High Peak Marathon 40 miles overnight -6th/7th March

The High Peak Marathon is an over-night mountain marathon for teams of four. It takes the Peaks longest, toughest route ,following a route based on the Derwent Watershed, it is a classic 40 mile bog-trot around the wildest part of the Peak District . Funny then that the race is always oversubscribed !!

For this event I teamed up with other members of our Camracers adventure racing club ; Russ Ladkin (excellent navigator), Jason Wray (impressive in his rookie year) and Andy Rankin (a lot of you will know is an excellent ultra runner). We started at 11:34pm friday night expecting to have a good event, the weather was going to be kind (low wind, no snow or sleet, temperatures above freezing) we were all up for it and had travelled up early so we were rested and prepared.

It's a great start to a race, from the village hall at Edale teams set off at one minute intervals and after a short run along a road there is a 3km /300m climb passed Hollins Cross and up to Lose Hill. There is a procession of white headtorches stretching right along the top of the ridge - quite a sight.

The next few hours is spent 'valley hopping' Win Hill onto High Neb and then comes a welcome refreshment stop at Moscar. Tea, sandwiches, cakes, biscuits - a welcome energy boost before the hardest leg.

It will be 5 1/2 hours before our next refreshment stop so at 2am we started the long slog up Derwent Edge towards the dreaded Howden Moors. The terrain here changes dramatically, it starts nicley enough - some runnable mountain singletrack through bleak & windswept moorland but then as the mist descends you enter the bog trotting moorlands of Howden, Bleaklow and Coldharbour moors. Navigation here is very tricky as you move through deep rutted moorland and on through deep, mudsucking bogs where every step could be an 'ankle breaker'. It is here in the early hours of the morning, before the sun comes up, that you really have to dig deep. This is always where teams are at their lowest, and we were no exception, this is a hard race.

There is a huge sense of relief when you navigate to (or stumble across in our case !) the path that exits the moorland and leaves the bogs behind. Firstly, you know nothing in front of you is as hard as it was behind you, second, the sun is just about coming up (a new day always gives you a big psychological boost) and finally you can smell the sandwiches, tea and cake waiting for you at Snake Pass. A big shout out to all the volunteers here who man the refreshments for some 15 hours during the event - brilliant.

Its only 3 hours from here home (only !!), the sun is up, the terrain is runnable, you've had your breakfast, the scenery is fantastic - life is very good at this point. There is a great scenic route that runs to the west of Kinder Scout over the Cluther Rocks, then its back to Edale via Brown Knoll and Mam Tor.

What I liked about this event is that you get to experience every bit of terrain the peaks has to offer, it is without doubt a tough race but all the teams have so much fun doing it. It is long enough to experience real highs and lows and teamwork plays a big part in keeping going. We came 7th out of 43 that finished, with only one complete team not finishing and 4 other incomplete teams finishing.(a testiment to the level of experience and tenacity shown by everyone who enters)

My advice - if you get the chance, don't think about it just do it !!

Bury St Edmunds 20 miler 22nd Feb

An annual event, organised by the Muscular Dystrophy Charity - I had to try it - even if I was not quite ready !!

Not my usual type of event - 20 miles on road with a couple of humps (there are no hills in Suffolk !!) thrown in around 9 and 18 miles. Felt like a good way to 'kick start' my training programme- and it was - until I reached 15 miles, then it was just pain, suffering and the humiliation of being consistently overtaken (a great example of 'novice running')

This is a very well organised and slick event with runners of all abilities lining up for either the 10 or 20 mile route. The day started well for me, I only live 15 miles away, the 'park and ride' option was very efficient (and free) , even the sun was out (could not remember when I last ran in just shorts and a tee-shirt).

I was a bit apprehensive as this was my first real event of the year and I had not run continually for over an hour since November (well I enjoy the Christmas season!). I lined up at the back to make sure I did not start to fast (there is a narrow lane section for the first few miles - hard to overtake) and enjoyed the sun and scenery for the first few miles. As we hit the wider roads I started to get into my stride and felt really good so I began to move through the pack.

By mile 10 I was 'steaming' , felt great, well within my time, actually this was 'going to be easy' - given I have been running for 9 years now, I should have know better, instead of my head in control- my heart took over.

5 miles later and - CRASH!! - this was my wall , my heart was saying move, but my legs were in two movement mode - 'walk or stop'. The 'hump' at mile 18 became a tortuous walk and every step on the tarmac after that seemed to rattle my bones to the core. (Huh - and I thought I was ready for this!!)

The last 5 miles took ages - at least I could practice my run / walk technique and in an attempt to save some personal kudos, I managed the obligatory run round the corner for a picture and the finish line.

I was glad it was over, it certainly 'gave me a kick' - I am now definitely sure I need to train more before the next event in a few weeks time !!

My Training Schedule

The following covers all the events I am doing this year (updated regularly) to prepare for what I know will be a fantastic experience. The Amazon Jungle Marathon and The Sahara Marathon des Sables are two of the most extreme multiday running events around the globe. They will push my mental and physical limits - wow what an opportunity !! (provided my body holds out !!)

Total Training miles planned ; 947.4 miles (target is over 1000 by the Jungle Marathon)

Total miles run to date ; 561 miles

Total miles 'to go'; 386.5miles

Of course this EXCLUDES all the training runs I have to do to get me fit for the events !!

Feb

Bury St Edmunds 20 20 miles - completed

March

Wye Ultra 30 miles - completed

High Peak Marathon 40 miles - completed

Wuthering Hike 33 miles - completed

April

Coventry Way 40 miles - completed

Calderdale Hike 37 miles - completed

Highland Fling 53 miles - completed

May

Fellsman 61 miles - completed

Marlborough downs 33 miles - completed

Malheur Raid XL 30 hours of adventure racing (40 miles) - completed

June

Low Alpine Mountain Marathon 12 hours over 2 days (53 miles) - completed

Three Rings of Shap 62 miles - completed

Hertforshire Hobble 26 miles - completed

July

Osmotherley Phoenix 33 miles - completed

50 mile Challenge 52.5 miles

August

Lakeland 100 miles

Dark and White 32 miles

Ridgeway 85 miles

September

Pumlumon - Five Peaks 26 miles

High Peak Challenge 40 miles

October

Longmynd 50 miles

Amazon Jungle Marathon 125 miles

Haworth Hobble 33 miles -22nd March

A great example of an Ultra trial run in the South Pennines !!

Easy to see why so many return to this event year after year.

In the heart of 'Bronte country' , I thought this event had it all, great scenery, 90% off road, rough paths, tough hill climbs, bog, single track, moorland, navigation challenges (for us first timers), great marshalls and even 'Jammy Doughnuts' (definitely a first for me on a long run )

I had an interesting start to the race,after getting up at 3.30am to drive the 189 miles to the community centre HQ, I got there in plenty of time to register and get myself ready, I then missed the start !! (Tip: don't phone your wife 20 minutes before the start and ask ' is everything alright dear'!!) I did a quick dash up the hill, panicking a bit as I was not sure of the route and joined the back of the queue as we set off up the cobbled path.

'A windswept land of heather and wild moors' is the tourist description, well on this day that was certainly the case. As we headed up Millennium Way over Haworth Moor, past Top Withens and onto the Pennine Way to the first checkpoint at Widdop Reservoir, my early memory was desperately trying to find someone to run behind as the strong head wind buffeted us all the way. I was really glad the rain held off.

As a first timer, I had heard that some of the navigation was a bit tricky so my strategy was to make sure I always had sight of 'someone who had done it before'. This worked well and boy was I glad at times, route finding through certain sections was tricky. Stoney Lane and out the back of the golf course had paths going off all over the place, most of which I could not see on my 1:25000 map and even the run through Heponstall was tricky (at 24 miles into the event, my brain cannot cope with running AND route finding)

Now lets mention the climb to 'The Monument', definitely a sadistic twist by the organiser. I know we had just been given Jammy Doughnuts at Mankinholes Youth Hostel (and very nice they were to!) but a climb like that, after 20 miles !, and there was not even a checkpoint on the top!. Harsh, I thought, particularly as when you got to the top, the wind was waiting in all its force to blow you back down.

Taking the 'Calder/Aire Link to the top of the stairs through the 'stairs swamp' reminded me of last weekends run at the 'High Peak Marathon' , boggy, wet and cold feet, deep smelly mud ! (such good memories !). However it was quite a short section (thankfully) and in hindsight after 28 or so miles I did not really want to remind myself I had spent 10 1/2 hours running 40 miles last weekend. It might have been this that flashed into my mind that made my body crumble over the last few miles, but the last climb up over Penistone Hill was painful and I was really glad the 'run into the finish' was all down hill.

In my mind I still have to sort my pacing and nutrition out so I feel better in the last quarter of these events but this was how I imagined Ultra trail running to be. Long and hard -yes, but creating its own personality, making the very best of the surrounding countryside and providing a huge variety of terrain, keeping the event interesting and challenging for all levels of visiting ultra runners - well done to the organisers.

For myself, I look forward to the next event in the series. 2 down - 10 to go !!

Wye Ultra - Wye Not ? 30 miles - 1st March

The Wye Ultra - started off as a big disappointment but ended up being rather a good day out !!



This was a first step on a journey that will see me run over 1000 miles for charity this year (Muscular Dystrophy), completing the full Vasque series (hopefully) , and some other events on my way to the Jungle Marathon in Brazil (October 2009) followed by the Marathon Des Sables in Morocco (March 2010).



Why ? - to raise £20000 for charity - and to learn what ultra running is all about.



New to the series this year - The Wye Ultra - promised to be 'gentle introduction'. -who ever heard of a 30 mile run being a gentle introduction to anything !!



So I was up at 04:30 to drive the 176 miles to the start line, expecting - dry, good weather, my first 'ultra experience' and the chance to run through the famous Forest of Dean.



Things did not start well - The bridge over the River Wye was unexpectedly shut (the night before) which denied access to the much anticipated 15 miles of hilly, muddy and scenic running through the Forest. The course would now be a 7.5 mile route, done 4 times, most of which would now be on road.



I hate roads (my old bones can't stand the pounding) and I hate loops (ever get the - 'been here before' feeling)- still the sun was out and this would be a good day for checking out my 'even pacing' as we were all issued with timing chips. (there is always something to learn from any event).



I put on my bright orange wig and tee-shirt (don't think fashion & credibility - think sponsorship), dark glasses (would you want to be recognised looking like that !) and lined up at the start.



The first 4 miles were flat river path and road, at the turn off point onto tracks there were some very enthusiastic St Johns Ambulance / marshalls giving every runner support and even a song !

The next mile consisted of a field crossing, a couple of up and over steep hills (yep - means walking!) through forest tracks and into a car park for the 'refreshment stop'.

Well organised kit bags were laid out so you could pick up some of your ' special mixture' to keep you going (tip: - energy drink and vodka tastes rubbish !!) and again some very enthusiastic volunteers were handing out water and motivational phrases.

After a quick 'bottle change' it was over the bridge (this one was OK !) and left (smile for the camera) for a 2 1/2 mile out and back single track river run. This was more like it - soft track, picturesque running, sound of the river. However it was not one way so you had to keep your eyes peeled and your brain in gear for people running at you !- not easy on the final lap after 17 odd miles.



You get to know a route when you have to do the same section 4 times, I thought this would be boring - but as a first event, and a first ultra - I found it quite comforting. I knew what to expect and when to expect it, I learnt from experience what I should do differently and could put it into practice the next time - all in one race !!



I also enjoyed seeing 'everybody in the race' a number of times, whether it was the 'elite- whizzing by ' or the back markers 'pushing themselves to the limit' or the 'fresh faced' relay runners, everyone had words of encouragement and it definitely helped me to keep going.



I really needed that over the last 5 miles when my brain said run but my body was in 'you must be joking' mode. The last half mile along the riverbank tow path dodging all the general public (they must have been still in bed the first time round!) also gave me that last ounce of ' don't stop and embarrass yourself in front of all these people - your an ultra runner' motivation I needed to finish.



On my drive home, I had plenty of time to reflect - my lasting impression was how painful the last 5 miles had been (extraordinary how much further 30 miles feels compared to a standard marathon) , but I still had that warm glow of achievement inside - I had finished my first ultra - it had been a good day.