The Druid Challenge - Day 1

Have I really not updated my blog for 3 weeks?  I guess that is because I haven't really been running much in all that time. And despite the lack of training I managed to get through the hardest weekend of running so far this year - the 3 day Druid Challenge along the Ridgeway from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Wroughton in Wiltshire.

Following my last long training runs on 19/20 October I had a weekend on a training course and a long weekend in Venice, hence the lack of any last minute training. As a result, I knew I was going to find the Druid Challenge tough, but I thought I had enough general fitness to get me through in reasonable shape. However, I was pretty appalled by my performance on day 1.

On Friday 8 November I left Cambridge on a 07:45 train for London, to then get a train to Tring. From Tring Station myself and a group of other runners were collected by the Extreme Energy Team and taken to a farm building near the start of the run that would be race HQ for the morning.  I had just under 2 hours to kill before I was due to start.  As with all Extreme Energy events there were three different start times, walkers started at 10am, then the first group of runners at 11am and faster runners at 12 noon.  I was in the fast group.  According to the weather forecast we were due a nice start with rain forecast for the afternoon.  Unfortunately, the rain decided it would dampen the ground a little earlier than expected.

At the top of Ivinghoe Beacon waiting for the start. 

We were taken by minibus to the start of the run on top of Ivinghoe Beacon.  There was a brief lull in the rain as we set off for the 29 mile run on day 1.  The first stretch leading away from Ivinghoe Beacon was on chalky paths that were as slippery as ice after the rain.  The first days running was the hilliest of the three and the muddiest.  I found myself running alone for the first few miles.  The leading 4 men had gone out at an unbelievable pace.  I couldn't believe we were doing the same event.  

And we're off. I'm just behind the lead female.

Over the first few miles I was in about 6th or 7th place, just behind the leading female.  But at about 7 miles the lead female made a wrong turn and I blindly followed her.  I was running down a tarmac road expecting to see a Ridgeway sign off to the right.  The next footpath sign I reached wasn't for the Ridgeway, but the Chiltern Way, so I realised I had gone wrong.  I decided to double back on myself, but I saw no further sign of the lead female.  I can only assume she found a shorter way back to rejoin the Ridgeway.  When I got back to the Ridgeway I found myself running behind runners that I would normally be much faster than.  I was a little demoralised by my detour, but pressed on to try and make up some lost ground.  At that stage in the run I was still feeling pretty good.

The first checkpoint was at 11 miles.  I stopped and ate a few small pieces of malt loaf.  I was no longer too concerned about my time, my goal for the day was simply to finish, so I didn't mind spending a few minutes at the checkpoint.  Replenished, I continued on my way.  In general, it was a hard slog of a run.  I don't think I have ever run through so much mud in all my life.  Being very familiar with all the consistencies of mud from many years attending Glastonbury Festival, I was quite glad that the mud was at the slippery wet stage of it's cycle.  At least it wasn't sticking to our shoes in thick clods.  But it did mean that traction was really difficult. When running uphill your feet would tend to slip backwards every now and again, meaning you would use more energy.  And it was difficult to go flat out downhill, especially on long, steep descents, as it would have been impossible to stay upright.  I was sliding all over the place at slow speeds, and over using my quads for braking.

Checkpoint 2

By checkpoint 2 at 17 miles I was starting to feel the effects of the lack of training and the hard conditions.  I felt as if I'd already run a marathon, but I still had 12 miles to go.  From that point onwards the slightest incline proved a major challenge.  I tried to run as many of the small inclines as possible, but I mostly ran 30 yards or so and then walked 30 yards.  Anything deemed too steep, i.e. more than about a 1 in 10 gradient, was walked.  Fortunately, much of the last 10 miles was downhill, despite the fact that my memory says otherwise.  The last checkpoint was just 7 miles from the finish, which I reached just before sunset. I was determined to run as much as possible without needing to resort to my head torch. It would have been almost impossible to have run in the dark with the ground conditions the way they were.  Thankfully, the last 2 miles were on tarmac. It was well and truly dark as I turned off the Ridgeway, but my eyes had slowly adjusted to the night, so I was able to finish the run without using my torch. It was also a relief to feel some solid ground under my feet for the final stretch of the run.

I reached the school in a time of 5 hours and 1 minute and I had run a total of 30.7 miles.  My detour had cost me an additional 1.7 miles.  I finished in 25th place, which was a little disappointing. What was even more disappointing was discovering the showers were tepid and only offered a mere trickle of water to wash off the day's mud. Still some good food and my fellow runners for company helped to ensure the day ended well. 

Mud caked shoes had to be left at the entrance to the school hall.

My accommodation for the night in the school sports hall.