Chiltern 50k Ultra

The Chiltern 50k Ultra (31 miles in old money) was organised by the very good people at Extreme Energy as an introductory ultra for newbies.  As always the organisation was first rate, the check point crews were the friendliest and most helpful people you could care to meet and the run itself was challenging, varied and 98% (my guess) off road.

50k should not have presented me with too much of a challenge,  but I felt as if it was one of the hardest runs of my life.  It was a very hot and humid day, and I was running with all the gear I need to carry for the 119km TDS ultra in August. I also had race number 99, and from the start I kept thinking to myself 'I've got 99 problems and this bitchin' backpack is one', or 'I've got 99 problems and this bitchin' hill is one'. Once I'd got the Jay-Z reference in my head I couldn't shift it. I'm sure by the end of the run I had invented 99 problems for myself from the wrong trainers, to the wrong type of mud, the heat, the humidity, sweat in my eyes, etc. I'm always telling people to banish all negative thoughts on a run and just focus I getting to the next landmark, whether it be a hill top, the next checkpoint or a tree 200 yards away. Simply having the number 99 just created a whole host of negative thoughts that I couldn't shift. Damn it, if I'd had number 13 I would have probably breezed it.

It was a relief to get to the last checkpoint of the day. But when I got their one of the cheerful marshals, who thought he was a bit of a comedian, said, "Here's number 99. He looks like he's about to FLAKE", and then started laughing to himself. Once I got the joke I replied with, "Really! I've just run 40km and that's the best you can come up with?". I wasn't feeling my best at the time, but I did see the funny side later on.

It was a relief to get to the finish and be in 18th place out of 150. I was beaten by a few people who would normally be behind me at an ultra. I had to console myself with the knowledge that I had just run with about 4 to 5 kilos of kit and they hadn't.

I spoke to a few newbies at the finish who all really enjoyed the day.  One person was Grant who is about mid-50s and he said it had been the best run of his life. He suddenly questioned why he had stuck to road 10k runs, half marathons and marathons all his life. Of course road events have their place and can be highly enjoyable, but if you haven't tried a trail ultra you are missing out on a world of fun. Even if they do hurt!

Next up for me is this weekend's 24 hour Adidas Thunder Run. My target is 100 miles!

Relief at being at the finish of the Chiltern 50k ultra in a time of 5 hours 40 minutes.

A nice pink T-shirt to wear on the train journey home.
Another medal for the collection, and that pesky number 99
that filled my head with problems.

First time ultra runner, Grant, who despite face planting into
some mud said it was the best run of his life.

Isle of Wight Ultra - Day 2

I started day 2 of the Isle of Wight Ultra in 3rd place with a time of 6 hours 29 minutes.  Nathan Montague was way out in front with a time of 5:10 for the 39 miles on day 1. Doug Murray was 25 minutes ahead of me in 2nd place with a time of 6:04, and Toby Moyle had finished day 1 just 5 minutes behind me.

74 people finished day 1, but only 64 would start day 2. Once again there were three start times. The walkers set off at 7am. The main field of runners then set off at 8am, and the so called elite runners departed at 9am.

A group of elite runners relaxing before the start of the race in the morning sunshine. The chap in the Superwoman costume was on his stag do!

The elite runners waiting for the starting orders from Neil Thubron on the right.

And we're off...

Running close to the exposed cliff tops heading towards Freshwater Bay. Nathan is already way out ahead. In this photo 2nd to 4th are running in reverse order: Toby, then me and Doug following. This is about mile 2.5.

This is me leading Doug over the cliffs around Freshwater Bay at about 5.5 miles. By this stage Toby was now some distance behind us.

Me and Doug running together at Freshwater Bay.

Heading up Tenison Down towards the monument at mile 7.5. Doug is a short distance ahead of me, but I would catch him on the next downhill section. The first checkpoint was not far from here at mile 9.

Doug and I had a brief stop on Headon Warren to look back at the Needles in the distance. This is approximately mile 10.

Doug and I arrived at checkpoint 2 together, which was just beyond Yarmouth at mile 16. Doug left the checkpoint ahead of me and I wouldn't see him again until near the finish.

This is Nathan way out in front at mile 24, just after the 3rd checkpoint.

And this is me at the same point some time later on.

There was a lot of road running on the last third of day 2, mostly on quite country lanes.

And here I am at Gurnard with about 1.5 miles to go to the finish in Cowes. Holiday makers were completely oblivious to what we'd been through over the last two days.

I finished day 2 in 3rd place in a time of 5 hours 13 minutes. I was just 3 minutes behind Doug, who I had seen leaving checkpoint 4 at mile 27 as I was approaching it. Nathan was way out in front, 1 hour ahead of me. 

My overall time for both days was 11 hours 42 minutes.  This was about 40 minutes slower than my time in 2012, but it was a lot hotter this year and the course was also a little longer. In 2012 I measured day 1 as 38 miles and day 2 as just over 31 miles. Since then there has been a lot of coastal erosion and the coastal path has been diverted at a number of points. The island might be getting smaller but the coastal path has got slightly longer. This year I measured day 1 as 39.25 miles and day 2 as 32.25 miles. So the overall route is almost 2.5 miles longer!

As I mentioned in my previous post, just three days after the ultra I was at Glastonbury Festival relaxing and doing no exercise, unless you can count walking through mud as exercise! It was a great way to let my hair down having reached the half way point of the year, and having completed 14 out of my planned 26 long runs.

With friends at Glastonbury Festival.

My next running event is the 50km Chiltern Ultra on 19th July, followed by the 24 hour Thunder Run the following weekend.