Rachel wasn’t going to be around to see me finish.  She had been such a big part of my preparation for this event and I was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to be my support runner for the final 10 miles as originally planned.  Less than a mile after the farm I spotted Ryk running towards me and there was a female with him.  The female shouted my name and I had no idea who it was. I assumed it was a friend of Ryk’s.  As we neared each other I suddenly realised it was Rachel.  My spirits immediately lifted.  It was so great to see her and Ryk.  Rachel had managed to find a solution to her predicament, and after very little sleep drove back from York to be with me over the final miles of the race afterall.

Rachel and Ryk were both beaming with joy as they joined me.  Their general happiness rubbed off on me and my pain seemed to immediately dissipate.  I was even able to break out of my walk and into a slow jog.  We chatted, jogged and walked our way towards Sutton Bank, where they had both parked.  As we got nearer Rachel ran ahead to set out food and to get two chairs ready so that she could look at my feet.

The last official check point was 1 mile further on from Sutton Bank at the White Horse car park.  I needed to have at least one person from my support crew with me at this point.  With my feet bandaged up, Ryk and I headed off to the White Horse whilst Rachel packed up her car.  The White Horse was at the end of an out and back 2 mile loop.  We had to descend under the chalk figure into the car park and be checked off by the marshals.  The marshals at this point were the most enthusiastic of the entire race.  They cheered me on so much as I went past the check point that it would have been easy to assume that I’d actually finished.  But this wasn’t the case, we then had to climb a steep flight of stairs to the top of the horse.  This was the last hard climb of the run, which was now just 9 miles away. 

Ryk and I headed back towards Rachel, who was running out to meet us on the return leg from White Horse.  When we met her she told me she’d just checked the race tracker.  I was apparently lying in second place in the MV50 category but, according to Rachel, the first placed MV50 runner was just 5 minutes ahead of me and looking like “complete shit”.  She said that if I dug deep and could do some running I should easily be able to beat him.  For a micro second my brain thought it wasn’t worth the chase.  A nano second later my mouth was saying, “Hell yeah, let’s do this.”  Rachel had actually been a little flexible with the truth.  I was actually 13 minutes behind, but she knew if she told me this I would have thought the gap was too big to chase doing over 8 miles.  She also neglected to tell me that the third placed MV50 runner was only 5 minutes behind and closing fast.

Rachel knew the last 8 miles like the back of her hand and she would coach me over the final section by saying things like, “Just dig deep here and keep running another 200m, then you can rest with a gentle uphill walk”.  She’d also say, “OK, we’re closing in on the other runner, we’ll see him any second”.  Eventually we did see him, and once seen we closed in on him fast.  We overtook him on a downhill section through the village of Cold Kirby.  As we passed I gave him a cheery, “You’re doing great mate, almost there.”

Over the next couple of miles Rachel kept telling me that I couldn’t relax, that the runner we’d just over taken wasn’t giving up and that he still wasn’t that far behind.  I never once looked over my shoulder to confirm whether she was giving me dud information or not.  I took her at her word.  Rachel also told me that she was enjoying telling me what to do and that it made up for the years of personal training when I would push her hard during our 1 to 1 sessions.  She was getting her revenge and I was highly thankful for it.

A rare moment where I felt I could relax enough to pose for a photo.

Ryk was also still with us, of course.  He would run ahead whenever we approached a gate to have it open ready for me.  Every now and again he would comment on how fast I was running considering I’d been on my feet for more than 100 miles.  At one time he commented on how efficient my running was looking.  I didn’t have the energy to explain how I was using all of my Franklin Method imagery skills to help practise a smooth, efficient running gait.  Over those last few miles I particularly drew on the image of the ligaments of the pelvis winding up my running stride like a perpetual motion clockwork toy.  This really helped with any running we did on the flat.

Before long we could see Helmsley Castle.  From that point we knew the finish was probably not much more than a mile away.  We had a nice downhill run into Helmsley and Rachel would excitedly tell the many walkers we passed that I’d just run 110 miles.  My feet were still crucifying, my shin hurt like hell, but in that moment my emotions were running so incredibly high.  I couldn’t quite believe that I was at the end of a 110 mile journey and that I was about to win my age category.

Helmsley Castle visible ahead.

There was a slight uphill drag to the finish and we were closing in on runners that were ahead of me.  Rachel and I put in a final 500m (relatively!) fast effort, and Ryk just couldn’t keep up.  It was great to see Ruth waiting at the finish.  I crossed the finish line in a state of sheer ecstasy and with the biggest smile on my face.  My finishing time was 28 hours and 20 minutes. 

Slight uphill run to the finish with Helmsley Castle in the background.

I wasn’t immediately told that I was the MV50 winner, so I had to ask.  Shirley, one of the race directors, checked the list of finishers and told me that it looked like I was my age category winner, but I’d have to wait because it was possible that someone who had started 10 minutes after me (we started in 6 waves 5 minutes apart) could cross the line in the next few minutes to take the prize.  So we waited a few minutes until it became clear that no one was going to challenge me for the over 50 win.  I was presented with my trophy and posed for a few photos.

Posing with the MV50 trophy and my incredible support crew, Rachel Hewitt and Ryk Downes

My two challengers for the MV50 trophy still hadn’t crossed the line 25 minutes later, by which time I was heading back to our B&B for a shower and sleep, whilst Ruth drove Ryk and Rachel back to their cars at Sutton Bank.

It would be nice to end the story there, but the impact of those last few miles made themselves known when I tried to get out of bed after my afternoon nap on Sunday.  At first I couldn’t even take one step without falling back down onto the bed.  Ruth inspected my left leg, which was red and swollen.  We went back to see the medics at the race finish and they advised that we went straight to A&E in York. We followed their advice.  At 10.30pm I still hadn’t seen anyone and I was falling asleep in the chair in reception.  I decided that sleep was far more important than a diagnosis of my leg injury.  So I got Ruth to collect me from reception and drive me the 40 minutes back to our B&B in Helmsley.  When we took off my shoes and socks my ankle was swollen like a balloon and Ruth was pretty annoyed that I hadn’t stuck it out at A&E as it was clear that we’d have to go back again in the morning.

Fortunately, by the time we woke the next day the swelling had reduced and it was slightly easier to walk.  However, we went back to A&E in York Monday morning.  Thankfully, I only had to wait a little over an hour until I was seen.  The prognosis was that I probably had a severe muscle sprain and not a stress fracture to my tibia, which was our initial fear, although this couldn’t be ruled out.  I was told to take it easy for a couple of weeks and that if there had been no improvement in two weeks I could definitely assume that I do have a stress fracture and should return to A&E.  Thankfully, I can report that it’s now one week later and it is much improved.  Even my blisters are healing nicely.

When I finished I said I’d never do this event again.  However, I have found myself thinking about ways I could improve on my time if I did do it again.  I would definitely pack spare pairs of running shoes.  I would do more to look after my feet because it was foot pain that really slowed me down over the last 40 miles or so.  I honestly believe that if it wasn’t for my blistered feet I could have gone at least an hour quicker.  It remains to be seen if I do repeat the Hardmoors 110, or if I do another similar event.  I don’t think Ruth will thank me if I do!

I have to end by saying how eternally grateful I am to Rachel for convincing me that I could do this run and for being my support crew for most of Saturday and coming back Sunday morning to be my support runner over those last miles.  I also feel incredibly lucky that Ryk was willing to support a complete stranger through the night time section of the run and stay with me to the finish.  He could have disappeared early Sunday morning once Rachel had returned unexpectedly.

I also cannot forget to thank Ruth for putting up with my running addiction.  Ruth didn’t want to be my support crew, but she stepped in at the last minute to get me to the start and support me until Rachel could take over Saturday afternoon.  Training for this event meant that Ruth saw me even less at the weekends than usual.  Some people might think that would be a good thing, but strangely enough Ruth likes spending time with me even after more decades together than I care to mention.  I’m fully aware that being the partner of a long distance running fanatic can take its toll and I’m incredibly grateful that Ruth allows me to feed my addiction.  Spending her Bank Holiday weekend with two trips to York A&E certainly wasn’t something Ruth signed up to when we first met.  She’s a star and I love her to the moon and back.

I will get round to writing about the first 90 miles of the Hardmoors 110, but promise to make it a more abridged version of the race report.

To donate to The UK Sepsis Trust: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alan-Middlebrook2

To donate to Cancer Research UK: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alan-Middlebrook3

Preparing For My Toughest Running Event To Date

As you can tell, I’m not the most regular blogger on the planet.  Like most people I didn’t have too much to write about last year – I only completed one marathon, the Cambridge Boundary Run on 1^st March.  However, this doesn’t account for my inactivity for the rest of 2018 and 2019.  Here’s a very quick summary - I reached my 100^th marathon at the XNRG Pony Express on 13^th October 2018, which meant I ran the second day of the two day event as a new member of the 100 Marathon Club.  My long time goal thus achieved!  The aforementioned Cambridge Boundary Run was my 109^th official marathon.  My favourite race of 2018 was the 50 mile Pennine Barrier organised by GB Ultras.  I also highly enjoyed the double May the Fourth Be With You and Revenge of the Fifth marathons in Shropshire that year, which I was the overall winner of!  There were only about 30 people running the marathon route each day, but a win is a win.

Back to 2021.  In just over a week I will be taking part in my first actual race since March 2019, and I can’t wait.  For my 110^th official “marathon” I will be taking part in the Hardmoors 110, which is a 110 mile ultra-marathon covering the entire length of the Cleveland Way in Yorkshire.  I hadn’t planned on running 110 miles for my 110^th marathon. This is pure serendipity and it’s all thanks Rachel Hewitt. 

Back in November last year Rachel emailed me to say she’d entered the Hardmoors 110 but had changed her mind and intended to run the Dales Way 90 instead.  Would I like her place?  At the time I thought that I hadn’t even run a marathon for about 9 months, could I build up to 110 miles by May?  It seemed that entering a 110 mile race was a stupid idea.  So, of course, I said “Yes”.

From early November I started to increase my weekly running mileage.  I probably increased my distance a little too quickly and ended up with a minor calf injury.  I had a couple of sports massages that seemed to help.  Then for the 25 days of Christmas, thinking it would be a good idea to step up my training again, I entered an XNRG virtual race with the intention of running every day for 25 days.  My modest aim was to average 10 miles per day, i.e. 250 miles in 25 days.  This sounded very achievable, but in doing so my calf injury flared up again.  I spent a few days simply walking so that I could continue to add some miles to my total distance.  Then on December 22^nd I decided to go for a 9 hour walk/run just to see what I could do.  At that point in time I didn’t even feel ready to run a marathon. 

My strategy was to run/jog/walk and to simply focus on one hour at a time.  I told myself I’d really pay attention to how my body was feeling and to do whatever felt right, rather than trying to push a particular pace, or to jog when my body was saying walk.  I was amazed and delighted to complete 47 miles in the 9 hours, which included two short stops at two different cafés for tea and cake.  My suspected injured calf didn’t complain once.  This was all the proof I needed that 110 miles would be achievable if I followed the same strategy.  It was also proof that completing an ultra-marathon is very much in your head as much as it is about your physical fitness.  I also know that the years I’d spent studying the Franklin Method was a great help to me on that day.

Another consequence of my 47 mile day was that it got me back on track to complete my targeted 250 miles in 25 days, and I also raised over £600 for Humanity Direct.

All of my training since December has been 100% focused on the Hardmoors 110.  I have never spent so much time and energy planning for a single event before. No previous event has had me studying maps in such detail and thinking about what I’d like to eat and drink where and when from so long before race day.  Spreadsheets have been drawn up, amended and completely revised.  This upcoming race has occupied my thoughts on almost a daily basis since December.

Another unique aspect about this event, at least as far as I’m concerned, is that it requires the runner to have a support crew.  This requirement almost had me withdraw from the event as I didn’t think I’d be able to convince anyone to support me.  Ruth, my partner, was not interested in the task.  Thankfully, Rachel, who got me into this in the first place, agreed to crew for me.  In return I will crew for Rachel when she runs her 90 mile Dales Way race later in the year. 

I first met Rachel when she became one of my personal training clients a number of years ago.  At that time she barely ran herself, and now she can also call herself an ultra-marathon runner.  Rachel is one of those clients who I can now proudly state is also a friend.  It remains to be seen if I’ll still consider her a friend after I’ve run 110 miles!  I hope so.  If I can get to the finish without swearing at her once I will consider that in itself to be a great achievement.

Other milestones in my training so far this year have included a 55 mile solo run around the Wimpole Hall estate in April, and running 38 miles of the Cleveland Way in early May.  I ran what I believe should be the hardest part of the course, which goes from Roseberry Topping (63 miles in) to Sutton Bank (approximately 100 miles in).  I should find myself running this section during the night and, therefore, in the dark on the day.  Hopefully, the fact that I’ve run this part of the race in daylight will make my night time navigation a lot more straight forward.  If I do get lost I shouldn’t have any excuse.  Unless I suffer from hallucinations and start following a magical unicorn!  I have heard of runners who have hallucinated when taking part in races of 100 miles and over. A friend of mine once believed he saw a crouched runner by the side of the path and stopped to convince his fellow runner to get up and to run with him.  Another runner appeared and then pointed out to my mate that he was talking to a rock!

Roseberry Topping - the peak is at about 63 miles into the race.

The trip to Yorkshire to run part of the Cleveland Way was a very valuable learning experience.  Not only was it great to recce the part of the route I’d be running during the night time, it also had me completely revise what sort of pace I thought I’d be able to run.  I had hoped I could average a speed of 6 miles per hour.  But on the training run I only averaged 5 miles per hour, and this was with relatively fresh legs.  In reality, on the day itself, with 63 miles already in my legs and running in darkness I believe 4 miles per hour for this part of the route will be the absolute best I can hope for.  This, obviously, remains to be seen and it could be that even that assumption is way off.

This is the approach to a series of hills known as the three sisters.
I will definitely be running this section during the night.

As this event will be by way the hardest run I have ever done, I have decided to run for two charities.  Firstly, I’d like to raise money for cancer research in memory of my dad and a number of friends who have lost their lives way too soon to cancer.  But I’d also like to raise money for the UK Sepsis Trust in memory of Laura Hames-Franklin.  Laura was the wife of Eric Franklin, founder of the Franklin Method.  Shortly after I qualified as a Franklin Method Level III educator in January 2020, Laura lost her life to sepsis.  Laura’s death shocked the whole Franklin Method community.  She was someone who very much wore her heart on her sleeve. She had a bright soul and was always so very charming to everyone she met.  I still can’t quite believe she’s no longer with us.

If you are able to spare a few pounds for either (or both) charities I would be immensely grateful. Your donations will also help to spur me on and help me to dig deep whenever I have moments of doubt, or during difficult stages of the run when I may wish to throw in the towel.

I will next update this blog once I have finished the Hardmoors 110.  I definitely won’t leave it so long until the next installment.

To donate to The UK Sepsis Trust: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alan-Middlebrook2

To donate to Cancer Research UK: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alan-Middlebrook3

London Marathon and the Franklin Method

I’ve been meaning to re-start this blog for months.  It’s been almost three and a half years since my last entry.  My running was put completely on hold for the whole of 2015 and I managed just two marathons in 2016.  I had a couple of fun years kayaking, but I never entered the D2W canoe race as access to the canoe club was very restricted, especially for someone who tends to work evenings.

In 2017 I managed to run a total of 12 marathons, including 2 runs slightly over the marathon distance.  So far this year I have run 10 marathons, which includes the 2 day Pilgrim Challenge on the North Downs Way (66 miles in 2 days), and the 3 day Devil’s Challenge on the South Downs Way (96 miles in 3 days).  My main goal for this year is to reach my 100^th marathon and join the 100 marathon club.  My progress towards this target has been greatly aided by discovering the Franklin Method.

I started training as a Franklin Method level 1 educator in May 2016 and qualified in April 2017.  I am now studying to be a level 2 educator.  The Franklin Method is a way to learn how the body has evolved to function and to use this knowledge along with mental imagery to improve the function of any movement, whether that is running, weight lifting, dancing or whatever.  Providing some form of movement is involved the Franklin Method can be applied to improve the function and quality of that movement.  The aim is to be more embodied when practising your movement and more aware of what is going on and recognising you can create positive change with the power of the mind.  There is slightly more to it than this, but this is perhaps the key feature of the Franklin Method.

In this blog I will aim to describe how I used the Franklin Method to overcome the heat at the 2018 London Marathon, which was the hottest London Marathon on record.

One of the first things we learn on the Franklin Method course is that we can access our mental toolbox and use a range of imagery tools to aid our movement and hence our physical performance.  You might not be aware of this, but as humans we tend to use one such tool on a daily basis without knowing it, but it is also the one tool you perhaps don’t want to use.  That tool is negative imagery, or negative self-talk.  Humans are exceptional at focusing on the negative.  It is said that up to 80% of our daily thoughts can be negative or have negative connotations.  You might not think this is true, but think about how we like to complain about the weather.  It’s always either too cold, too hot, too snowy, too wet, too windy, etc.  You very rarely hear people say the weather is just right or perfect.  We can also be very good at complaining about our work, our boss, our neighbours, the neighbour’s dog and even our friends.  Having a negative outlook can greatly affect your health.  I bet you can think of two people who represent the extremes, someone who seems highly negative, and someone who always seems very positive.  I can bet you that the negative person is ill more often.

It is possible there are very sound reasons to be negative.  Certainly the temperature on the day of London Marathon was much hotter than anyone would have liked, but dwelling on this can affect your performance, as well as your enjoyment of the run.  My strategy was to acknowledge that it was a hot day, change my goal for the run and to adopt the best strategy possible for dealing with the heat and not ending up dehydrated. 

Which brings me on to goal setting.  One of the things we learn on the Franklin Method course is that there are three types of goals, and these are:

1. Fixed outcome goals
2. Performance goals
3. Process goals

From my experience runners typically have a fixed outcome goal, although they are perhaps unaware that their goal has such a label.  At the start of any marathon you will typically hear runners ask, “What is your target for the race?”  The answer will be along the lines of, “I’d like to get under 3 hours 30.”  Or it might be a very specific, “I am aiming for 2 hours 52 minutes”.  Which was one of my goals once upon a time.  I was devastated when I ‘only’ achieved 2:54, even though it was a PB.  Fixed outcome goals can be the most stressful and lead to the biggest disappointments when they are not achieved.  I also think of Paula Radcliffe in the 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon.  Her expectations for that race were high, but when she found herself in fourth place she immediately pulled out and was clearly distraught.  To me, and most runners I know, Paula will always be a hero, and we wouldn’t have felt any less of her if she had finished that marathon without a medal.  But watching the race unfold on TV it was clear to see how damaging it can be when the outcome is adrift from your expectations.

A performance goal is less stressful than a fixed outcome goal.  A performance goal is simply being able to compare how well you complete a task today with a previous attempt.  For a runner this could be completing a similar event in similar conditions.  This is a more realistic measure of your progress.  It’s not realistic to compare your time from a 25^oC marathon to a marathon completed in temperatures of 17^oC.  You wouldn’t compare your flat road marathon time to an off-road mountainous marathon event.

A process goal is the least stressful of the lot, but I can guarantee you’ll never hear of runners talking about process goals.  A process goal requires focusing on perhaps just one small element of a performance and working to perfect it.  This could be a dancer focusing on one small element of a dance move, or a javelin thrower working solely on their run up.  You might say running does not involve such processes, but I say it does.  When you understand running biomechanics you can focus on small elements of those biomechanics to ensure they are working at peak efficiency, and this is where the Franklin Method really starts to pay off.

One of the very first things we learnt about on the Franklin Method course was what we call the bone rhythms of the pelvis.  There is perhaps more movement in your pelvis than you are aware of, and the pelvis is moving and changing shape when you run.  If you think of your running stride starting from your hip sockets then you are missing out on some extra stride length by not fully utilising your pelvis.  By mentally imaging the movement of the pelvis when running you can increase the efficiency of your running stride and perhaps also reduce your injury risk (it is said that 60% of lower body injuries can be attributed to issues coming from the pelvis).  I found that by focusing on my pelvis when I ran I became a much more efficient runner and even changed the way I run.  I used to be an over pronator and always needed running shoes to correct for this.  But after about three months of running and imaging the actions of my pelvis my gait changed to a neutral running gait.  I’ve not needed corrective running shoes ever since.  We call this embodied movement, or embodiment of function.  Eric Franklin (founder of the Franklin Method) has a host of sayings and one is, “Embodiment of function improves function.”

These days I aim to practise embodied running whenever I run.  As well as focusing on my pelvis I also pay attention to my knees, my spine, the movement of my abdominals and ribs, my ligaments and even my fascia.  All can play a part in increasing your running efficiency.  Now, I don’t focus on embodiment all the time.  I do have to let my mind wonder and also take in my surroundings.  But I do try to be aware of how I’m feeling and focus on a particular embodiment as and when needed.  So if I feel a twinge behind my knee cap I will focus on the way the patella is supposed to be moving when I’m bending and straightening my knee and the twinge will typically disappear in less than 200m of running.  You’re probably thinking this is too far-fetched, but mental imagery has been shown to enhance neural activity in the correct part of the brain for the movement being imaged.  This falls into the world of brain plasticity and how the brain can be retrained to improve human motor performance.

So the goals I set for myself at the London Marathon were:

1. Ditch my original target time of sub 3 hours 5 minutes, as it was unrealistic in the heat.
2.  Drink water whenever available and pour water over my head to stay cool.
3. Focus on the process of running rather than have a target time.
4. Enjoy the run.

At the end of the run my time was 3 hours 9 minutes, so not too far adrift from my original target.  I can also say I really enjoyed my run, probably more than most.  I was constantly aware of people moaning about the temperature and complaining that there is nothing you can do to train for it (negative self-talk/imagery).  I did my best to ignore them.  I also witnessed many people pulling out of the marathon, probably because they were behind on their target pace.  They certainly didn’t look like they absolutely had to stop.

I think the successfulness of using the Franklin Method can also be neatly demonstrated by comparing one of the statistics from the 2017 London Marathon to the 2018 edition.  You get some good stats from London, one of which is how many people you overtook and how many overtook you in the final stages.  So in 2017, over the last 7.2km I passed 183 runners and 179 passed me.  This is a fairly typical result for me, i.e. the number of people I pass is very close to the number that passed me.  In 2018 the information changed to the whole of the second half of the race, so for the last 21km I passed 1108 runners and a mere 28 passed me.  I think this demonstrates how well I coped with the heat, which was achieved by being positive, not dwelling on the temperature and staying focus on the process of running.

This post is now long enough.  London Marathon was my 83^rd marathon.  I have run another 5 since, all in the month of May.  My next marathon is the Midnight Mountain Marathon in the Brecon Beacons on 23^rd June.

 

The following is a list of all the marathons and ultra marathons I have completed since my DNF in the TDS (Traces du Savoie) in August 2014.

65	03 April 2016	Paris Marathon	03:13:32
66	16 October 2016	Maidstone Marathon	03:23:21
67	08 January 2017	East Hanningfield Trail Marathon, Essex	04:31:22
68	26 February 2017	Cambridge Boundary Marathon	03:23:37
69	11 March 2017	Thames Meander	03:09:21
70	23 April 2017	London Marathon	03:10:42
71	07 May 2017	Shakespeare Marathon	03:16:20
72	04 June 2017	Coniston Trail Marathon	03:52:23
73	01 October 2017	Clarendon Way Marathon	03:41:36
74	14 October 2017	Pony Express day 1 - New Forest 28 miles	04:04:44
75	15 October 2017	Pony Express day 2 - New Forest 28.5 miles	04:03:45
76	28 October 2017	Norfolk Coastal Marathon	03:33:24
77	02 December 2017	Dark Peak Trail Marathon	04:48:06
78	31 December 2017	Liverbird Marathon Double – day 1	03:20:59
79	01 January 2018	Liverbird Marathon Double – day 2	03:30:10
80	03 February 2018	XNRG Pilgrim Challenge day 1 - 33 miles	05:18:33
81	04 February 2018	XNRG Pilgrim Challenge day 2 - 33 miles	05:35:49
82	18 February 2018	Marriott's Way Trail Marathon, Norfolk	03:19:45
83	22 April 2018	London Marathon	03:09:05
84	05 May 2018	XNRG Devil's Challenege day 1 - 31 miles	04:58:51
85	06 May 2018	XNRG Devil's Challenege day 2 - 35 miles	05:45:38
86	07 May 2018	XNRG Devil's Challenege day 3 - 30 miles	04:55:09
87	13 May 2018	Halstead Marathon, Essex	03:08:48
88	27 May 2018	Neolithic Marathon, Wiltshire	03:27:49