Adidas Thunder Run

One email was all it took. How did I fancy joining the Men’s Running Magazine team for the Thunder Run in two weeks’ time? I was in!

I’ve done a huge variety of running events over the decades but this one was like a breath of fresh air for me; a 24 hour relay over a 10km technical trail course – how much fun was this going to be?

The team assembled through Friday evening and Saturday morning, ready for the noon start, using the transfer window to bring in Ronnie from the Women’s Running Magazine team and passing Jon across to make two mixed teams, though in reality the two teams acted as one big happy family for the duration of the event.

The final couple of hours before the start were basically spent trying to stay cool and avoid getting sunburnt as we formulated a battle plan. Stuart, our whippet, was elected to run first leg with the hope of getting us off to a good start, using his 2:40 hour marathon pace – he didn’t let us down, recording a sub 40 minute lap time and, more importantly, being in a position to give a detailed account of the course to the rest of us.

What a course it was. It incorporated every element you could wish for in just 10km; fast flats, steep climbs, sharp corners, technical rough sections, I could go on…

Paul took over the baton next and coming off the back of 18 marathons since February, stamina was never going to be a problem. By now, the heat was getting serious and the finish area was strewn with sweaty, red faced runners trying not to contemplate the fact that they would have to do it all again in a few hours.

Within the hour, Ronnie was off onto her first lap, buying into the spirit of a team full of male bravado, hitting the first few kilometres hard and using her Parkrun speed to great effect. At around this time I realised I had probably made a bit of a mistake in that I was psychologically up and ready for a noon start and wouldn’t actually be running until about 3:30pm – schoolboy error! It was time to get race head on again.

Martin was next up to the plate, again from a marathon background, the technical trails would bring a smile to his face and his previous experiences in events similar to this would stand him in good stead. I liked his long term goal to complete 30 marathons by the age of 30, especially as he only has two years to complete the task – fighting talk!

My turn. Thoughts of making my first lap a steady one went out of the window as soon as the baton was on my wrist. By 3km I was just having a mild panic, thinking I had gone way too fast but just at that moment I hit the first of the technical sections which were a joy to run and got me back in the groove. This seemed to be the pattern for me on every lap; struggled on the fast sections, happy bunny through the technical, wooded bits. I could feel the lactic acid coming out of my ears over the last 2 kms but finally got in just over the 40 minutes barrier and passed on the El Capitano, Euan.

Euan has great experience, not only as a runner in just about every discipline possible, including these 24 hour relays, but also as a coach and this would show through during the weekend as he mixed the “hand on shoulder” approach subtly with the “zip up you man-suit and get on with it” attack (or was that just with me?)

Now this is where things got interesting as we were a team of 6 in a category for teams of 8, meaning that we would each run more laps than our competition and have less recovery time between each lap. Initially, I didn’t think this would be too much of a disadvantage but as the hours went by it proved to be.

We were now settled into our routine with the only major mishap being a fall by Stuart, leaving him with some “road rash” of which a cyclist would be proud. Each runner had about 5 hours between laps to rest and recover, though it did feel strange to catch an hour’s sleep in the middle of a race. Times inevitably slowed during the night, more due to the technical nature of the course rather than fatigue, but sunrise was, as ever in events like this, welcome and a great rejuvenator.

In the latter stages of the race, we decided to swop the order round a little to make sure that our faster runners would all run five laps. This seemed a good idea until Euan and I had make do with only 1:30 hours recovery time on our last lap – this was not pretty and I had to dig deep on this last lap. My only consolation was that Euan was suffering just as bad as me and it was his idea.

Martin had the honour of the anchor leg, bringing us home in 19^th place out of 228 teams. What a spectacular atmosphere at the finish, music, commentary, cheering, shouting and lots of mutual appreciation particularly for those solo runners who had ploughed a lonely furrow for 24 hours.

I would like to thank my team mates who made this such an enjoyable experience; the highs were high and the lows weren’t really that low. Thank you to Men’s Running for inviting me to join the team and to Adidas for supporting such a fantastic event.

I'm trying to make some improvements to my general nutrition and specifically my racing nutrition. Supporting me in this endeavour are Mountain Fuel Nutrition who have a very holistic approach to this - after my first two hour conversation with the team, I had a much better understanding of what I require and, with their support, I'm trying a number of new strategies which will, hopefully, make a difference to both my training and race performances.

To help me keep track of my progress, I'm going to put some details down of my nutrition and we can see what happens over the next year (this is very much a long term project - there is no quick fix!).

During the Thunder Run, it was important to take advantage of the 20 minute window, straight after finishing a lap, to get some kind of a recovery drink into the system. I went for a gentle jog for 10 minutes, sipping 250ml of soya milk and Mountain Fuel Recovery. The mantra I was advised to follow was "sip - swill - swallow". As it was so hot, I continued to sip either water or Mountain Fuel Extreme Energy drink, but taking my time (an hour to finish a bottle). After about an hour, I got some "food" in me; trying out a thick broth soup and some bread, porridge and Mountain Fuel Morning Fuel at different times, all easily digestible. I had to work hard to avoid stuffing in the things I wanted like chocolate, crisps and Coke. What I was trying to avoid was a sugar spike followed by a crash before I went our running again. As I was told; "feed your body, not your brain" - give your body what it needs to preform best, not what your brain wants simply to activate it's pleasure centres! I also nibbled on some home-made flapjack consisting of just about every nut and seed you could think of and without any processed sugars.

Apart from my last lap, after the very short recovery time, my times were pretty consistent and I certainly felt good energy-wise. What was noticeable, was that I thought far more about what I was putting into my body and felt positive that I was doing the right thing (feed your body, not your brain) which may very well have had a psychological impact on my performance during the event. Now, this was the perfect event to start this project with as I had time to think about what I was doing - it will be interesting to see how "we" tackle a full-on ultra race where I don't have the luxury of 4 hour pit stops!

Osmotherley Phoenix 33 mile trail race

Well, that was an interesting race! It has taken me nearly two weeks to get myself in a state where I'm ready to relive the 5 hours plus of this race.

I have spent quite a bit of time on the North York moors this year in preparation for the Hardmoors 110 and I'm starting to get a feel for the terrain. This race jumped out of the calendar as a nice springboard, to get me going again after the 110 in preparation for UTMB at the end of August.

The small village of Osmotherley closes off the roads and holds a summer games each year, with the Phoenix races forming part of that event. You have the choice of a 17 mile, 26 mile or 33 mile route, all sharing some sections in common and splitting off at other times.

The day of the race was HOT! It was certainly a bit of a shock to the system and played on my mind, both before and during the race. I decided that as this would be a relatively short race (I was aiming for about 5 hours) I wouldn't worry about trying to take any solid food and would concentrate on gels and, in the latter stages, energy drinks.

Over the very familiar ground along the Cleveland Way for the first couple of hours, I settled in to a good pace, certainly faster than I would normally race at, but still feeling comfortable, running along with Mark Collinson who I met at the 110 (Mark came 3rd in the 110). We were a little off the pace at the front, with a line of runners heading out across the moors but it was difficult to know our positions in the 33 mile race as all courses used this initial section.

By the time we had reached Lordstones after 1:07 hours, I was in 6th place and well settled into my running, getting in gels and water just fine. You have an option at this point; the official Cleveland Way takes in the three small climbs of Cringle Moor, Cold Moor and The Wainstones, however, in the race you can skirt round to the north of these, avoiding the climbs. In race mode, this seems like a no-brainer, avoid the climb and get a faster time. It surprised me that so many runners took on the first climb, some then joining the lower level route, others continuing over all three. When I reached Clay Bank, I had pulled away from Mark a little and was informed that I was in 2nd place, obviously making up a number of places by avoiding the climbs.

It was now decision time; do I continue to keep a solid pace and hope the leader slows or do I turn on the burners and push the pace to catch him? After the Hardmoors 110 where I relied on the leader slowing (which he didn't!), I felt I had to be more pro-active and make the catch myself.

I pushed on through Chop Gate, up the steep climb out of Raisdale and across Snilesworth Moor. I could see the leader ahead as I slowly made ground and finally caught Jon (Hedger) just before 3:00 hours on Snilesworth Moor. He was still grinding out a good pace and I took heart from the fact that I must be running well to catch him. After a little chat, I discovered that he has done the race a number of times before and would obviously know the route well, giving me another dilemma; do I push on alone or do I run with Jon thorough the next section with the trickiest navigation? I was carrying some 1:25000 maps of this next section as I knew the route would be difficult to follow and decided to back my navigation and go for it!

I had just switched from gels to Mountain Fuel energy drink and was feeling really good, with lots of energy in my legs. I navigated well through this section, but was pleased I had the 1:25000 maps rather than 1:50000, I don't think I would have been able to run at race pace and pick out the route on the less detailed maps.

I had pulled out 5 minutes from Jon by Hawnby and, stupidly, let the thought enter my head that I could win this race. My energy levels were good but, even at this point with 1:15 hours still to go, I could feel the first slight twinges of cramp in my hamstrings. In hindsight, I think that if I had been back in 4th or 5th place, I would have eased off and looked after myself over the last sections, but if you are in the lead you kind of have to go for it don't you?!

The pace definitely dropped but I tried to keep things going, constantly looking back and taking heart from the fact that I couldn't see anyone. I made it to Square Corner, just above Osmotherley, with the final drop to come, still with no one in sight behind me and, again, thought I might just be able to hang on. The downhill to the ponds was fine and I did manage to relax a bit here but as soon as I hit the flat, I got the first proper shock of cramp in both hamstrings. I stopped, stretched and was able to get going again quite quickly, but only at a slow jog now as I tried to hold off the next wave of cramp for one more mile to the finish. As the track went up again, it hit really hard and I was again halted, this time in some severe pain. Just at this point, Jayson Cavil came past on his way to support Kim in the latter stages of her race (a win!), giving me lots of encouragement and some more water to try and get me through this last mile.

It was now a case of jog/walk 20 metres, stop with cramp, stretch, repeat. Could this get me to the finish before I was caught? No! With about 2/3rds of a mile to go, Richard Heath (who I raced against in last year's Ring O Fire race) came flying past me and proceeded to blast up the final small climb to claim victory. Could I hold on to second? No! Inside the last 300yds, as I was once again enveloped with cramp, Jon came past me and this time I started to really worry that I might not make the finish line - I was simply stuck on the track, unable to move. A few minutes later I got myself together enough to move a few steps at a time and finally crossed the line in what should have been a sprint finish for the final podium place with Jason Ellis, but was in fact Jason jogging merrily ahead of me as I walked across the line to take 4th place.

This position for 2 hours!

The next two hours are a bit of a blur. Mostly consisting of me lying in the shade, almost in tears at times with the pain that the cramp was causing me, Tracey trying to relieve the cramp by stretching my muscles this way and that, a number of visits from the ambulance crew, checking vitals (temperature, pulse, blood sugar levels - all inside acceptable levels). I do vividly remember the paramedics suggesting they could take me to hospital where I could get an intravenous muscle relaxant whilst Mark was standing behind them shaking his head vigorously - I knew this would not be a good choice as I could be there for hours.

After a couple of hours, I managed to get myself up onto a chair and then finally make the walk back to campsite. Once in the van, I dozed a little and then started to make a fairly quick recovery and, in fact, if you take away the damage caused by the cramp, my legs recovered fairly quickly after the event.

Anyhoo...... some lessons to be learnt here - and I have really analysed what happened, talking things over with some folk who know more about the inner working of the body than I do. I think this could be a very useful experience and I have made some important progress over the last couple of weeks (more of that in another post).

It just goes to show that as soon as you think you might have this game bossed ...... it come back to bite you on the ass!

Tour de France

Just thought I'd pop a few clips together from the Tour de France yesterday. Tracey and I drove down to the course via Kirkby Stephen and watched the race from just below Buttertubs Pass, near the small village of Thwaites.

Quite simply - awesome!

I'm so glad we were a part of this amazing experience.

Hardmoors 110 race report

Firstly, let me start by putting on record that I really hated my taper for this race. I don't mean that it was a bit frustrating (they always are), I mean I really hated it. I felt drained, lethargic and apathetic. I think this stems from my last big training weekend, three weeks before the race. On the Saturday I ran from Scarborough to Filey and back in hot conditions with only a couple of water bottles, which was not enough. I ran at a good pace and finished very dehydrated. The following day, I ran from Scarborough to beyond Ravenscar and back, just to compound the trashing. All this meant that my first week of tapering down, which would normally be a normal steady week, had to be almost nothing to allow me to get over my over exuberance. Psychologically, this seemed to knock me.

It was only really in the last few days before the race that I started to get some mojo back, but once I got my head around the fact that the race was finally here, I felt I was ready and it was time to get my game face on.

As previously, my support crew was made up of my wife, Tracey, and my father, Paul, both well aware of the role they would have to play in a successful race - Team Troman rides again!

Some carefully planned logistics left us with our camper van in the car park of the school in Filey for the finish, a chippy tea eaten in Filey, Team Troman ensconced in the YHA in Helmsley, registered and chatting the evening away with  John and Katrina.

John, Katrina and Tracey in the YHA

This is not going to be a step by step account of the whole race (I'll put together a video that should give a better account in that respect) but instead, I'd like to give a flavour of the day along with some thoughts on my approach to the run. Regular readers will know that I generally like to start conservatively and run a strong second half to my 100 milers - this seems to play into my hands psychologically as I try to feel good when most others are starting to suffer. I have, however, been keen to try and put myself "in the mix" from the start of a 100 mile race to see how I would cope, both physically and mentally, and to see what the race outcome might be. As you can imagine, it is difficult to try out a new strategy in a race when you only do one or two super long ultras in a year - it is a lot of eggs in a basket, especially when there is a chance that you might drop the basket! The Hardmoors 110 was originally going to be my "A race" for the year, however, that changed slightly once I was fortunate enough to get a place in the UTMB later in the year, so the thought occurred that this could be the chance to try a different tactic.



During my training recces, I measured the time taken to run between the checkpoints, as I normally would, but this time these splits were only a guide as to how much water I would need to carry, rather than a series of time intervals that I was racing against. During the race I did not take splits at any point. What I did notice was that I probably felt a bit more relaxed over the first 10 hours or so, particularly when approaching the checkpoints. Normally, I would have been looking at my watch, wondering if I was roughly on time, but here I was always chirpy and looking forward to some food and drink - my stomach definitely enjoyed the more relaxed approach without the time pressures.

Right from the start of the race, I settled into the second pack, deciding not to run with the leaders as, again, I wanted to keep the pressure off. I knew the pace was good but I was really enjoying the run, concentrating on being smooth and efficient.

One hour into the race

Within a couple of hours, the field had spread out and I was sitting in 4th place, very happy with my start and still running quickly without overcooking it. What was different, was that I was more interested in what others around me were doing, whereas normally, at this early stage, I would just concentrate on my own race - I guess this was just a knock-on effect of a different strategy. Whenever I came into a checkpoint, I always asked Paul how far ahead the next runner was, was I gaining, how did he look? Yet, I was still nicely relaxed and eating well.

Above Osmotherley

Sometime after Osmotherly (22 miles) the weather started to take a turn for the worse, with the wind picking up, rain starting and the clouds covering the hills. The roller-coaster section over Carlton Bank, Cringle Moor, Cold Moor and The Wainstones were a bit grim, but sections that I quite like and I knew I was making good time. I stopped at Clay Bank (33 miles) and put on my OMM jacket and changed gloves, feeling that I needed to "run warm" for a while, especially over the long slog past Bloworth Crossing to Kildale. My sole aim in these conditions is to not tense up. As the temperature goes down, as the rain increases, as the wind increases, you have a tendency to hunch your shoulders and increase the tension in your neck which, in turn, transmits to the rest of your body. I figured if I could keep relaxed I'd be using less energy and cover the ground more quickly.

Clay Bank

Just before Bloworth Crossing (37 miles) I finally caught up with 3rd place runner, Mark Collinson - with the weather conditions and visibility of only around 20 yards, I think we were both as pleased as each other to have some company and we ran together over Ingleby Moor to the Kildale checkpoint (43 miles).

Kildale

Kildale felt like a significant point as this is where John K and I started our two day recce at Easter and I felt that I was on a familiar route where I had had such positive feeling last time I was there. I had some coke and rice pudding, taking my time and left feeling ready for the next part of the adventure out to Saltburn on the coast. I was now in 3rd and my mind was starting to focus on 2nd place, currently held by Gareth Wilson, who I raced against in the Hardmoors 55 earlier in the year. The out and back section to Roseberry Topping might give me an idea of how far behind I was.

As I write this, I find it interesting that I have made no comments about the length of time I have been running, the splits between checkpoints or the relationship of my race time to a schedule - non of these thoughts were in my head during the race or now, which stresses the different approach to this race.

As it turned out, I was about 19 minutes behind Gareth on the out and back section; far enough for me to take stock of my own running and, for the first time in the race, spend a few hours just ticking off some miles.

On the approach to Saltburn (58 miles), I felt that I was flagging a little and in need of a boost - boy did I get one! Firstly, I got a quick hug from Katrina in the checkpoint and then when I dropped down to the support car with Paul and Tracey, I was greeted by what I dubbed the "Happy Crew" - five friends who had driven over from Yarm to cheer me on (thanks Jeremy, Bev, Imogen, Alison and Louis, I can't begin to tell you how much that visit meant to me). I ate and drank some more as the whole crew walked along the prom before I set off up the hill.

The Happy Crew

I had a good section along the cliff tops towards the small car park just before Staithes, but again, I was not really thinking about the other runners - that changed once I met Tracey and Paul again. Here I was informed that the leader was starting to struggle a little and that I had closed a couple of minutes on Gareth. Suddenly, I was pulled back into race mode.

By Runswick Bay (70 miles) I had pulled up into 2nd place with Gareth some 23 minutes ahead. It was time to get kitted up for the night. Yes, obviously I had a large print list of the stuff I had to carry for the night sections so it only took a minute or so to get sorted. By this time my stomach had started to stop playing ball so I had pretty much switched to a liquid diet using Mountain Fuel energy drinks which were doing a great job of keeping me going when most other options were now a non-starter.

I started to struggle over the next section to Sandsend, particularly on some of the short steep downhills, but I was still running everthing I thought I should be, which at this stage of the race is a big positive. The steps down into the checkpoint at Sandsend (75 miles) were a bit of a trauma and I'm glad there was a strong handrail. I had now been running in the dark for about 15 minutes and had got my head around the darkness of the next 6 hours. My new head torch (a Lenser SEO7) was working great, even on only the lower setting and I had the advantage of both Sandsend and Whitby to run through where I wouldn't need the light at all.

I was braced to tackle the drunken hoards in Whitby but, in fact, it was relatively quiet. Like most people, I tried to count the 199 steps up to the Abbey but came up with 200. It was over this next section to Robin Hood's Bay that I mentally settled for 2nd place, even to the point that I said to myself "if they gave me 2nd now, would I take it?" - to which I replied an emphatic "yes". Gareth was obviously running well and pulling away from me and I had to be more concerned about getting caught from behind. Every time I looked back, I convinced myself that head torches were approaching and I began to wonder what I had left.

After Robin Hood's Bay, it was a relatively short section to Ravenscar (90 miles) and I asked Tracey and Paul to take some kit into the village hall for when I arrived as I thought I needs a short sit down (for the first time in the race) as I dealt with my pit stop. This was a good move as I left feeling slightly more chipper, knowing I only had another couple of hours at the most in the dark and Paul assured me that there was no one immediately behind. One further positive was that I had now swapped to my last map for the race, covering the route from Ravenscar to the finish.

I used the long, gentle downhill road section from the village hall to get my rhythm back, but had a slight panic when I couldn't find the path that cuts across the fields back to the coastal route. It took some convincing that I hadn't gone far enough and then I caught sight of the road sign just after the turning and let out a relieved sigh.

It was around here that I passed Lee Knight, the leader in the Hardmoors 160 mile race - it seemed strange all weekend to think that my 110 mile race was not even the toughest event going on (as some described it, "the fun run"). We had a short chat before I pushed on, shaking my head, absolute legends, the lot of them!

Good morning

I must admit, I spent a lot of time looking back along this section, worried that I might lose 2nd place after all this work and I was feeling pretty jiggered. I had decided that I would try to preserve something for the final push from Scarborough to Filey and I started to question myself "if had had started steadily, would I be here now and running stronger?"

Like everyone, no matter where they were along the coastal route, I was brought back to reality with an amazing sunrise over the sea, which gave me the perfect lift just at the moment I most needed it. I knew I needed to get myself out of this low point and get back to ticking off some miles, so I allowed the sunrise to soak into me and just enjoyed being in this position at this time (bit zen, I know).

Sunrise

I felt a little better as I made the long trudge round the promenade from North Bay to South Bay in Scarborough and shuffled my way to the checkpoint (101 miles). It was especially nice to see Tracey and Paul this time and it felt like we were on our way home from here. The three of us walked out along the prom together on the start of the final leg as I drank some coke, I said my good-byes and struck off for home.

I had taken care to talk to Race Director, Jon Steele, before the start with regard to the route just after Scarborough as it was slightly different to the route I had recced and this focussed my mind for a while. I was relieved that everything fell into place exactly as Jon described and I was soon back on the track I knew. Although I was walking all the hills, I was pleased that it was done at a good strong stride rather than a crawl and I was making time at about the pace I would expect at this point of the race.

About a mile or so before Filey Brigg, Paul came running out to meet me and it was great to have some company for these last couple of miles having ran on my own for so long. I think we had a conversation, or at least Paul spoke and I occasionally grunted and we were soon onto Filey sea front and the final checkpoint before the couple of miles up to the finish.

Nearly done

At last I could relax, there was no one in sight behind, I had secured 2nd place and would be well under 24 hours for the race. I managed to keep some kind of a "run" right through to the finish and simply let the wave of applause wash over me as I went into the hall and the finish if the race.

Finished

With no dramatics, all I wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes. I found it difficult as there was a small part of my brain saying "talk to people, tell the tales, at least show some appreciation to your crew" but that part was out voted. I did, finally take my socks and shoes off, having worn the same ones for the duration of the event, something I have never done before, but I just didn't feel I needed to. Thanks Skechers.

The next couple of hours consisted of sleep, pain, mud, sleep, shuffling (just), sleep, shower, massage, Twiglets and sleep, though I may have got the order wrong!

I finally caught up with John who had had a really strong run to take 11th place. If you haven't lost the will to live after this report, you can read his account here.

As every runner will tell you, this is a team effort and I have to say thank you so much to my dream team of Tracey and Paul, I couldn't have done it without you. To Jon and Shirley, you have an amazing event(s) that is organised with the runner in mind, thank you for giving us the opportunity to test ourselves. To the marshals along the way, you were so motivating and helpful, it made our job that little bit easier. A final well done to all the competitors, I hope to see you again at one of these events so we can test ourselves once more :-)

Hardmoors 110 results update

Just thought I'd post the results from the race at the weekend.

I came 2nd - my first podium finish in an ultra marathon! As you can imagine I'm really pleased with that.

We had some "interesting" weather conditions on the Saturday but that was counter-balanced by the stunning sunrise over the sea on Sunday morning. Only 33 of the 62 starters actually finished!

Hardmoors 110 results link

I tried a slightly different race tactic this time round which I will elaborate on in a race report soon and I've got loads of video/photos which should make a great storyboard of the event. I'll put something together over the next few days, though the video will have to wait until after the weekend.

Right, I need to go and see if there is anything else left in the house that I haven't eaten yet ;-)

Hardmoors 110 two day recce

A quick post just to get this short video clip of my two day training run with John Kynaston on to my blog.

John and I ran from Kildale to Whitby on Monday and Whitby to Filey on Tuesday. To say we had a great time would be the understatement of the year; we spent a total of about 14 hours chatting away, grinning with the pleasure of it all and getting sunburnt (some more than others!)

We were both really pleased with how we ran and coped with the two days and it has certainly got my mojo up for the race in just over 5 weeks time.

Oopps! Just noticed that Day 1 should read "Kildale to Whitby".

Hardmoors 55 race report

Two weeks ago, I found myself on the old railway line in Guisborough at the start of the Hardmoors 55 race, realising that the only reason I was there was because of a run I did with Jon Steele and John Kynaston way back at the start of January. My original plans were to continue with my recces of the full Hardmoors 110 route in preparation for the race in May, but a bit of cajoling from the lads persuaded me otherwise and I'm glad I did as I felt ready for a race.

I had travelled over to Helmsley (the finish) on Friday night in the camper van, heavily laden down with sleeping bags and quilts in anticipation of the freezing nights. By the time I got there and parked up in the sports club car park, I only really had time for some food, one final kit check and go to bed. It was going to be an early start with the coach taking us to the start leaving at 6am.

Yet another kit check

After a surprisingly good nights sleep and a quick breakfast, I joined, what seemed like, the majority of the field on the three coaches to the start. I enjoyed a nice chat with Jason Highland on the way and the journey seemed to pass really quickly.

Stunning views of the sunrise from the coach

As soon as the coaches arrived, I met up with my good friend John Kynaston and we chatted as we made our way through the kit check and registration process. Before the race briefing, I had time to catch up with Tony Holland at The Ultra Runner Store, sizing up a new pair of Hokas which he sent me after the weekend.

On the start line

My race plan was test out my tentative attempts at speed work, going off slightly faster than I normally would, but still keeping enough in reserve to put in a strong last third. Within a mile of the start we had our first snow/hail flurry, just to remind us this was, in all reality, a "winter ultra" and I'm sure, like me, everyone else had a wry smile. I settled somewhere in the top ten and felt pretty good running through Guisborough Woods but did not really want to go with the pace of the leading few runners as I felt that might be a bridge too far at this early stage of the race.

On my way up Roseberry Topping

In no time, I reached the short but steep climb up Roseberry Topping and tried to count the places ahead of me on the out and back section (9th I think). John and I had thought we might video each other as we crossed on this out and back section, however, I had a couple of technology meltdowns at this point; stopping my watch on top of Roseberry Topping and then somehow managed to turn my video camera on and then off again as I tried to film John (sorry mate).

I was careful to take the correct track off from Captain Cook's Monument to reach the road marshal before making the drop down to Kildale. During my recces of the Hardmoors 110 route (in the opposite direction to this race) I have tried to look back at various junctions to visualise the route for the 55 race and this drop through the woods was one of the spots I was concerned about, so I was pleased to get it right.

To keep things nice and relaxed, I was trying (only half successfully) to be fairly chilled at the checkpoints rather than my usual mad dash pitstop. I figured that the more relaxed I could be at these points, the less pressure I would place on myself whilst actually running. The marshals were very helpful and supportive at all the checkpoints - they are so important at unsupported races and did a fine job of getting me through this event.

I left Kildale (1:37 hours, 8th place) and started the long road section up onto Kildale Moor and then on to the track heading to the self clip checkpoint at Bloworth Crossing. On the climb I met up with Andy who is a regular reader of this blog and, in fact, recognised me from when I ran the Tees Barrage Parkrun a few weeks ago with my niece - small world and all that!

Andy and I on the climb from Kildale

I made very good time across the moors to Bloworth Crossing, slowly pulling away from Andy and closing the distance to the next runner, Gareth, but never managing to really catch up and latch on. Gareth had a metronomic rhythm and just seemed to cover the ground with a minimum of fuss and though I felt I was closing, it never materialised into a catch. I took a quick bottle refill at Clay Bank and was suddenly onto the roller-coaster section along the Wainstones et al, briefly recalling the night race from January.

Climb up Hasty Bank to the Wainstones

At this point I was feeling really chipper and starting to think about, what I considered, the turn for home; Osmotherley. Along the three small hills, I finally made contact with Gareth and we ran into the Lord Stones checkpoint together. I had a lovely warm welcome from Jayson Cavill who was manning the checkpoint and I left feeling really positive, ready for the battles ahead and wondering if I could pick up a few more places and get close to the podium.

Jayson at Lord Stones

I caught up with Gareth again and we ran well over Carlton Bank and made the drop down to Heathwaite. It was on this drop that I started to feel that things were just starting to become hard work. I think I was still covering the ground at a decent pace but I was suddenly having to put in that much more effort. Gareth pulled away and I drifted off mentally, getting a bit down on myself. It was while I was in my dark place that Mr and Mrs Cock-up came to visit. As I trudged along the lane out of Heathwaite, with Gareth some 100 yds further up the road, there was a sudden alarm bell ringing at the back of my mind. I pulled out my map and did a quick check, establishing that we had missed the small track into the field. Aagghh!

Ooopps!

Climb through the woods after navigation error

I had probably only gone 300 yds too far, but with the run back down the lane, that was maybe 4 minutes lost. As you can imagine, this did little to lighten my mood, but I did try to put the mistake from my mind. Just to kick a man when he is down - it started to hail/sleet/snow as Gareth and I (along with another runner who had caught us during the nav. error) made our way up to the self clip point above Arncliffe Woods. The only positive I could gain was that I managed to pull away from the other two but I think that was more a case of me trying to generate enough heat to keep warm than any other reason.

I felt that I needed a bit of a regroup and somehow try to get myself back in the game. I promised myself a few minutes in the checkpoint at Osmotherley, reached in 5:11 hours (5th place) I thought I would change my thin Pertex jacket for the warmer OMM jacket in an attempt to run warm for the last few hours, all I could do to make myself more chipper. Gareth came and went, so I thought I had better get off after him.

Climb out of Osmotherley

I felt that this was the home turn and I was back on the route I had recced back in January. I hoped I could hang onto Gareth on the long slog up the hill from Osmotherley and perhaps even recoup a little. Towards the top, Gareth started to pull away (or did I drift back?), however, I decided to make the decision to let him go; with still the best part of 20 miles to go, I needed to run my own race at this point.

I slotted in to a steady grind along the open track to High Paradise Farm and the checkpoint at Sneck Yate Bank. Gareth was long gone and out of sight, but I was happier with how I was running and starting to feel like I was getting my race back on track. After a quick chat with the marshal, a swig of Coke and a fresh water bottle, I was underway and feeling more positive about things, ready for the short section to the White Horse.

I had definitely come through my "patch" and was ready to push on again. I find it amazing how the body can feel like it is ready to give up and suddenly you are back on your game and good to go. Along the escarpment, I had a few glimpses back and could see a few other runners, probably closing on me, but I did not panic and was just pleased with the way I was running; if they are that much faster than me, good luck to them, I will just try to control what I can do. Just to prove the point, I was passed by Paul Peacock, who looked in great condition as we approached the White Horse checkpoint. I was quite happy to let him go after a few words of encouragement from each other.

White Horse checkpoint

On other occasions, I might have got down on myself at this point after seeing someone scoot past me so easily, but here I was really starting to enjoy myself again and looking forward to the final push to Helmsley. It probably didn't actually happen but I felt that the pace went up a bit once I had made the climb up the steps and a couple of miles later I caught sight of Gareth once again. Suddenly, that was my only target - could I catch him before the finish?

Final mile into Helmsley

I finally made contact on the road section before Rievaulx Abbey and tucked in behind Gareth, who was still covering the ground well. As I was feeling good, I decided to make a push as we climbed up through the woods before the final drop down to Helmsley, just about managing to run the whole climb. At the top, I had opened a small gap and felt it was possible to hold this if I had a good scoot down to the finish. I really enjoyed the last km into the village, knowing I had managed to turn round a potential disaster from 3 hours earlier.

Finished

I finally crossed the line in 8:57 hours, finishing in 5th place. At the time I thought I was 6th, but later found out that one of those ahead was a relay runner, so 5th place it is and my highest finish in a full ultra race; well chuffed with that :-)

Looking worse than I felt!

There were some seriously fast places at the very front of the race, with a new course record being set by Bert Goos (Belgium) but I was only 4 minutes off the podium and managed to hang on relatively well to the fast finishing Paul Peacock. In a further positive, I was not in complete bits at the finish, though I was getting cold so I got some extra layers on and walked back to the van, got even more layers on and came back to the finish to catch up with John and see how his race developed (very well, it turns out), spending the remainder of the evening chatting with John and Katrina in the Youth Hostel.

Thank you, as ever, to all the marshals and helpers and a big thanks to Jon and Shirley for their tireless efforts which make this such a great event - I will be back!

Hardmoors 55 race video

On Saturday, I raced the Hardmoors 55 on the North York Moors from Guisborough to Helmsley.

As part of the Hardmoors Series, organised by Jon Steele, you know it is going to be a great event and it did not disappoint.

I managed to put together a cracking run, gaining my highest position so far in an ultra - 5th place in 8:57 hours. I will do a proper blog report of the race, but for now, here is a video of how the day panned out for me.

Quick catch up

January was a bit of a strange month for me. Since I have started ultra running, January has always been a steady few weeks of training, building up a solid base for the rest of the year. This time, things have been different. I've done some speed work and a couple of races, all of which have taken a toll on my usual solid month of training. I felt that February needed to be a time to get back to basics, knuckle down and just get some running done. During February, I managed this target and even put together a couple of really big weeks (for me) of 80 miles followed by 65 miles, coming through unscathed.

It is only a week to my first ultra trail race of the year (the Hardmoors 55) and I've been following a plan to get me there in reasonable shape (I hope); the plan being built around 3 pairs of back to back sessions which I also used to familiarise myself with the Hardmoors 110 route in preparation for the big race at the end of May.

I've been keeping the B2B sessions at a sensible level (generally in the 20-25 mile region) but trying to run them at a reasonable clip and have enjoyed getting out in some new places.

I'm now at the point where I no longer need to look at a map for the sections I've done a couple of times which will be one less thing to worry about in May. As an easy taster, I've also taken along my new running poles, more to try the way I might carry them and to see how easy it will be to set them up and stow them in the heat of battle - here starts the long build up to UTMB! More on the poles in another post.

With regard to the Hardmoors 55 next week, I'm really looking forward to the race, which is ironic considering I initially did not intend to race, preferring the idea of continuing my recces for the 110 race. However, one training run with Race Director, Jon Steele, and Mr Ultra, John Kynaston, soon changed my mind. So I will be toeing the start line in Guisborough at 9am on Saturday - I'm glad I am so weak willed ;-)

It will be interesting to see how the changes I have made to my training this year will translate into a race performance. I've had an extra month of training before Christmas, added speed work to the programme, changed from one 35 miler every month to 23 mile B2B's every couple of weeks and I've been doing a (little) bit of cross training on my cycle turbo trainer.

I certainly feel ready to put a race face on again, so bring it on!

Dark Mountains Mountain Marathon

Well, that was an interesting weekend!

I did my first mountain marathon (the KIMM) in 1989 and have stacked up a fair amount of experience since then, stupidly thinking I had pretty much covered all the bases with regard to incidents, happenings and eventualities but last weekend took the biscuit!

The Marmot Dark Mountains MM bills itself as follows

Marmot Dark Mountains™ takes the classic two-day mountain marathon format and gives it a new… darker twist. Rather than two days of running with an overnight camp in between, Marmot Dark Mountains™ packs everything into one winter’s night!

...... how hard could it be?

Simon, my buddy in most of these adventures, and I met up on Saturday evening in Glossop (Peak District), giving ourselves lots of time to sort out our kit for the rigorous inspection before registration and our start time of just after 8pm.

Over the last five years of racing together we have probably totalled about 30 minutes of navigational errors across 8 or 9 races, so we set our stall out, based on tidy navigation and a nice easy running pace, trying to remember that this was a longer night of racing than a usual MM first day.

What actually happened was that we made over an hour of errors, all in the first half of the race. Right from the start, we both struggled to judge distances, partly due to the lack of visibility and partly, I think, to the fact that you just run so much slower at night. Although we made no mistake on the first control, there were already alarm bells ringing as I struggled to keep in contact with the map, everything taking so much longer to appear than it normally would.

Race map with Elite course

Elite course profile!

Control 2 was our downfall. From a good attack point, it was a dropping contour  to a stream bend amongst lots of streams. Looking back now, we were actually pretty much on line for the control, but convinced ourselves that we had gone too far, so traced a contour back along the hill away from the control. To cut a sad and tearful story short, we lost somewhere in the region of 20 minutes.

What was pleasing, was the way we both put this out of our minds and got back on the job in hand; grinding out a nice steady plod and spiking the controls over the next couple of hours. This included a couple in thick mist where it was better for vision to hold the head torch in hand to avoid glare back off the mist droplets.

For most of the race, the views were not great!

The weather was generally being quite kind to us up to this point, a bit breezy, but dry. Just when we thought we had got the measure of the navigation, we me our old friends Mr and Mrs Cock-up again. What looks like a simple run along the top of the southern edge of Kinder Scout caused us no end of problems, mainly as we just kept losing the path, suddenly finding ourselves away from the edge, knee deep in peat, usually swearing and having to hack out to try and find the path again. With these travails, we were obviously not covering the ground as well as we thought and ended up doing our trick of talking ourselves into thinking we had gone too far - cue more faffing around and another 20 minutes lost.

We both stayed pretty chipper about the situation and, at least on the reasonable tracks, were maintaining a good shuffle considering we were over 5 hours into the race (sometime just after 1am). However, you could just start to tell that there was a subtle change in the weather and the predicted storm was starting to nudge our way. The next three hours had a series of controls more tightly packed, seeing us drop out of the wind and get a better rhythm navigation-wise.

As we emerged back on to the more exposed fells (about 5am) with still 4 hours to go, the weather started to kick us and remind us that it was January - we basically endured a mix of wind, snow, sleet, hail and rain right through to the finish. At our first opportunity to dip out of the wind in a slight hollow, we stopped and put on all of our spare kit - the only time I can ever remember putting on full overtrousers in the middle of a race! What a difference it made and within an hour we were also able to turn off our head torches - yippee!!

Are we having fun yet?

Those last few hours were fairly grim, not a great deal of conversation going on with Simon and I, only the occasional summit meeting about route options. I thought we would get a bit of a relief from the slog through peat and tussocks when we hit the Pennine Way, but it wasn't a great amount fun as we trudged up over Bleaklow Head, mainly along stream beds as far as I could tell, being lashed by sleet, trying to hide your face in the hood.

Doesn't really do justice to the bleakness of Bleaklow Head

Mr and Mrs Cock-up called round for coffee at the last control, when we just couldn't be bothered to look at the map as our hands were too cold to even hold the map strongly enough to stop it blowing away in the wind - oh how we laughed!

Finally made it to the finish after 13:23 hours, knackered, wet and cold. The marshals in the finish tent were great, giving us some seats and coffee as we had a 10 minute regroup before the 10 minute jog back into the town to the leisure centre.

We finished in 3rd place, which was pleasing, especially when looking at the attrition rate - only 5 teams completed the Elite course! However, we were both very disappointed with the navigation performance, perhaps being a little rusty in general and certainly not "getting into the map" in the first half. Within two days we were exchanging texts along the lines of "unfinished business" - isn't the mind a wonderful thing?

Congratulations to my old mate Steve Birkinshaw and his partner Tom Gibbs on an amazing performance to win the Elite class by a country mile.

Without doubt, the toughest single mountain marathon style race I've ever done; words which will bring a smile to Shane's (race director) face as this is exactly what he set out to design.

I had a lovely sleep in the back of the camper van at a service station on the way home, much needed, and as good a justification for having a camper as any. I have been fairly trashed all week, only reacquainting myself with my running shoes this weekend but am now ready to put in a good month of training without any races (having, unusually, done two races in January).

Back to the grindstone ;-)

Hardmoors Ultras Night Race

Well, I'd like to say that this was the most carefully planned blog on the t'interweb, that as I approached my 100th post, I was looking to make the write up extra special with a winners race report and everything just fell into place perfectly. If I did say all that - I'd be telling porkie pies!

On the plus side; this is my 100th post and it is a winners race report!

Jon Steele, ultra hero and race director of the Hardmoors ultra series, had put on a training weekend with the aim of helping runners with their build up to the races within the Hardmoors series. I didn't attend the training camp, but have read all the comments on Facebook and can see that the agenda was thorough, well prepared and, most importantly, very useful. As part of the weekend, Jon had decided to put on a night race to give the runners an opportunity to try running at night on rough, but typical Hardmoors, terrain. He sent out an invite to anyone part of the Hardmoors family and I jumped at the chance to test my newly trained speed and make a full weekend with a visit to Tracey's sister and another recce on the 110 route the following day.

I expected about 30 runners to pitch up for the race and, like most folk, was quite shocked to find myself on the start line at 6pm with 100 other idiots. The weather might have helped as it was a beautiful evening, not a cloud in the sky and the stars for company. The route was a 2 lap circuit, following the Cleveland Way over three short climbs (Cringle Moor, Cold Moor and Hasty Bank) before returning to the start/finish area along a VERY muddy track to the north of the hills. About 10km for one lap, half marathon for two laps. You could choose whether to do the 10km race or the HM, the only snag being, on the first lap, you had no idea who was doing which race.

It was a fairly swift start and I settled into 5th place going up the first climb, with the leading 2 really pushing on, though, I was feeling fairly comfortable and enjoying racing at a faster pace. By the top of the climb I was up to 4th and closing on 3rd but I didn't want to overcook things as I had done in the Red Bull Steeplechase a few months ago. I made a decision to try and catch up 3rd on the next climb and ran most of the way up just staying on the good side of the red zone.

The image of this race that will stay with me for a long time was the view behind as I crested the 2nd climb; a long string of lights, snaking back over two hills. For someone with the right camera equipment, this would have made a wonderful shot.

Ahead, I could just see the leading 2 runners as their torches lit up the ground, though, it was difficult to gauge how far ahead they were. I climbed well up through the Wain Stones and set about trying to close the gap on 2nd place.

At the turn, I estimated I was about 25 seconds down on 2nd, but had no idea how far ahead 1st was as he was out of sight and obviously going full bore. I ran the return leg along the muddy track well, trying to be smooth and not fight the mud, getting the occasional glimpse of the second placed runner and most importantly, starting to feel like I was closing.

Things got interesting once back at the end of the first loop. As I approached the start/finish area I passed the second placed runner as he was on his way out to start the 2nd loop, but saw no sign of the leader. It was only as I reached the turn round point that I discovered that the leader was doing the 10k race and was finished. Congratulations to Paul Williams who won in 56:40.

This meant I was 2nd in the half marathon race with the leader just 20 seconds ahead. I later found out that the leader was non other than Jayson Cavill, who has been burning up the NE ultra scene for a while, recently setting a new, and very impressive, course record in the Hardmoors 30. At the time, Jayson's identity was a mystery to me and this probably helped me. I wonder, if I had known that it was Jayson that I was attempting to chase down, would I have thought twice, should I be running in such illustrious company? This is an interesting thought and I'm sure some of you out there will have some views on this - I know my confidence has been helped from this experience and it may have an impact on how I race in the future.

With a push on the first climb, I caught Jayson at the top and we ran together right to the turn round point. What struck me immediately was the smoothness of Jayson's gait; there was no fuss, nothing was strained, all very smooth and I think that helped me to settle into a nice smooth cadence. Jayson obviously knew the route well and picked a couple of great lines on the drops, warning me when to look out for rocks (thanks!).

At the turn, with about 3.5 miles to go, Jayson stopped for a few seconds to take a drink and I pushed on up the gentle climb from the checkpoint. Part way up this climb, I glanced back and saw that I had a lead of about 20 yards and thought to myself that this was the significant moment; if I could hammer the next mile and 'break the elastic' I might win. So that is what I did!

With about 1.5 miles to go, I started to lap a few folk which meant that when I looked back I no longer knew if Jayson was catching me or whether it was the lapped runners torches I could see so I basically ran scared for this final section but I was eventually able to enjoy the run in, safe in the knowledge that I had secured first place, finally finishing in 2 hours and 31 seconds. Well chuffed with that!

Jayson finished 2nd in 2:08, though to be realistic, he had been involved with the training camp all day and, I think, had marked the night race course with glow sticks, clocking up some serious mileage before he had even started!! In my defence, I'd walked round the shops in Darlington for 45 minutes; you choose.

I had a chat with Shirley and the other finish officials, but they were obviously having to deal with other finishers, so left them to it. I tried to hang around to have a chat with Jayson but the sub zero temperature and rapidly freezing sweaty clothes killed that idea; I needed to get back to the car and out of my kit. Engine on, heater on, aahh!

Once changed, I went back to the finish to say thanks to Jon and Shirley (though Jon was still out on the course) and was quickly warned of the ice on the steep drop down Carlton Bank when you exit the car park, so with a warm, inner glow, I headed back to Yarm, well happy with my evenings work.

Results here Hardmoors night races

Hi! Remember me?

Well, it's been a long time since I last posted. Perhaps, like my training, blogging is all about the routine and I guess I just got out of the routine, so in an endeavour to get back on track, I'll use this post to get back up to speed.

After the Ring O Fire race I was totally trashed, both physically and mentally, giving no thought to running at all, basically sleeping stupid amounts and eating anything that wasn't bolted down for the best part of two weeks. During this time, I didn't set myself any targets with regard to returning to running, I just thought I'd know when the time was right. The only exception to this was the Red Bull Steeplechase Race in the Peak District. If I am being truthful, I probably shouldn't have ran in this race, but I was entered with a couple of mates and just fancied a weekend away with the lads, so I toed the start line on a stunning autumnal day.

Click here to see one of the official videos of the race

To say that the speed of the race got to me would be an understatement! With a series of cut-offs where the slower competitors are pulled from the race, the overall speed of the race is artificially raised as runners are effectively racing over different distances, just trying to make one of the cut-offs. I had hoped to be one of the top 30 runners who avoid all the culls and complete the full 21 miles, but this expectation soon hit the deck as I was an hour in to the event, running sub 6 min miles and still outside the top 50! To cut a long and painful story short, I made all but the final cull and was withdrawn from the race after 18 miles in 70th place, suffering badly from cramp. Regardless of the result and pain, I really enjoyed the race and will probably have another go this year!

The feelings (or lack of them) that I had in my legs after this race simply reinforced the notion that I needed more time off to recover from the exertions of the season, so I set myself the target of restarting my training during the October half term holidays. I had a few more weeks of pretty much ignoring running, occasionally going out for a 3 or 4 mile pootle just to have a look at the views and keep some kind of sanity.

On one of the "pootles"

What was interesting, was that as the weeks went by and the watershed of the half term hols approached, my thoughts turned, almost without realising, towards the 2014 season and what my plans might be. I had already made the big decisions with regard to what my A races would be this year; The Hardmoors 110 in May and the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in late August (with a plan B of doing the Ring O Fire again if I missed out in the ballot for UTMB.) What I started to do was look for some other races that would fit in around these two to get me on the start lines in the best possible shape.

Just trained when it was sunny

I have been thinking about what it might take in order to raise my game a little and have decided to re-introduce some speed work back into my training in the hope that I can either raise my cruising speed or increase the length of time which I can hold my current cruising speed. As part of an ongoing series, John Kynaston and I have been talking about training ideas for the West Highland Way Race podcasts  which are fun to make, useful for me as it forces me to think about how I go about preparing for ultras but cringe-worthy to listen to!

Since October, I have had a good block of training, not doing anything radical but just putting some time on my feet in the bank. I had my usual couple of months where I limit the pace at which I allow myself to run (no faster than 8 m/m at any point), by which time I am ready to kick on a bit and push the pace. I have recently started going back to the speed sessions with Keswick AC on a Tuesday and/or Thursday and can already feel the benefit.

Training on the Tour de Helvellyn route

Just before Christmas, I had another race round the Tour de Helvellyn. Conditions were, as you would expect, fairly frisky with a headwind for the first 3 hours and a few flashes of lightening just to spice things up. I went off a fraction harder than last year and made up a few minutes over the first hour and a half, but this was probably worth more if you factor in the headwind. The middle part of the race, I really found my legs and started to enjoy the ride, apart from making the mile detour onto the rough path in Thirlmere forest as used in previous years - but not this one! (Note to self: read the bloody details!). Despite losing 5 minutes there, I was still making up time over last year on every leg and finally finished in 6:42 hours for 8th place, a new pb by 23 minutes. What a lovely start to the Christmas holidays :-D

Boredale Hause T de H

Anyhoo, that is a very brief summary to get everyone up to speed...... Oh, nearly forgot, in the last week I've won my first race in quite a few years and managed to get a place in the UTMB!! Those two must have just slipped my mind - more of them in the next post.

Recce on Hardmoors 55 route

Just thought I'd drop in this video from a recce of the Hardmoors 55 route.

I am part way through doing a catch up blog report as I know I have neglected the blog over the last couple of months (something which has been pointed out to me!)

We managed to catch to best day weather-wise for some time and had a lovely few hours on the route and who better to guide you than race director, Jon "Man of" Steele?