In 2014 I took on my first ultramarathon along the North Wessex Downs with the 100km (62miles) Race to the Stones. To say that we (Rik and I) underestimated the task ahead of us was an understatement and the non-stop option took us a mind-numbing 18 hours. Two years later Threshold races released Race to the King, so with unfinished business, and a better understanding of the challenges that lay ahead we conquered 53 miles of the South Downs Way in a much more respectable 13:55. It's been 3 years since that event, but with the recent release of Race to the Tower and the promise of a trilogy sweatshirt for anyone who has completed all 3 I was on the case.
Despite having only run a marathon 2 months ago, I knew that nothing can prepare you for the potential unknown and unexpected. This event was also 53miles but packed in an extra 2000ft of elevation over and above the other two events. I had started to include some hill runs but knew that they were only a token effort needed to prepare me for the big day. I also had the mental battle of doing the event without Rik, but hoped that in the past couple of years my mind was in a much better place.
Fast forward to Saturday morning and the bright and early start was only ruined by the fact that it was still raining. The overnight rain that was due to clear would only make the trails muddy and harder going. Rik and the kids dropped me at the start where I made a beeline for a sausage bap. It's not my food of choice at 7am, but with no food in the hotel I had no option. I managed to eat it all and waited to meet with Hazel and her brother Alec. At 7:45 we were all off- the long day ahead had begun.
It became apparent quite quickly that progress was going to be 'slow and steady'. With 53 miles to cover and no idea how my body was going to fair, the hills were there for walking! Unfortunately, the usually runnable downhill sections were especially slippy and potential for a serious accident. The route was also peppered with lots of single file sections and gates or stiles that were time consuming and occasionally tricky to operate (although that was probably just me). There was also a distinct lack of flat sections, so we began jogging any undulations in the hope that we could cover a bit more ground. Hazel and Alec were more keen to run these undulations than I was so occasionally we separated but for the majority of the time we were all within shouting distance. The highlight of this section was running past Cooper's Hill which is famous for the Gloucester cheese rolling contest. This picture is taken from the Internet but gives a clear impression of the scale of some of the hills in The Cotswolds.
At nearly 3 hrs in I was ready to top up my electrolytes from the car and grab a few more snacks. Despite a lovely selection of sandwiches and rolls, I ate a packet of crisps some orange segments and a bag of skittles. It's amazing what you crave at the time. Another toilet stop and we were off. Our quick re-fuel and refresh was soon tarnished by the most excruciating uphill I have ever encountered. We turned a corner near a main road and veered sharp left onto a single track path and what was rumoured to be a 24% incline. In single file we literally trudged uphill for what seemed like forever. Not only was it hard on the calves and hamstrings but my dodgy back was also feeling the pain. When the path finally opened up a little but and the incline let off slightly we were stunned how much it had taken out of us. Alec was feeling sick from eating a full packed lunch at the previous aid station and we just kept climbing.
The journey to pit stop 3 seemed so much harder as our bodies felt the impact of the last climb. The saving Grace was a surprise sighting of Rik and the Kids at a beautiful viewpoint on top of the world (see pics below). After this quick fly-by we descended sheepishly to the next pit stop. It didn't take us long to grab a hand full of random food items and 3 chairs to collapse into. It was already lunchtime but time is only measured in pitstops and mile markers on these kind of events. Goodness knows how long we sat down for, but with the minutes ticking by we left the comfort of our plastic chairs and carried on.
With about 5 miles to go until basecamp Hazel hit a short lived wall and sent me off ahead. It was weird being on my own but having spotted basecamp in the distance on the side of the hill I was given a new lease of life. Amazingly Hazel and Alec caught up with me very quickly. I was really pleased because it didn't seem right getting there on my own. Once we were across the road through Charlton Kings into Cheltenham it was just a shortish (in the grand scale of things) ascent to basecamp. The tannoy was getting louder and louder as we approached. We emerged from the undergrowth climbed over a modified fence and ran into basecamp. It was a bit demoralising seeing Hazel and Alec crossing a finish line as I was ushered off to the right, but Rik and the kids were there to meet me and I was still able to say goodbye and good luck to them both.
Surprisingly, the section immediately after this point was the flattest so far. I walked for about 5 minutes then tentatively broke into a run. This in turn meant that I warmed up and had to go through the rigmorale of taking my bag off, loading stuff in and putting it back on again. In the process of trying to get sorted as quickly as possible I ripped my number off my belt and left it hanging on one pin. This wasn't ideal as the next long ascent took us along an exposed path on the edge of a golf course overlooking Cheltenham in strong wind. Luckily the wind was blowing me back onto the path so I didn't have to worry about stumbling near the edge. I did have to assume an unusual technique of holding my cap and number at the same time. The eventual descent off the golf course took us through a farm where pit stop 5 was a welcome sight.
A lovely first aider taped my number to my shirt to save me holding it and after a few more unnecessary sugary treats I moved on. It was shortly after this pit stop that a group of us managed to take a wrong turn. I was totally unaware of my mistake and seeing people in front of me didn't realise until there was a shout from up ahead. Somebody asked if there was any sign of arrow markers. It then dawned on me that I hadn't seen any. I had only just been talking to a man who was racing for the third time and lived locally when I ran ahead and went wrong. As I doubled back there was no sign of him so it confirmed my fears. I had only just sent Rik a text to say I was nearly at our next meeting point and now I was at least a mile out. Annoyingly (as the picture below shows) if we had all carried on we may have met up with the route anyway-but would have cheated ourselves out of mileage.
As the checkpoint came into view I made a beeline for the gazebo and made my request. It was granted with a 5 minute wait to prepare it. At this point I turned around to see a sea of miserable faces all staring at me. I think my porridge announcement and excitement at them having it must have drawn unnecessary attention and there was some disbelief at my enthusiasm. It may have also been that the porridge box was hidden (probably for the later guests) and it appeared I had insider information. I spent far too much time enjoying my porridge but it was worth every second. I grabbed a kit-kat for pudding and a packet of Randoms for after pudding then set off again in the rain.
I made the sensible decision to put my coat on over my bag because it only looked like a shower. This was a wise move because ten minutes later it was off and loaded into the top by an unsuspecting walker doing me a favour. The next section actually felt good. The porridge gave me extra energy, my aches and pains weren't getting any worse and I knew that finishing was definitely possible. The next hill after Winchcombe was probably the worst on the second half. I remained positive and just climbed up slowly making sure that I stretched my back every 50 steps. On the ascent I passed two men in bits. They had all but given up and made me realise that I was stronger than I had realised and in a good place. I offered them salt tablets and my emergency peanut M&Ms but they refused and continued to look downbeat. It took the man behind me to practically shout at one of the men to get him moving, something which I wasn't prepared to do.
I gave Rik my watch and popped his on for the last part. Grabbed my sugary doughnut and set off for the finish. I told them it would take me about an hour and a half as the last 2 miles was a climb, but the thought of finishing saw me running (loosely termed) the first couple of miles and ultimately getting there quicker. Once off the trails, the route brought us directly onto Broadway High Street. The pubs and restaurants were packed with people and the village had a really great vibe to it. The smell from the Indian restaurant was amazing and made my mouth water. People were randomly shouting well done and at one point a crowd of people sitting in a pub garden stood up and started clapping me. It made me feel really emotional!
Before long we were diverted off the high street and back onto the trail. The final Hill. The ascent up to the Tower and the finish line. The light was rapidly fading but I knew that I had enough to get me there without a torch. To take away the strain of the hill I found myself talking to the sheep. It passed a bit of time and they didn't seem to mind. I casually strolled past 2 other people who struggled to say hello and came across a man who had collapsed no more than 300metres from the finish (he was with medics). Suddenly, the Tower could be seen behind the Trees, I was within a stones throw.
I went through the penultimate gate and saw Team I-M waving and shouting in front of the Tower. I was still climbing but Jake was shouting at me to run. They took a quick picture and dashed off ahead. I went through the final gate , turned left and saw the finish tunnel-time to run. There was no one around me so I finished alone. Chloe handed me my medal and I immediately got into my dry robe to stay warm.
For the Statisticians amongst you, here are the facts!
Total distance covered by me 53.62 miles
Total elevation climbed 7899ft (2407m)
Gates/stiles navigated 152 I know this because the organisers labelled each one
Total time official 13h 57m
Moving time 12h 05m
Stationery time 1hr 52m (gates, toilet, food, back stretches, chatting etc)
Random foods eaten 1 bag of crisps, 3 orange segments, 2 slices of watermelon, 1 bag of skittles, 2 fudge bars, 2 packets of randoms, 1 gogi berry energy bar,
1 kit kat, 1 ready made porridge tub, 1 sugar doughnut, 1 soreen bar,
2 bananas, 1 plate of paste, 1 bread roll, some salad and no emergency peanut M&Ms!
Calories burned approx. 6673.