2017-07-17

Thames Ring 250 2017


A 250 mile, non-stop race, starting and ending in Goring and Streatley, following the Thames Ring.  River Thames to Brentford, Grand Union Canal to Napton Junction, Oxford Canal to Oxford, then back on the Thames to the finish.

Over a  week has passed and I’m still waking during the night wondering which checkpoint I’m at and how far the next section is.

The race seems to be a bit of a blur.  

Looking though my pre-race plan now, I can’t even picture some of the checkpoints now, let alone remember what time I actually got there.  That plan went out of the window after CP3 when I realised I was going to have to push on to make more time available for sleeping.  That’s OK because I have learnt that a plan made when sitting comfortably in front of a spreadsheet has little chance of surviving reality and you should not be too firmly wedded to it.  That way lies DNF as you get disheartened when not meeting planned times – these long races are about maintaining a positive mental attitude and being adaptable to the circumstances.  I didn’t realise until race day that the cut-offs were the time to leave the checkpoint not arrive.  That meant that, if I was going to have time to sleep, I needed to push on each section to arrive in plenty of time.



Section One:  Goring to Hurley 27 miles

After a hearty breakfast in the pub I was staying in, I headed to the Goring Free Church for registration, kit check and bag drop.  It was good to see some familiar faces from previous events and to meet some social media friends in person. After a race briefing from Lindley, we headed off to the village hall for the start.

After a nicely low-key start, I settled into the first leg.  I found myself with Dave Fawkner and a couple of others.  We stayed more or less together until Reading when I decided this was too fast a pace for me and dropped back. 

The Thames Path is familiar to me having done the T184, albeit in the opposite direction, but it meant I had no expected navigation worries up to Brentford.

Soon I arrived at the Hurley CP feeling good and with no issues.  I saw the legendary Dick Kearne here with Lindley (who still hasn’t caught him up on the beard front!) and showed him a picture that had popped up on Facebook of him giving me my GUCR medal in 2013.  I found this a very timely and encouraging reminder for this race.

I had loads of food in my drop bag but didn’t fancy much.  I was already going off sweet stuff so I had a pork pie and some sausages from the CP then got on my way.


Section Two: Hurley to Chertsey 55 miles

No problem again with navigation as this all seemed familiar. 

Just before Marlow, I spied Allan Rumbles in his immaculate boat Tara.  I was expecting him to be there and had to claim my cup of tea and a hobnob! Thanks Allan and Jill.

Approaching Windsor, I began to fixate on having fish and chips as I’d heard there was a shop not far off the course.  At this point Roz Glover caught me up.  I had though she was attempting to walk the whole course but had been running to make up time. 

We chatted on the way into Windsor but could not see a chip shop so I settled for a kebab instead!  Roz had grabbed a drink and carried on so I walked out of Windsor happily munching my kabab and, when I was finished, there was even a bin next to some building works to dispose of the wrapper.
I was soon running again and feeling good.  I wanted to get through Datchet then Old Windsor and Runnymede as quickly as possible as I had memories of this section dragging on – which would seem even worse if going slow. 

Just past the Bells of Ouzeley pub, in the zone, I ran past another runner before I even thought to stop and ask if she was OK.  It turned out to be Kate Jayden, who was having difficulty re-attaching the battery for her Petzl Nao (they have a habit of turning themselves on in your pack if you don’t do this).  In between blinding her with my own Petzl (sorry) I gave her the light she needed to get it untangled and attached. Then I moved on as I really wanted to get this section done.

Staines is always a bit of a worry at 11PM.  Lots of drunk people, some of which seem capable of causing trouble.  However, this being a Wednesday night, it wasn’t as busy as previously and, passing the Slug and Lettuce, I saw the bar was nearly empty so popped in for a pint of Coke.  In the park just past the pub there was a group of youths standing around on the path so I diverted through the park and onto the road early to avoid them.

I know this section very well due to previous races and recces so was ticking off the landmarks (Penton Hook and Laleham Park) on approaching CP2.

I reached here at about 11:30PM but did not intend staying long as I had planned to bivvi down in Shepperton Woods at a spot I knew – this would be quieter than the CP which is by the Kingfisher pub and Chertsey Bridge. 

Section Three: Chertsey to Yiewsley 82 miles

By the time I was approaching the woods, it was beginning to drizzle but it was not cold.  I found my spot in the woods and laid out my bivvi sack with my sleeping bag on top as I was still quite warm.  After about half an hour, I swapped to the inside as I had cooled down but the trees were still sheltering me from the drizzle.

As I was packing up I saw the head torch of another runner.  It turned out to be Louise as I caught her up when she was deciding which path to take.  We ran/walked together along past Walton bridge and were playing leapfrog along the next section with a couple of other runners.

Approaching Kingston, Louise was going through a bad patch and had stopped on a bench.  I left her (not sure if this was the right thing but it would be what I would have preferred) and carried on but it was not long before I felt myself getting really sleepy.  I stopped at a bench for a power nap, and was vaguely away of Louise and Chris(?) passing me by.

After my nap I felt much better and pushed on.  I think I must have passed Louise and the others on the bit between Kingston and Richmond but can’t remember.  On reaching Brentford I found a café and had a bit of a fry-up, a coffee and a chocolate milkshake.



I had recced this section a few weeks previously so no navigation issues and managed a reasonable pace through Southall and Bulls Bridge (where I stopped for a selfie).  At the CP I saw Ernie who had decided to drop out.  Apparently, six weeks training is not enough for this event!!!! Who knew?  Ernie was in good spirits though and asked me directly: “Are you going to finish this?” Of course my answer was, “Definitely yes!”

Section Four: Yiewsley to Berkhampsted 105 miles

I didn’t take anything from this checkpoint as I knew that the Yiewsley Tesco was just a mile or so past the CP.  I stopped here and got mineral water (tastes nicer), Coke and some water melon which I ate sitting on a bench back on the canal path.  

Glamorous life this ultrarunning!

The bit through the nature reserve seemed to fly by.  Again I saw the protesters camp (something to do with HS2 I think) and the crocodile before reaching Rickmansworth where I stopped for an ice cream.

Dangerous local wildlife


  Richard McChesney was in the shop as he was puzzled by the instructions.  Luckily I remembered the way from my recce and we were soon on the right track.  I pushed on as Richard was walking.  I was soon past Croxley (the end on my recce) so was in unfamiliar territory but still had no navigation issues into Berkhamsted.

The CP was by a pub and with it being early evening, there was no real chance of a sleep.  A bacon sandwich was very welcome and I decided to press on to build up some time for a sleep at Milton Keynes.

Section Five:  Berkhampsted to Milton Keynes 130 miles

This section is a complete blur but I made good progress and made the CP with enough time for a sleep.  Although I do remember stopping at the Tesco at Leighton Buzzard.
My original plan was to go past the CP (which I thought might be noisy) and bivvi just past MK but I so much needed a sleep that I used one of the tents. 

This CP is under a road bridge and there is constant noise of traffic, plus the other runners and volunteers calling to each other.  None of this mattered and I had a good sleep and awoke before my wake-up call. 

My feet by this stage were blistered but I had decided not to worry or think about them too much – just press on to the end and live with the consequences afterwards.

I left the CP with Richard sitting in a chair.  He would have to leave soon or be timed out.

Section Six:  Milton Keynes to Nether Heyford 156 miles

About 3 miles out of the CP, I realised I had not filled up my hydration pack and had run out of water.  No worries, I had always planned to visit the 24 Hour Tesco at Wolverton (which I did) then made my way up to Stoke Bruerne and the Blissworth Tunnel.  I was not looking forward to this as the canal path diverts onto a road with no pavement and cars that blatantly ignore the speed limit.  I also wish people would use their indicators to let you know they had seen you and were intending to pull out.  A couple seemed to leave it to the last second and I was close to diving onto the rough verge.

Another memory blank spot before the road diversion into the village of Nether Heyford and CP6.

This checkpoint is inside a hall and there is a sleeping area on the stage behind a curtain.  Sleep was the first priority and I was soon snoozing, occasionally roused by the voices in the hall.  I properly awoke before my call and sorted kit and had a bacon sandwich before hobbling out of the hall on my way to the village shop.  Richard was outside having DNFed not long past the MK CP and wished me luck.

 Section Seven:  Nether Heyford to Fenny Compton 183 miles

This is the section that sees you “turning the corner” and heading south again.  

Braunston tunnel (much nicer than Blissworth) leads onto Braunston village and the first junction with the Oxford canal (which you don’t take).  Weariness was taking its effect here as I had to check on my OS phone app that I had chosen the right way. Then you reach Napton Junction which is a significant turn.  Here, turn right to follow the Grand Union Canal all the way to Birmingham or keep straight over the bridge on the Oxford Canal to Oxford.  This really feels like you are on the way “home” now.

Ernie had warned me that the Oxford Canal was difficult and he was absolutely correct.  It was badly overgrown in places, forcing me onto the sloping rough edge of the path and this constant lateral movement was taking its toll on my feet.  I got so annoyed at the state of the path that I started running furiously to get this section over with and found I had less pain from my feet in doing this.

And this was a good bit!

The rain came down in this section so I was glad to make the CP, crawl into a tent and put some dry clothes on.

After about 45 minutes sleep, I started sorting out and changing wet kit.  My pack was absolutely soaked.  I also changed my jacket for a dry one  - even though the rain had not soaked through the first one it had got wet lying in the tent.  I had slept with bare feet so as to dry them out and some dry socks were welcome here. 

Russ was careful to make sure I turned the right way on the canal path on leaving the checkpoint.  I guess by this stage, some had become disoriented and turned the wrong way.

Section Eight: Fenny Compton to Lower Heyford 205 miles

I must have feeling a little disoriented myself as I had the impression that I was passing through a built up area with lots of road and rail bridges as left the checkpoint.

Approaching Banbury at dawn and feeling hungry meant the Google Street View recce I had done would come in useful as most shops would not yet be open.  Leaving the canal using a farm bridge just before the town, I went to a 24 hour McDonalds and had a double bacon and egg Mcmuffin with hash browns, then to the Tesco for a fill up of water and coke.  This diversion added nearly a mile but I felt it was worth it.  It was obviously noticed because Kevin Mayo messaged me to ask if I was alright!  Thanks for the concern Kevin!

How I felt at this point!

Pushing on again, I reached the Lower Heyford with enough time for a decent length sleep.  My work colleague Digby had kindly volunteered and was helping at this checkpoint so it was good to see him.  Kate Hayden also passed on a message of encouragement from Debbie Jewson which was welcome.

The tents are right beside the tow path and there is also a railway line right behind so I wasn’t anticipating much sleep but in the event none of this mattered and I awoke refreshed to get supplies topped up and a crisp sandwich from Digby.

Section Nine:  Lower Heyford to Abingdon 229 miles

About 50 metres down the path from the CP, I took out the map and realised I hadn’t changed it for the next section so had to return part way. Doh!

The section between Thrupp and Oxford seemed to drag.  I was saving myself for when we crossed to the Thames Path because I knew the path out of Oxford is pretty good.  Eventually I negotiated the bridges (one very low) that takes you across from the canal to the river.  Soon after I was passing The Punter pub.  I had seen a post by Kevin Mayo recently and had commented that I had passed it but never been in so I decided that this time I would.  Thankfully the bar area was not crowded so hopefully no-one had too much ultra-stink!  A pint of Coke was just the ticket.



I left the pub and pushed on, making the most of the even surface.  I soon passed Sandra after this and asked if she was OK.  I think she said she was checking messages on her phone so I took it that she was and ran on.

My running spurt tailed off as it began to get dark and I could see the lights of Radley.  It felt I was near and I could even hear music which I assumed was coming from Abingdon but it turned out I was not as near as I thought.  Along this section I was passing through some long grass and had a fit of sneezing, followed by a runny nose that just wouldn’t stop.  I thought nothing of this until I happened to catch sight of my hand in the light of my head torch – it was covered with blood!  What I thought was a runny nose was a nosebleed.  Nothing to do about it now – carry on and get to the checkpoint, I thought.

Again, it seemed much further than I remembered through the woods before the weir then, once I crossed the weir, I realised that the checkpoint wasn’t on the other side as I had thought but almost a kilometre further on.

A reached the checkpoint tent expecting a lot of fuss about the fact I was covered in blood but no-one noticed until I mentioned it!  Maybe this is normal!  😊

I couldn’t take my drop bag to my allocated tent as there was a chance I would have to share with another runner.  Good luck to them, I said, as I snore!  I was hoping not as the tent was only big enough to lie flat in at a diagonal. 

I snoozed between the racket made by the drunks walking past and the stabbing pain that was now developing in my toes.  At one point, as no-one had joined me, I brought my shoes and socks inside the tent as it sounded like it was raining.

Once again, I awoke before my call and tried to figure out how to best get my socks and shoes back on.  In the end I walked barefoot over to the CP and sat down to put them on.  I ignored the state of my feet and put my socks on – hmmm . . . quite uncomfortable.  I then put my left shoe on and the pain was so bad I couldn’t even stand up.

At this point the capable Jen and Maxine came to the decision for me that it was time to do something about these blisters.  Maxine lanced them, sprayed them with iodine, dressed and taped as best she could.  There was not much to be done about the little toe on my left foot as it had blistered all the way round, burst and degloved but she put a dressing on and taped it far better that I could have done.
So back on the with the shoes except . . . I couldn’t physically get the left shoe on!  Some discussion followed with some pointed remarks from Louise about the correct shoe size required (yes, I know, I’m an idiot 😊 ) and Maxine came up with the plan of cutting the uppers to allow the little toe to stick out.  This worked and relieved the pressure.  Some small adjustments with the scissors to both shoes meant I could move about again.  

Thanks to Maxine I was able to continue.  It would have been a pity to have to withdraw at the last checkpoint.

Section Ten:  Abingdon to Goring (finish) 248 miles


I left the Abingdon checkpoint cautiously testing my modified footwear.  Seemed OK but I wasn’t feeling like running.

About an hour out my headtorch flashed to indicate low battery.  No problem I have a spare battery.  Except, when I find it, it is the last dead battery that I failed to change over from the one in my drop bag.  Bugger!  It was starting to get light so I wasn’t worried.  The torch would operate on low power for a while even though the reduced light meant I had to be extra careful not to trip.

About this time Sandra, Mike and John passed me walking faster than I felt able to so I let them go ahead.  Sleepy again, I found a bench by a lock and set my alarm for 15 minutes. 

It’s amazing what a restorative a power nap can be! I was soon up and running again, with my next mental goal of Benson Lock in my sights.  I passed the other three around Days Lock I think and ran on feeling good for the moment.

Past Benson and on to Wallingford.  In my mind, I thought the finish should now be close.  I just had to look for where the path left the river and headed up to the road for a while at Moulsford.
However, I have since discovered, pretty much every section is about 10% longer than billed so the last few miles dragged.  Especially the seemingly endless, boring, unchanging flood plain fields just before Streatley.

After what seemed an age, I saw Maxine waiting at the start of the wooded section that leads round behind the Swan Hotel.  At last!

I walked beside Maxine (who was obviously having to walk slower then she would have liked!) then ran the last section of bridge to the Goring side and the finish.  I had made it at last!



It was great to receive the huge medal from Lindley and see Louise and the other runners still at the finish.  I was ushered into the hall and offered food, drink and a sleeping place but all I wanted to do was get to the pub I was staying at around the corner. 

I had done it but now I could allow myself to be exhausted.
Told you there was a Big Medal at the end!


Conclusions
This is a great race that I have been building up to for a while and did not disappoint.  I prefer low-key events where the focus is on the running and there is a degree of self-sufficiency.

Training wise, my highest mileage weeks were just over 60 miles and I did get a 26 mile recce in because I was in London working. Other than that, the race had a fair amount of thought and planning put in.  I use Bing and Google maps to try and get an idea of what to expect.  Street View can be helpful for the road sections, especially since the signs are easy to miss in places.

It was apparent to me early on that the key to finishing for me was to get a decent amount of sleep.  My legs were fine throughout but sleepy-tiredness was the thing that slowed me down the most.  It is better to lose 15-20 minutes on a power nap than to carry on like a zombie.  Of course, having enough sleep time has to be earned, but this became a goal in itself and kept me going.
I would advise adding 10% to each leg as it can be disheartening to reach the advertised distance for the section and still not be at the checkpoint.

What I really need to do more about is my feet.  Previously, I have just put up with them until the end but this time, if had not been for Maxine and her blister skills, I would have been out of the race.  "Fixing Your Feet" is a good read, I hear!  

I think I’ve had enough of the Thames Path and the Oxford canal for the time being.













2015-09-05

From First to Last – My Story of the 2015 T184 Endurance Race

 

Introduction

The T184 is a self-supported race from the Thames Barrier to the source of the Thames in the Cotswolds along the Thames Path National Trail.  Self-supported in this case means that all kit and supplies are to be carried by the competitor for the entire duration of the race.  This includes all food and cooking equipment, clothing (including full wet-weather gear), sleeping equipment, medical kit, torches, maps and water.  The time allowed to complete is 80 hours in a single stage with 7 checkpoints to receive water only.

The 2015 t184


Start to Brentford

The day dawned dry and sunny with a few clouds and a light wind.  I arrived at the Thames Barrier Café at 0830 and it was already buzzing with crew and competitors.  It was good to catch up with some familiar faces and people I had only previously known from social media.  This year all entrants’ kit was checked and I was relieved that Paul Ali checked mine off with no issues.  It was good to arrive early as there was no panic and plenty of time to get a drink from the café and to chat and relax before the start.


After Shane’s race briefing we all made our way to the start.  I was shepherded to the start area with Kevin Mayo.  We found ourselves right next to where Shane set up his tablet with the time displayed in large letters.  This is what I like about ultra races, no big fanfare, just an announcement, “When it gets to 10:35 you can start.”

When the clock flipped over to 10:35 we all started.  As Kevin pointed out I was in first place!  This was a “first” for me as I usually take pains to start near the back but, in a race this long, it makes absolutely no difference where you start. 

This was only to last about 100 yards as I heard a click and realised the chest strap on my pack had broken.  So, first unscheduled stop to look at the damage which revealed the strap anchor had just slipped off of the rail.  Fiddly few minutes sliding it back on again and off we go again.  

The first bit to the Greenwich foot tunnel is a little industrial but with a fresh mind and legs it was still quite interesting.  After the tunnel and on the Isle of Dogs, some colleagues from work were waiting for me, having walked from my firm’s London office at Canary Wharf.  A brief chat with them then onwards to the (at times) frustrating section though London:  Locked gates, building works and tourists wandering all over the place.

The first checkpoint at Brentford (26 miles) is near a pub but a nice cool pint was not on the cards (all the checkpoints are near pubs – Shane is so sadistic).  Overall I was on plan, the weather was good, I was eating my stage 1 food (a couple of ham sandwiches) and felt good.

At the Brentford CP, I took off my shoes and socks, washed my feet then allowed them to dry.  I was amazed to find I already had two toe blisters to attend to.  I don’t normally get blisters this early and was using the same shoes (Hokas) and socks (DryMax).


Brentford to Windsor

Brentford is perhaps not the best of areas to be off of the beaten track and I was wary of a VERY drunk guy I encountered on the path, weaving and swearing at passers-by.  Luckily I avoided any confrontation.

I was glad to eventually reach Teddington; I knew the path was straightforward from here to after Walton Bridge.   Along this stretch I was running (leapfrogging) with Johan Swinnen and Tom Kingston.  I was amused to see Johan at Hampton Court Palace stopping to fire up the JetBoil.  As always, he was in good spirits when I asked.

Not far before Walton Bridge I saw a riverside pub approaching.  “How great it would be to just throw in the towel here and stop for a beer and a meal”, I thought.  As I passed through the pub there was a guy taking a photo with his phone.  Hang on.  He has running kit on.  Stopped and went back only to see Matt Bevan – he had decided to stop and was DNFing in style with a pint in his hand!

At this point it was getting dark so I stopped to put on my headtorch – a faceplant due to tripping on tree roots in the gloom was something I wanted to avoid.

Past Walton Bridge is a section I know well as I ran it when I was in Chertsey for a training course.  I knew to look out for the turning into the woods that is obscured by trees and duly ran through, keeping to the TP signs.  Almost immediately, I got a txt from my wife asking if I was taking a rest break as I was off course.  Turns out the course missed this bit and carried on around the road.

Running the next section in the dark was uneventful.  I was prepared for the Runnymead fields leading up to CP2 seeming to be endless and was not disappointed.

On reaching the CP, I made some food (Spaghetti Pomodoro with a flatbread), replenished my water supply then pushed on.

Windsor to Henley

The plan was to run past Dorney Lake then find a spot to get a couple of hours sleep.  However, I figured that I would not reach there much before sunrise so stopped early at 3AM and took a couple of hours sleep in a field just off the path, followed by scrambled eggs and a cup of tea for breakfast.  At this point I was still feeling strong and motivated but I had been increasingly bothered by chafing – not something I usually suffer from.  I applied Vaseline but this did not seem to be helping much.
The slight adjustments to my plan were not bothering me as I had vowed to stay flexible and not stress about adapting to circumstances.  No battle plan survives the first shot fired and it is good to keep this in mind so as not to become demotivated.
This section is quite long (30 miles) so I was glad when I eventually reached Henley at about 1:30 PM.  This was slightly ahead of plan.
At this CP the food was Spaghetti Carbonara so I got on with making that.  Zoe Thornburgh was having a kip on a bench here and it was amusing to see the reactions of the passers-by as they noticed her.  I had tried to sleep here last year so knew there was no point as it was too busy and noisy so I packed up and pushed on.

Henley to Streatley

Although only 20 miles, this feels like a long section.  The Reading Festival was on this weekend but there seemed to be less people on the path than last year.  On reaching the half-way point of 96 miles, I had been out about 31 hours.  I took this to be OK and on plan as the second half would take much longer – especially including a planned long sleep – so I would be able to finish well within the 80 hour cut-off.

The section Whitchurch to Streatley seemed much longer than last year – possibly because last year I had already committed to retiring by this point so was just walking along to the CP or possibly because it had started raining quite heavily.  I had planned to push on past Streatley for about 10 miles before sleeping so as to make a decent dent in the 30 mile section.  However, I was starting to feel very tired so on reaching Streatley at about 2130hrs, I enquired about the rules:  if I were to sleep in the paddock would I be deemed to have left the CP?  Or, if I was still there at 2330hrs would I be timed out?  Paul Ali assured me that I would be OK.  There was a brief moment of panic as a couple of the CP marshals had told me on the way in that the cut-off for Oxford (the next CP) was at 0730hrs! This would only have given 8 hours to complete the 30 mile section.  Thankfully this was cleared up – the next cut-off was actually at 1430hrs!

So I set camp for a sleep in the paddock, thankfully during a break in the rain, consulted my plan and found I had allowed eleven hours for the next section.  I counted back (on my fingers – I was VERY tired) from the cut-off to get a leaving time.  Leave at 0300hrs.  And so to sleep for four hours.  During the night I heard the voice of Ernie Jewson passing.

Streatley to Oxford

I awoke somewhat refreshed, made breakfast of scrambled eggs, applied what was left of my Vaseline to the chafing (getting really painful now), broke camp and set off carrying my rubbish inside an empty 5 litre water bottle until I found a bin.

Being a little bit more compos mentis than the night before I realised I had made an error.  I had counted back from the cut-off time, not from my planned time of arrival at the checkpoint.  This left me quite tight on time.  I would have to try and push on which was getting increasingly more difficult as I was suffering with the chafing so badly that my foot pain seemed secondary.

It had been raining steadily during the night so the path was muddy and extremely slippery, making going very hard and slow.  Suddenly, my right foot slipped sideways underneath me and I pitched over, pack first down the riverbank!  I found myself upended like a tortoise, just feet from the river.  The bank was overgrown here so, whilst the brambles, the nettles and the thorns had stopped me from sliding into the water, it was going to make getting up again difficult.  I took a moment to compose myself and think of the best way to remove myself from this situation without sliding further down the bank.  I carefully unclipped my map case and pack then, with much huffing and cursing, managed to turn over and crawl up the bank. 

It was at this point I thought I heard something fall out of my pack. 

I searched through the vegetation carefully with my head torch in my hand to give a different angle of illumination but found nothing.  I regained the path and hauled up my pack.  A kit check did not turn up anything missing and a check on myself revealed no injuries other than some minor scratches and stings. 

I carried on a little shaken as the outcome could have been much different.  Thankfully, no further mishap occurred as I pushed on towards Oxford.

Since I had heard Ernie pass during the night, I had assumed that I was now at the back.  Then, out of nowhere, Christina Calderon passed me.  Using walking poles and making a good pace, she asked the distance to the CP and said we would have to push to make the cut-off.

Not long after this, Shane called to say I was close to missing the cut-off but I could still make it.  I pushed as much as I felt able but by this stage I was suffering so much I would have taken a time-out just as gladly as reaching the CP in time!

I finally saw the CP and saw I had just missed the cut-off.  When I reached it my watch said 1433hrs – 3 minutes after the 1430hrs cut-off.  I started hand my number in when I was told that I should be OK.  The CP marshall called Shane who then spoke to me and said that, because we had not started until 1035hrs, all the cut-offs had moved on my 5 minutes.  I was back in the race!

I made a quick turnaround and set off to maximise the time for the next section.

Oxford to Radcot

For the first few miles, Christina and I kept passing each other.  By the time we had reached Shifford Lock cut we had teamed up by unspoken agreement, helping each other with navigation.  Every landmark seemed to take much longer to appear that it should, leading to doubts at times as to whether we were on the right track.  During this section my mobile phone, my watch and my charger (which during testing had lasted for many more charges) had died.  I was concerned that I would not be allowed to continue from the next CP without a working phone. 

Eventually we arrived at the Radcot Bridge CP.  I was pleased to see Paul Stout manning the CP with another guy (whose name I do not know) who helpfully put some charge back into my phone.   Some other runners (including Ernie and Dave Baker) were already sleeping here.  They were planning to leave the CP at 0330hrs so as to only need just over 2mph pace to reach the final checkpoint.  I decided to take an hour’s sleep then have some food so asked the guys to wake me at 0300hrs.   

Radcot to Castle Eaton

Having made food (soup) and packed up I was ready to go and set off slowly, knowing the others would soon catch me up.  Sure enough, before too long they all came trooping past.  All except Christina.  I followed them but in the long growth, they soon moved out of sight.   I got to a fork in the path and had just decided which was the right way when I saw a head torch behind be so I waited for Christina to catch up and we continued together.  We found the navigation tricky here as both of our most powerful head torches had run out of charge and the backup torches were not bright enough to be able to see the river, and therefore confirm we were on the right path.  So there was a lot of indecision and going wrong and a few cows!

At one point we passed some WWII pill boxes so, as it was raining steadily and heavily, and I was getting cold, I used the shelter to add a layer and put on waterproof trousers.

There is a horrible stretch of road at Inglesham.  Christina commented that she had expected to be able to make up some time here but the only path was a grass verge for most of this stretch.  Near the turn off there was a tarmac path so I was able to pick up the pace a little bit.  I could see Christina up ahead, unsure if she was at the correct road to turn off.  I had recced this on Google Street View so I motioned her over.

It was soon obvious that we were pushing the cut-off again.  Two mph was the average required for the section but this had to account for all stops and nav errors.  Christina decided to pick up the pace.  I tried to keep up but she was soon out of sight. 

I reached a junction in the track that did not look anything like the map so started to doubt I was on the right path.  As my phone and my watch had died I was using the paper map but had no way of fixing my position.  I went to get my compass from my map pouch only to find it gone from the caribina it had been attached to!  My thoughts immediately went back to when I nearly ended up in the river.  Maybe it had been the compass that had fallen out then?  I removed all the contents of my map pouch and found the compass lurking at the very bottom.  I checked and found that, even if this was not the right path, it was the right direction.  If need be I could pick up a road into the village of Castle Eaton and the CP.

At this point I had no idea of the time, no idea how far it was to the next CP and was not really sure if I was on the right path.   I saw a walker coming towards me down the path so I asked the time – 09:31 (very precisely).  He then asked if I was going to Castle Eaton as this was where he had just come from.  He consulted his hand-help GPS and declared it to be 1.85 miles away! 

I could probably just make the 1000hrs cut-off. 

I started running and about half a mile further on, I saw Shane who had run out to meet me.  He said I could make it if I picked up the pace a bit.  We reached the village roads so I ignored the pain of the chafing and the pain in my feet and ran as fast as I could.  This felt like 10 m/mi pace but was probably much slower.  Shane kept telling me that it was near, just round the corner, not far now.  I knew he was lying though his teeth but soon we saw two of the CP marshalls had also come out to meet me which was really encouraging.  If anything, I ran even faster through the village and up to the CP with just a minute or two to spare!

At the CP I borrowed Shane’s phone to call my wife.  Apparently the whole family had been shouting at the tracker screen, willing me in, and there were loads of comments on Facebook!  And I had my own hashtag - #oneminuteman!

I quickly (ish) got on with the business of making some soup, then packed up for the last 16 mile section to the finish.

Castle Eaton to the Source

Since I had found my legs running into the CP I started back with a run/walk.  I was trying to average 3 mph, including stops etc.  As my watch had died I had no reliable way to measure my pace but estimated I was running at about 14 m/mi pace (when running). 

I found the nav reasonably straightforward right up to Ashton Keynes where I swore my way through the village, cursing the people who had marked the Thames Path.  Surely the idea of signs is to guide people who DON’T know where the path is.  Not 20 yards past a turn off!

Before too long I found myself at the Cotswolds Water Park.  It was here that my family had been staying last year and that I met some of the runners (Ernie, Kevin Mayo) after my retirement.  So I knew it was only about 5 miles to the finish.

These last 5 miles took forever and finding the source is a challenge in itself.  The river Thames is one of the most historically important rivers in the world.  You would think that would be worth a few signs pointing to its source?

I saw Zoe walking towards me (she had pulled out unfortunately) who told me that the finish was only a couple of hundred yards away.  I ran round a wall, shouted at some cows to get out of the way of the gate I needed to go through, then ran down to the stone waving my race number like an idiot. Finished finally in 78 hours and 58 minutes.  I call that getting my money’s worth!

So despite many times being close to calling it a day, I made it to the finish.  Many thanks to Shane and all the crew who made it possible.  Special thanks to the crew at Castle Eaton who made a special effort to encourage me to keep going.





UPDATE:  The film of the race can be found here.


Last Year’s Race


I attempted this challenge in 2014 but pulled out at Streatley (100miles) due to a combination of factors;
·         Foot pain – I had been suffering with heel pain for some time and started the race with this.
·         Weariness – general tiredness due to lack of sleep and the weight of the pack. Another night was looming with (almost certainly) another night as well.
·         Behind Schedule – I had planned on 60-65 hours to finish.  When it became obvious that I could not hope to finish in this time, despondency set in.  I had family plans on the Monday (my family were staying in the Cotswolds) and the thought of disrupting these plans started to weigh on my mind.
·         Lack of food and unwillingness to eat -  I found I could not face the freeze dried foods and most were thrown away part-eaten.
After some reflection (and recovery) I was disappointed with this DNF as any one of the factors above were not insurmountable – they just all conspired to erode my mental state and make a retirement too attractive and easy.
Planning for the 2015 race therefore started straight away and I re-entered within a week. 
The main changes I decided to make were;
More Sleep – Although it would be impossible to eliminate tiredness completely, my thoughts were that a couple of hours on the first night, 3-4 hours on the second and another hour or so on the third night would stave off the worst of the exhaustion.
Change in food – In 2014 I had been using freeze dried foods which, whilst convenient, were pretty much unpalatable to me.  I researched fast-packing and found some interesting information on taking and cooking real food.  I bought a pan for the JetBoil and experimented with cooking various meals, first in the kitchen at home and then on overnight runs.  I found I could make tasty meals with very few ingredients which resulted in the following meals;
·         Spaghetti Pomodoro
·         Spaghetti Carbonara (after a fashion)
·         Curried fried rice
·         Scrambled Eggs
·         Flatbreads (as an accompaniment to the above)
·         Soup Sachets (Heinz soup sachets for speed and convenience in the latter stages)
·         Various Snacks
I found that the combined weight of the ingredients and the pan were not much more than the freeze dried meals I had taken the previous year and it would mean food that I would actually eat rather than not being able to face eating.
More pack training – Although I had trained with my pack in the lead-up to 2014, I felt this had not been enough so most of my weekend runs in the 3 months leading up to the race were with full pack, including night runs with a sleep to practice setting up for a sleep and cooking.

Things that happened this year but not previously.

Blisters started early on – Same shoes, same socks, same foot prep so no idea why.
Chafing – Again, same clothes and preps and I have never had a problem with chafing other than very minor soreness due to seams.  Even 5 days afterwards this is still painful. 
Electronic devices - Nothing seemed to keep its charge for as long as I would have expected this year.  I can only put this down to the low temperature.

Main Kit List

OMM 32l Classic pack
OMM Front mounted map pouch
Marmot Bivi Tent
JetBoil Stove with frying pan
OMM Raidlight sleeping bag
Hoka Mafete
Drymax socks



2013-12-08

On the Costs and Benefits of Events

A quick post on the Ultrarunning Community page on Facebook about a thread on the Runners World forum, resulted in a flurry of posts around the price of events.  I am entered in the t184 so feel a little protective of it I guess but it prompted me to think on what is too expensive to me personally.

I am by no means poor but I'm not wealthy either.  Living on a small island (which, contrary to popular misconception, is not populated by rich tax-dodgers) I always need to factor in the costs of travel and accommodation, plus the time away, in addition to the price of a race.  This may mean that some races seem better value to me than to some living in the UK whose travel costs would be minimal.  It also means that I can only realistically enter one or two events per year so each event has to have value to me in terms of personal accomplishment and goals.

That means that the entry price is viewed as a proportion of the costs of getting there and back.

I happily paid £100 for the London to Brighton trail race (4 times!) as the entry fee didn't seem huge in  proportion to the 500-odd pounds for travel and accommodation.  The t184 is £125 which is similar to the (excellent by all accounts) Centurion Running 100-mile events.  These events probably cannot be compared like for like.  Some posted on RW seem to think that you should get something material back in proportion to the entry fee but I think this belief is misplaced.  Sure if you're doing your first (and only) marathon you may want something like the London marathon, with all the goody bags, water and energy drink stops, huge crowds etc. etc. but that is not why I enter ultras.  I neither want nor expect all that from an ultra.  It just has to fit my personal goals, be well organised and provided everything required within the parameters of the challenge.  This may be that is just a bloody long way, is mountainous, is self-navigating, or requires self-sufficiency.

The t184 appeals because it's both a long way and requires near-total self-sufficiency but is on the Thames Path which is probably a lot safer as a first go in this than, say, the Brecon Beacons.  I am therefore using this as a step up or test.  If I manage the logistics of this it would give me confidence to tackle other events perhaps in less hospitable terrain.

Oh and I expect to have a good time doing it and an even better time when it's finished!

So does £125 seem expensive to me?  No not at all.

Some also seem to suspect that some event organisers are doing it for a fat profit. To me there's nothing wrong in a commercially based event.  I believe Centurion is.  Like all businesses, commercial organisers will not last long if they don't get their price point right and judging by the speed at which James Elston's events sell out, he must have got that right.  What grates on me is ultra events that try to be like the city marathons, with t-shirts and goody bags, aid stations every 200 yards and cheerleaders at the finish.  That's not why I do ultras.  And that's why I will never run the Marathon des Sables.

It really is down to personal preference so I don't really see why people need to slag off races for being too expensive - except maybe the MdS!


2013-09-23

London to Brighton 2013

Had to accept a finish outside the cut-off (even the new, extended cut-off) at the London to Brighton this year.  Started quite fast (probably too fast) as I was just letting my legs do as they would and concentrating n navigation rather than pace.  This meant that, inevitably, the pace dropped and I didn't realise by how much until the realisation dawned that I was now pushing the cut-off for Cp5 (about 49 miles).

Full report to follow.

2013-06-22

Guernsey Father's Day Half 2013







Guernsey June Half Marathon

I got my arse into gear a bit and entered the GIAAC Guernsey Father's Day Half Marathon.  This is probably the biggest local running event after the Guernsey Marathon and this year saw 450 entrants.  This maybe because the course changed last year and now ends in St Peter Port.  As it also coincides with a seafront closure in town and several athletics events taking place, it makes for good crowds and a good atmosphere at the finish - much better than previously when it finished in an industrial estate!


I entered on the day and didn't expect too much of myself.  My PB for this course is 1:36 and I knew there was no way I would be beating this three weeks after the Grand Union Canal Race.  Also I was not going to run this with any gels, energy drinks and such - just relying on the water provided on the course every couple of miles or so.  Just a nice Sunday run but with 450 others for a change and no early start!

Getting there in good time to register meant that I had plenty of time to catch up with others I know at the start.  The weather was light rain but was clearing rapidly and the breeze would be from behind for the majority of the course  so pretty good conditions.  Just before the start I jogged up to my car to drop off my Gore-Tex jacket as the rain had now stopped completely.

I ran back down to the start van to listen to Ingy (Paul Ingrouille - Race Director) give his pre-race briefing then joined the others to walk up to the start line.  This race has entrants from a wide range of experience and ability, ranging from my butcher, Wayne, who had not run more than 10 miles before, to Ben Livesey from the RAF who went on to win in 1:06:47 - 10 minutes before the second place runner!

Positioning myself nearer the back than the front, I started and began a "systems check" to see what pace I could get away with.  The runners around me were doing about 8m/mi so I stuck with that pace for the first mile.  This seemed relatively easy, I had a few twinges from my left hamstring and knee.  This had been with me throughout my GUCR training and had prevented me from doing much speed or hill work.  However, this was easily to ignore and I picked up the pace a bit until I was running 7:30-50 which seemed comfortable enough - let's see how far this will last!

The course is pretty much flat and follows the coast road up the west coast before turning east then south to the finish.  By now I was glad I had left my jacket behind as the sun was coming out and it was getting a little warm - good for me a I like a bit of sunshine when running.  The roads are not closed for the event which makes for some interesting observation of the driving skills (or lack of them) of some drivers.  The maximum speed limit in Guernsey is 35mph and those cars that didn't decide to stay off the coast road weren't moving much faster than the runners.  I think it would be helpful though if the police were on hand to ask it it's really a good idea to try and overtake on a corner!


I managed to keep up the pace until only 3 miles left to go when I started to slip back to an ultra-shuffle at times and had to push to keep a reasonable pace up.  Passing the old finish area is psychologically difficult as it feels as if you should be finishing but still have 2 miles to go - also you can see St Peter Port across Belle Greve bay and it always looks farther.  I told myself that I wasn't feeling anything like as tired as a round-island training run where I would have done about 35 miles with more than 3 to go to get home!

Approaching the finish line, I attempted a bit of a sprint and finished in 1:43:41 - not a PB but better than expected.  (results PDF here)

I swear my legs felt worse after this than after the GUCR!  

This has got me thinking maybe I can beat my PB at the Jersey Marathon in October.   I need something to get me out of bed and go running.  I won't be doing the Guernsey Marathon but that's the subject of a post on another day!