South Downs Way 100

I do love the South Downs, it is a beautiful place to run. I can't think of many places I'd rather be in this country of ours. So running the whole length of it in the beginnings of summer holds much appeal to me. This would be my second running of the race, my first in 2012 was my performance of the year. Everything went right that time round so I was hoping for some more of that.

We travelled down on Friday afternoon in my father in laws van with the intention of me sleeping in the field in a bivvy bag and my crew sleeping in the van. The weather up until Friday had been fantastic so the idea of sleeping in the field seemed like a good one. We arrived in the middle of Friday afternoon and had a nice couple of hours sunbathing. As darkness drew closer I checked the weather and apparently it was pissing down right where we were? Well it wasn't but it was coming!  As it had been so lovely during the day I thought I'd wing it anyway so I flipped the tailgate up on the van and lay down under it and pulled the strings on my bag tight to my face. As I closed my eyes there was a flashing coming from over the hedge which I first thought was a train track but as it got gradually closer accompanied by some very loud bangs I realized it was the storm coming. I decided to ride it out and stayed put. Well it rained so hard it soon became impossible to get out my bag as I and all my gear would have been soaked. It was lashing in under the tailgate and the constant water bouncing off my face made it impossible to sleep. I had to do something, so I undid my bag, grabbed my foldup chair and put it over my face. I was soon tied back into the bag and managed to get a fair few hours sleep. I did however wake up in a rather deep puddle! I'm so glad my bag was 100% waterproof.


It was still tipping it down up until 5ish so I stayed in the van as long as possible. I had my number already so I thought I'd hang on as long as possible to save starting in wet gear. I got to the start line at 5.30 ish and didn't have a lot of time to catch up with everyone but said hi to most of my good friends. Time just flew and before I knew it the brief had been and gone and we were toeing the line. As we started Stuart Mills run off like he'd robbed someone. I just thought, what an amazing athlete he has this in the bag.


After my epic fail in the TP I decided the best plan of attack in this one would be to not have a plan and run on feel. Run for the love of running. The difference was massive, I had put so much pressure on myself for a pb at the Thames path that it took away from the enjoyment I get from running ultras. Well sod that this time, I was going to have fun. The strange thing about having no race plan is you have to make instant decisions on race tactics and as I rounded the field I had to decide what my starting pace would be. The one decision I did make and have stuck to for a long while now is to run my own race at my own pace, so no chatting for me for the first few miles just get on with it. At the TP my start pace had been 7.5 min miles, this time I settled into 8.5 min miles which was comfy and I was on my way.


The downs are gorgeous and the running was heaven CP1 was soon upon us, I had drunk half my 500ml of electrolyte and half my water at this point but didn't bother to refill as my crew had said they would meet me at 12 mile so I had a couple of cups of water and pressed on. Mile 12 came and went and I was sipping my water hoping I would see my wife soon but nothing. It was very humid, my head felt like it was in a pressure cooker as I approached the late teens of the race. My usual bad patch at 18 mile hit bang on its ETA. I was feeling really shit, thirsty, hot and  I really couldn't be arsed. My thoughts went to dropping, I couldn't think of any reason to carry on. During my ultra running life since my first 100 and only DNF, I have become mentally very strong and can usually find good reason to get it done. Could be any number of things but there is always something that you can latch onto, then you can put your DNF thought back in its box and crack on. Not this time though, for the first time I was questioning whether I could even be bothered to carry on for another 80 mile. What is the point? What am I getting out of this one? I've got a busy week next week, do I really want to feel like shit?  Luckily I entered the back end of QE park and knew the aid station couldn't be far, I sucked the last drops out my bottles and headed through the park and down the hill to the CP. My wife had found the CP but hadn't had internet all morning so couldn't look up where to meet me hence the lack of support. I drank plenty, ate some food, chatted about quitting with the wife and changed my wet hat and buff before moving on.

My feeding regime is a massive work in progress and I really didn't eat enough during the TP so I made sure I ate well this time. A caffeine free GU every couple of hours and more fruit than you'd find at a fruitarians banquet. I started to feel better and the running became easier, mile 22/23 to mile 35ish are usually very good to me and today was no exception. I could really enjoy being there. I really love the flora and fauna of the downs, it is truly outstanding and I just soaked it up for a few mile. I ran into Harting downs and my pal Gary Kiernan was helping out, it didn't take him long to take the piss about me carrying poles.
 I know the pole debate will never subside but I carried them as when else am I going to practice with them? I have the UTMB coming up and what sort of fool would go there having not used them over the distance. Not me. For those interested I used Black Diamond ultra Z poles and they were fine. I carried one in each hand for the whole distance and used them on some of the steeper climbs. My technique improved no end. The ease of putting them together and dismantling them really is really good and I shall carry on with them at every opportunity until August.
I could feel maceration starting on my feet around 35 mile, I've had it so much that I can recognise the first tingles. I was determined that this wasn't going to ruin my race so I pulled up at the next available stop, cleaned and dried my feet. I also changed socks and sprayed my feet with a silicone spray I'm experimenting with at the moment. I'm pissed off with trying to find the perfect shoe so I just wore an old pair of NB this time around. They were doing alright but it was early days.
I soon reached half way in roughly 9 hours which was perfect for a sub 20 which I would obviously take however much I was trying to run for just the love of it. I pushed on to Washington and was greeted with a hug and a kiss from Karen Webber and lots of clapping from the amazing support. I changed shirts, ate more fruit and soon went on my way feeling better now than I had since the start. This wasn't to last long.
Within a few short miles I was feeling shit again and amazingly tired. I was so tired I thought I was going to fall asleep on my feet, something that doesn't usually happen until about 2am but this was only about 5pm. I ran for quite a while with David Thompson who I've seen and spoken to many times but never ran with so it was nice to chat for a while and compare notes on how shit we felt. I was having to dig deep and was having strong thoughts about quitting again. Luckily there was a reason to continue, something I am trying to achieve so I focused on that and kept going. Somewhere around 60 mile I bumped into Luke Ashton he had got a wiggle on and was pushing for the finish already there was no keeping up with him so after a brief chat he ran off. Luke is a fantastic runner and although we have been close time wise on a few occasions I am under no illusion that he is the better runner and on his day, untouchable by myself. He is however game opposition and if I've got my racing head I will push myself to race with him, just not today. I ran down the long hill to Boltophs, had a quick stop and carried on.
 I was at least pleased I was able to run on command I hiked the ups and waddled/run the flats and downs. Somewhere between Boltophs and Saddlescombe farm my waddle turned into a half decent run and as I cruised along my toe hooked on a flint and I went straight into some brambles ending up on my back. Moments like that can only be laughed at, I lay my head back into the brambles looked at the sky and laughed, Oh what the hell am I doing? Getting up is always a lot harder than going down and what a struggle it was to get back up. Cp9 soon passed by and I was heading for Clayton Windmills. Clayton is a weird stop, you think you have run past it and are going wrong before you turn 90 degrees left and head on into the aid station. I was feeling hungry for real food and found a massive wedge of over cooked flapjack, burnt bits and all. It was delightful and I left the windmills a happy man, chewing on burnt flapjack and only 30 to go.
I was running ok now, slowly but running all the same and the miles were ticking away. Around mile 80 as darkness set in I started chatting with Dan Mayers, he too is running UTMB this year so we had plenty to chat about and good company he was too.
Next CP was Southease and another chance to sort my feet out, they were getting really sore again and I bit the bullet and changed to road shoes for the last few miles. The hill out of Southease is one of the bigger ones and I used my poles to good effect and hiked all the way up. On reaching the top I resumed running again and soon overtook Ken Fancett and caught Dan up. This section is quite featureless and although not overly difficult to navigate, you need to have your wits about you. I thought it best that I stick with Dan for this bit and Ken soon caught us, the three of us run/walked all the way to Alfriston. A quick turn around here and we pressed on, Dan ran ahead but was too fast for me so off he went. 8 miles to go and I was still running and ran all the way to Jevington albeit slowly. The last CP is always nice, you are there, you've done it, now enjoy it. I was checked in in the street and given the option to carry on but I walked into the aid station to say hello and thank the volunteers. I always think the last cp must be the worst to volunteer at, no-one stops, no-one eats or drinks and the hours are long. Pretty thankless really.
4 miles to go and I hiked my way up the hill out of Jevington, about half way up a light appeared behind me. I started to pick up the pace right to the top where I met the lonely marshall who ushered me off the downs. With the thought of someone overtaking me I got a last spurt on, all the way down the hill, past the houses and onto the main road. I switched my light off and ran by the street lights to the roundabout, hooked a left and ran down the home stretch. I actually passed Jez Isaac with only a few hundred metres to the stadium. Felt a bit of a git passing and always do that close to the end but needs must and I was on one. I entered to stadium for my final lap as I ran round that track I almost shed a tear. It had been hard and I'd almost pulled out 80 miles previous I felt quite emotional. I crossed the line got my hug from Nici, my medal from Mimi and a kiss from my wife. 20 hrs 43 but this run wasn't about times or places it was about loving running. As I stood there and calmed down I felt very unsteady, my legs were extremely wobbly and I was escorted to a seat. It was over. I showered, ate and headed for home. I need to get to bed as I had a family barby later in the day which I made and very nice it was too.

I had some major negative thoughts during the day and a lot of time to contemplate my running future. Although the camaraderie is second to none among the longer distance ultras, I for the first time ever have considered packing in the 100's. They are very hard, they take an age to recover properly, they affect my work and I don't feel I have anything to prove to myself anymore. I ran a sub 18 last year and I don't think as long as there is a hole in my arse I can better that time. The main attraction has always been  pushing my boundaries and seeing what I could achieve but once you've achieved all you wanted. What next? There are a few things I still need to do, Western States being the main one and I shall continue for sure until that is done and hopefully in sub 24 (I still have to get in first). Who knows that may well be my last 100! Watch this space...

Massive well done to Mark Perkins for smashing the SDW record time. Didn't see that coming after Stuart Mills opening mile. Also a great performance for 3rd by David Ross, about time you had the race to match your talent. Good running buddy.

Thanks again to http://www.kentphysio.co.uk/ for your support.

Thames Path 100 2014

My prep up to this had been perfect in my eyes. I will not lie, after the W100 although I did well I could see room for improvement. I decided that I would try and smash a fast hundred at the TP then I could concentrate on UTMB.I trained hard, ate better and felt great going into this. I worked out all my splits based on a 17hr 30 finish. What could possibly go wrong?

Me and the wife travelled up on the morning of the race after a good nights sleep in my own bed. We arrived at Richmond at about 7am and found a lovely park just round the corner from registration so we took the dog for a walk as it was such a beautiful morning. Some of you may have seen my dog its a pug and present at most ultras in the south of England.
Registration was a well organised affair. Get in, bag check, receive a token then go get your number and get out. Very regimented. Was nice to bump into so many people you know, registrations are more like a social gathering, Everyone relaxed and chatting its a great chance to catch up with people you hardly see. Made a point of finding Luke Ashton, Shawn Timmons and the rest of the Bosh group. Its amazing how many "friends" you have on Facebook and most of these people you have never met so I made a point of saying hi to anyone I vaguely recognised. Amongst the new friends was plenty of old ones as well. David Bowen, Jeff Springford, Paul Ali, Gary Kiernan and Lee Kelly to name but a few. I really enjoy the pre race buzz and those 2 hours flew by.


We were called back in for our race brief and went through the usual stuff, course changes, conditions, aid stations etc. Pretty pointless me listening as I have the memory span of an ant and all the important stuff goes in one ear and out the other. Mind you I made more of an effort than most as my wife told me at least half the runners just stayed outside and didn't even bother coming in. As the countdown began we were called up to the start line. There was a lot of spectators at the start even spotted a couple of Z list celebs. Oh what an illustrious bunch we are.

We were off! I had started at the front because my starting pace was to be 7 and half minute miles and I wanted to get straight into it. No pleasant chatting now, just head down, arse up as they say. As Ed ran off into the distance there was one runner just behind him then a pack of five followed by about five more including myself. Soon after the start Jeff ran up behind me and we ran together. We could see the group ahead and just followed we were soon out on a main road and after several minutes I realized there was no marker tape, we saw the group ahead turn right and when we reached that point there was no markings at all. We had gone wrong already. Bloody hell! Not even at CP1 and we were lost. Luckily there was a guy with us who quickly opened a map on his phone and after a while road running we picked the river up again and were back on track. We were soon into CP1 and I downed several cups of water and some fruit and cracked on.


I said to Jeff that if he wanted to go faster or slower he should do his own thing because I was running to a plan and sticking to it. Soon after this Jeff dropped off and had a walk it was really quite warm and the heat was getting to him. I carried on running at sub 8 minute miles. I soon joined up with David Ross and had a nice chat. David is an excellent runner and places top 5 in just about everything he enters. Good company to be in if you want a fast time. We entered CP2 at 22miles in under 3 hrs and first chance to meet crew. I had some fruit and some beetroot juice that I have been experimenting with. My wife informed me I was 8 mins down on my split so I filled my bottles and pressed on. I felt very sick soon after which I put down to the beetroot so I decided not to have anymore of that. As we passed the marathon distance we were at 3hrs 28. Fast, yes but it was planned.


Running along a river is one of  my favourite things to do and it doesn't get much nicer than the first 30 mile of this race. Sun was shining, trail was perfect, boats, birds, friendly people. This run had it all. As we approached 30 mile in around 4 hrs I was getting the first signs that my legs were not happy. David had run on and I had my first little walk. One of the problems with a flat race is getting the run walk/strategy just right although my splits hadn't accounted for much walking at all in the first half. I had a minimal stop at CP3 and cracked on. I had managed to pretty much avoid my 18 mile wobble today but I was about to have a major wobble at about 32mile. The next 6 miles into Cookham were not great and I was run/walking. I would walk for about 20 seconds then run for several minutes and repeat.


In to CP4 at Cookham and I informed my wife I was struggling. My legs were feeling dead the energy had just dropped out of them. I ate some food at this CP and left feeling rather sick. I tried to run but my stomach was turning. I put my fingers down my throat to try and bring the food up but it wouldn't come so I walked for a couple of miles and things soon settled so I could resume running.
My memory between 40 and 50 mile is sketchy to say the least but I was still run/walking and not loosing too much time so I thought if I can keep this up i'll still be in for a good time. Truth is I knew I shouldn't be feeling this bad this early, my legs were dead. Just no life in them at all. This was not good. I reached the 50 mile mark in about 7hrs 50. CP6 at Henley soon followed and a chance to get some hot food. I didn't hang about though and I was off again. I still couldn't manage any prolonged running and things were getting worse I was getting so much leg pain and now my calves were playing up.
In 2012 I was dogged with Achilles tendonitis and i was worried that the pain in my calves was actually my Achilles playing up again. I had used different shoes for this race as I try and move away from Hokas which is a bit of a trial. I believe my Hokas aggravate my hip so I have been trying various other shoes and todays shoe of choice was the Sketchers Go Ultra. These are a much hyped running shoe designed specifically for Ultra races. They do have a fairly low drop and I was worried  they were tugging on my tendon. I backed off more knowing that a tendon injury was not going to do me any good this season especially with UTMB coming up. I was weighing everything up now and seriously thinking of packing it in.

At Henley I had told my wife to meet me at Reading so I could pick up my night gear. Unbeknown to me she couldn't leave Henley as her car had broken down. I ran into Reading looking for her car but she wasn't there. Oh shit. As soon as I approached the CP Barry Miller walked over with my bag, luckily she had given it to Phil Taylors crew who had kindly brought it into the CP. I stopped and chatted for a while to gather my thoughts. It was good to just stop moving for a while and also have a think if I really needed to carry on. I have nothing to prove over the distance, my legs have no energy and I'm worried I'm carrying an injury. No brainer really, but on the flip side this is my Western states qualifier the whole point of all my running. I could drop and then have to rely on the SDW as my qualifier but if I'm injured I would have no qualifier at all. Right, I thought I can't let this go I have to finish. So now that decision was made I could press on with one thing less to worry about. I now text my wife telling her not to worry as I have everything to get me to the finish and if the car didn't go with the help of the AA it didn't matter. Another thing not to worry about.
I pressed on, I thought I would try and get to Whitchurch before nightfall. Something to aim for anyway. One thing that did strike me and something I have not noticed before was the amount of drunk undesirables along the river near Reading. I thought it was only Maidstone that had that amount of piss heads.

For the second half of this race, pretty much from Reading the trail is the polar opposite to the first. The first is predominantly hard pack trail and tarmac whereas the second is a rut. You have longish grass and a rut which is about a foot wide and bowl shaped. It is a complete nightmare to run on. As my legs were shot I was having trouble putting one foot in front of the other. Which may seem silly but actually putting one foot in front of another is not a natural running technique and can be very painful.This leads me on to the massive problems I had with my shoes. (1) They are quite a low drop as previously mentioned but this is not the shoes fault. (2) The grip is absolutely the worst ever on a trail shoe. On the very rare occasion we came across mud, I slipped. There was nothing, in fact I would safely say my road shoes would have been better. I lost all confidence and literally tip toed through any mud. (3) Omg this is the worst. I had worn them a fair bit prior to the race and had noticed a fair bit of lateral movement. The sole is very spongy and cushioned but so much so that they tend to move sideways, a lot! The problems that causes are, your foot will regularly turn over so if you dare step out of the rut your ankle will turn on the uneven ground and if you do run in the rut your foot is not landing level and your foot slides inside the shoe. This can mean only one thing, Blisters!
I was being passed very often now by other runners and my mind had gone off a time and just a finish was all that mattered. Paul Ali passed me on this section and looked strong, we spoke briefly and he moved on. I reached Whitchurch, mile 67 in about 12 hours and couldn't believe how many runners were in there. Not many of them looked keen to move on any time soon. I personally have never sat down during a 100miler through fear of not getting up again. So true to form I stood, gibbered some rubbish, ate some food and walked out. In fact this aid station worried everyone (well my mum anyway) because my time didn't get logged, they were worried I'd got lost on the trail and my word does my mum worry. She's my biggest fan really but just hates seeing me buckled in pain after the event and always asks if I'm packing it all in after the next one, to take up bowls or something else rather more pedestrian. Not yet mum.

The 4 mile to Streatley went on for ever and I was glad to meet up with my wife, I put her mind at rest and told her to meet me at the finish so she could sleep. I was going to be a while yet. I went in the CP and grabbed a baked potato and plodded on. Soon after Streatley or before I'm not quite sure I became massively disorientated. There was a lock with no markings and I really didn't recognise it. Luckily there was another runner near who told me I needed to cross, I didn't believe this could be possible and I needed quite a bit convincing as there was no tape but sure enough as we reached the other side I saw tape. I was really relieved as had that runner had not been there I would not have crossed and could have ended up anywhere. With all the movement in my shoes my feet were now really sore and every step was like treading on broken glass. This combined with all my other issues meant I was walking the last 30. Joy of joys, there is nothing more boring than walking all night.
I was having some wicked hallucinations during the night and they seemed to be based on friends popping their heads out from weird places, some amusement to get me through the worst bits at least. It had got very cold in the early hours so much so that my jumper didn't quite cut it and I had to put my hat and coat on. Cold, walking, in pain, excruciating pain, alone and pitch dark it don't get better than this. I don't actually remember more of the night than that, not even the aid stations, I think my brain just blocked out all the bad shit.

I think it got light just before reaching Abingdon. I know I had just had a lengthy conversation with myself whether it was spelt Abindon or Abingdon which turned into a song about the place. My brain was completely fuddled at this point and every thought was taking massive effort even the Abingdon song was as much as I could compute. I don't remember the aid station at Abingdon, I just remember someone saying 4 miles to the next aid station then 5 to the finish. That was probably my favourite bit of the last 30 mile. I power walked the 4 mile to the last aid station and stopped briefly for a snack. I had convinced myself that the last five would be runnable and I made every effort to run that five. I shuffled, hobbled and generally dragged my self along for the last few miles. With about 2 to go I was caught by a Dominic Grise and we had a good chat about the inconsequence of running 100s. We would run from bridge to tree and walk from bush to lifebuoy, it was as much as we could do. As the finish approach we agreed to walk to the field then ran across the field to finish. Thank Christ that was over. 20hrs 34 min. Quick photo, buckle and t-shirt acceptance followed by an absolutely astounding bacon sandwich. I didn't hang around long as I didn't want to seize up so we got in the car. My feet were so sore my wife literally had to rip my shoes off, not dissimilar to pulling a plaster off. There were toe blisters, sole blisters, what felt like burns in various other places and what I thought was a previously defunct verruca had turned into a mini volcano. I could not even put my feet on the floor of the car, I had to wrap them in my down jacket for relief. I sat back and put my sunglasses on, next thing I knew we were home.
My word that was hard, mentally and physically I was broken. I had said I was going for a time and that meant I had to go out hard, so I did. It really was shit or bust and I bust, big time. I'm not sure what to take from this as I am still a bit miffed about what went wrong. I think the heat didn't help early on but it has left me with more questions than answers. I'm not disappointed, just one of those things. There is always next time and next time I will not go out quite as fast and I'll be wearing different shoes.

A Coventry Way 40.

With the TP 100 coming up, I wanted a nice fairly flat trail race as a last long run to see how I was shaping up. The Coventry Way seemed the obvious choice.

I ran the Coventry Way 40 back in 2010 and always intended returning as it is such a lovely runnable route. I had a few objectives this time out (a) Run the whole thing (b) Run it as if it was the first 40 of the TP (c) If all went well run it in 6hrs.

As mentioned in previous blogs my weight is an ongoing issue and my thought process is that to get quicker I must first get lighter. I have been doing really well and had dropped a stone and a half up until a couple of months ago when things began to plateau. So a few weeks ago I devised an eating plan which I could stick to and simply wrote at the bottom “No chocolate, No crisps and No Alcohol”. That just about sums up my dietary misgivings. Any way the crux of it is I shaved another five pounds prior to this event and even dropped under 12 stone for the first time in years. So I was going into this in good shape.

Then come Monday, a bloody disaster, sore throat, heavy chest, I had a cold coming. I ran 4 mile Tuesday and it was awful, couldn’t breath and couldn’t have run another mile. Wednesday was just as bad, then Thursday it went from my chest to my head. I was full of it but a head cold is better than a chesty cold for sure, so the race could still be on. I ran 4 mile again Friday and could breath alright so decided to go for it.

Done my usual and kipped in the van Saturday night. The venue was the Queens head pub, the race HQ was out back so I parked in the field at the rear and got my head down. It was lovely and peaceful in my van until 5am when the walkers arrived. All of them! What a racket. I rolled over, put the pillow over my head and woke to my alarm 2 hours later. After the obligatory 2 mugs of tea I was ready for the off. “A Coventry Way” is a LDWA type of event, cheap as chips, well organised and start when you want. That is why the walkers went off so early. Forty miles is a long way to walk, why anyone would want to walk forty miles is beyond me;-) I enjoy being in the countryside and on the trails which is why I love trail running, you get to take in our beautiful countryside just quickly. I do enjoy walking but if I go for a walk it’ll only be about 10 miles max, anymore and I’ll be bored and my dog knackered.

The organisers recommend an eight o’clock start for runners, I had intended a nine o’clock start but as I was ready at 8.10 so I checked in and ran straight off.

Map in hand I set off up through  the fields and the first few miles flew by. My cold was certainly present as I coughed and sneezed my way along but my breathing  was ok so I pressed on. I set a pace of about 7.5 min miles to start and thought I’d just see how long I could hold it for. After about 4 miles the trail joins a disused railway and this is a lovely place to stretch the legs it continues for about 3.5miles. I had already passed a lot of the 8’oclock starters and as I motored along I passed several more. I knew some of the faster runners would have started after me but at this early stage I thought, if I don’t let anyone past me I’m doing well enough. Soon after leaving the railway about 8 mile in CP1, not much of a stop for me, gave my number in and scoffed a couple of jelly babies and I was off again.

My chest was a tiny bit wheezy but I still felt good so I pressed on. Straight after CP1 we crossed a golf course and as we turned a corner a rather pissed off golfer grumbled something at us as he was just about to tee off. One of the runners in front of me made a quip to him but he wasn’t amused as we passed he swiped at his ball and duffed it into the bush next to him. F**k it, he screamed. As I ran off I thought that is exactly the reason I gave up golf. You go out Saturday morning and go home with the raging hump having played terrible. Not my idea of fun.

About 10 mile in now and a little wobble with my nav as I almost run down the slip road of the A46 but soon rectify. The good thing about the nav on this event is that you have a hand drawn detailed map, written instructions and best of all the way marks are clear and frequent. If you are crossing open ground the waymarks are on posts with yellow painted tops. All very runner friendly. My pace had dropped off slightly, no excuses just natural slow down as I enter CP2 at about 15 mile in around 2 hours. I enter the CP amongst a lot of walkers and have to wait my turn to check in which is slightly annoying but rather that than push in. Now was my first refill of my new UD endure race belt. It is quite a minimal belt with two small 300ml bottles and it is a little bit of a faff to fill. I have some half Nuun tabs wrapped in foil and pop one of those in one of the bottles. A good few minutes wasted here.

I starting to feel rough now and my 18 mile low is hitting home. I go straight through CP3 at Wolston and try and get my head around the rough patch. I take my second GU of the day and within a few miles I am perking back up and try to step it up again. I roll into CP4 feeling good 22 miles done. I fill up my bottles and have some coke. On this event you have to carry your own cup as they don’t supply them so what better opportunity than to use my Salomon Soft cup. The cup is my mandatory UTMB cup but although it does the job it doesn’t hold much so I find myself having to fill it about four times at each stop to get a decent amount of liquid. Ok but not ideal.

Shortly after Brinklow Cp we join the Oxford canal and I put the hammer down for a few miles and pass the last of the walkers. The last two walkers are power walking within about 10 metres of each other almost like they are racing. The one in front tells me there is only about six runners in front and I should be able to catch them. This gives me new found vigour and I power on. When I’m running I look forward to seeing people ahead it really motivates me to catch them and pass them. If I’ve got my racing head on I will acknowledge people but also pass them with purpose. If you put the hammer down people are less likely to pressure you back so my pace will almost always go up a notch the second I pass and carry on for a mile or so before levelling back out. I use such a tactic at about mile 28 when I come across an impromptu CP. I have caught 3 runners as we reach the CP and although I need some water in my bottles I nod and say hi to the other guys but get little response. On that I shoot straight through and crack on. They leave right behind me but I’m off. Gone.

At mile 31, CP5 I again pass 2 runners approaching the CP. This time I need a full replenish of bottles, food etc. So I get it done but just quickly. I’m off before the other runners have decided on cocktail sausage or flapjack.

 I know I’m not a front end runner but the thrill of racing is good fun and everyone should have a go. I doesn’t matter where you are in the field just push yourself and take as many people as you can. I would still do it if I was at the back of the pack. To me a top 10 is another mans win so why not push on for that goal.

Todays pace is taking its toll on me, although i'm running at a good pace its far from easy and I have to give myself several talking to’s to push on. I roll into CP 6 and am feeling pretty low so stop for a couple of cokes and a few jelly babies before pushing on. We were warned pre-race that in a field just after CP6 there was some young feisty bulls and we should possibly have to use the road to avoid them. I look into the field and see no bulls, so I’m thinking the farmer has put them away so I go for it. As I reach the second field, there they are and one particularly fit looking bull jumps up and stares at me. I stare back, the gate is a good 100 metres away and the bull 50 maybe. There is no way I’m turning back and start walking he is making me nervous but I carry on. I’m half way and he edges forward, Feck this I’m off and sprint for the gate as I reach it he is still edging forward and I shout a triumphant "Ha you tosser" as I leave the field releaved.

 By my reckoning there must only be one runner in front of me and I run as hard as I can with the hope of catching him. Into the last CP and I’m told he was 5hrs 48 to that point and I am 5hrs 55 so with 3 mile to go no chance of catching him. I leave and run on. The last few miles drag especially as I it’s actually 41 miles but the finish soon appears and I’m done. 6hrs 23.

I never did catch the guy in front and he finished 7 minutes ahead of me but going back to my original objectives, I did run the whole thing, (apart from the bit with the bull), I did run it as I hope to run the first 40 of the tp (although I had hoped to have felt a bit better). I didn’t make my 6 hours which in all fairness I couldn’t do much about. I felt I had run a better time but didn’t so there. No excuses that’s all I had on the day so I got to be happy with that.

I do have to add that after all the races I have run “A Coventry Way” is a must for all trail runners. It has everything. It really is as good as it gets in our sport. The route, cost, volunteers, CPs, route all without fault. The organisers even do voluntary work on the route to keep it to a high standard. Fantastic.

As a warm up to the TP100 I’m still not really sure where I’m at the moment. I have a time in mind and a race plan. I’ve trained smart, eat smart and the next month everything will be to plan in prep for the race. I do however have doubts about getting the time I want. I’m sure I’ll finish, I’m sure I’ll go sub 20 but beyond that I’m not sure and a lot will depend on the day. One thing is for certain everything I know about distance running has been put into practice for  this race. I know everything I plan to wear, how I intend to start and what I intend to eat. All I can’t say for sure is how the race will unfold on the day.

Since writing this the results have been published and I was 4^th, missed a podium by 7 minutes ;-)

Sorry no photos this time as was travelling light and didn’t want to carry my phone.

Thanks again to www.kentphysio.co.uk for their support.

Might Contain Nuts Black Mountains 40

With UTMB looming a good mountain race was in need, and given the MCN crowd do put on a bloody good event, The Black Mountains 40 seemed the obvious choice.


Race day was on a Saturday so I packed up early on Friday, knowing from previous experience that the journey to South Wales on a Friday evening is shite to say the least. I left at 2 and picked my mate Jeff up an hour later. Talgarth here we come.
The journey was as uneventful as ever, the only break from the monotony of the M4 was the absolute shock of the toll price £12.80 for my van! At least it gave me something to moan about for the rest of the journey. Five hours after leaving we arrived in Talgarth and promptly went to Jeff's hotel which was adjoining the local chippy, Classy. I had intended to kip in the back of my van in the car park of the hotel but this must have been the only chip shop for miles and it was heaving so there was no way I was kipping there. I left Jeff there and parked in main town car park and walked back to the hotel so we could eat. The menu in the hotel was straight out of next doors eatery, so chips it was. I had chicken and it was err... fried with chips dripping with fat. It was not pleasant at all, but I needed some fuel for tomorrow so I ate it. I then felt guilty as I've been eating almost perfectly since my last race and this was crap and the night before an event. We chatted for a while and I wondered off about 9ish to get my head down.

My usual ultra vehicle is my T4 camper but it is becoming expensive to run a car, a van and a camper so the T4 is uninsured and up for sale. My idea now to keep costs down is to sleep in the back of my van. I have a mattress, sleeping bag, radio, gas stove, a light  and a portaloo, what more could I possibly want? It was a
bloody freezing night but I was snug and slept well.


My alarm went at 5.30 and after a bit of shuffling around in the cold I managed to get the kettle on, have three mugs of tea, a bread and butter (no toaster as yet) and was I raring to go. On the way down I had told Jeff that snow had been forecast for high ground, his reply to that was that I must be getting mixed up with the highlands of Scotland and that was a common mistake???? Little does he know that after working outside for the best part of 25 years, I am fanatical about the weather and weather forecasts. Highlands my arse. Anyway as he arrived at my van he declared "look!! There's snow up there". Well I never.


I like to get to reg a good hour before the start so I don't have to queue for anything, the toilet, my number etc and I can then take my time to get ready. I was unsure on what to carry but the mandatory kit is almost identical to UTMBs so I thought it would be a good time to carry all of it. I have been waiting to buy the new Hagloffs gram 12 pack for my Mont blanc foray but my trusty Raidlight pack has served me well for years and  I'm struggling to find fault with the old girl. I may just give her the nod for big event but get the Hagloffs anyway because as Ultra runners that is what we do, buy new kit even if we don't need it. Now I pretty much always wear shorts, whatever the weather I will wear them but it was so cold at reg and during the brief we were warned of blizzards and wind chills of -13 on the high ground it would have been fool hardy not to heed the advice. So my 3/4s were in order with two shirts, buff and gloves.


We were warned at the brief that the first six miles were hard so we should take it easy early and build up. You should always worry when the start line is on a steep hill looking up. We were off and I set off at a fair pace. I soon realized that the first six were indeed hard, very hard. We were just going up steadily for those first six. I reached CP1 reasonably quickly and soon after we were going up really steeply and out came my sticks. I have a pair of Black Diamond sticks and am really getting used to them now. They fit into my Raidlight bag perfectly, they are easy to carry, have good comfortable grips are easy to deploy and fold back up, I can't imagine there being many better sticks out there.

I soon realized though things were not going well I had nothing in the tank. The previous week I had been trying not to eat any processed food and I had stuck to it. No alcohol, no junk, nothing but things were going wrong today. I had to have a gel around 10 miles which saw me right for the next few miles. Somewhere around 16 mile we climbed a steep bank which was probably as steep as you can go up without using your hands. I used my poles and got to the top but it took it right out of me again and I hit a really bad patch at about 18 mile. Although the scenery was drop dead gorgeous it took me a few miles to recover from this one. I left CP5 still a bad way but soon felt better and before long was running along happily again. I reached CP6 feeling rather chipper, filled my bottles and stuffed a few jelly babies. As we ate the CP crew said the next climb was a monster as was the next section, 13 miles to the next CP.


That climb indeed was tough and as we reached the top we could see the weather closing in from the left. We had some sporadic hail storms earlier in the day and they had been rather brutal. Short but brutal. As we ran across the ridge we were having to leap the mud and several times I sunk deep in over my shoes, it was hard going but fun and my new Mizuno Wave Harriers were more than capable of the job. Around the 32 mile mark the wind picked up to gale force and the hail and snow swept in again. This time it was horizontal and hammering in. Three of us ran together as it was hard to see more than five metres ahead. We had to shield our eyes as the hail battered our faces and stung like hell. There was no shelter it didn't matter how tired we were, we ran just to get out of this storm. I have bad circulation in my hands due to years working with vibrating machinery and I really feel the cold in my fingers. This cold was really painful and now it was setting in big time. My gloves were doing little to stop the cold. It seeped into my thumbs then forefingers and before long spread right across my hands. I could now no longer use my hands at all, they were extremely painful and useless, I couldn't even fold my sticks up. I was really worried, for the first time ever I really thought I was in trouble. My only option was to get off this mountain fast, so all my other tiredness issues went by the wayside and I ran like the clappers all the way down to the last CP. As I descended I couldn't even unzip my coat away from my face, I had to put one hand to the zip using the other hand and push my fingers together before I could pull it. I ran into CP7 and couldn't pick up any food so i got the crew to tip various sweets in my hand which i then stuffed into my mouth. As i ran the feeling started to come back slowly and before i knew it the finish was there and i was done.

I finished in around 9hrs 2mins which given the terrain I was happy enough with. The race was an education in mountain running and how I must never underestimate the conditions. How it went from a chilly spring afternoon to a full blown storm was shocking and I will certainly keep this in my mind when I arrive in Chamonix later this year. UTMB is definitely going to be a just get round kind of race.


Once again I'd just like to thank http://www.kentphysio.co.uk/ for there ongoing support.

3 Peaks on my 40th 2013

This is a video I made in 2013 on my 40th birthday. It was my attempt to run the three national peaks in daylight hours.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqlZk4UbzI

Grand Union Canal Race 2013

I wrote a race report last year for this race before I started my blog so I thought I'd throw it in here as it's my biggest race to date.


Well that was fun, wasn't it?
We travelled up Friday to get settled in plenty of time. On arrival at the rather shabby Travelodge I checked in with Race control,chucked my bags in and went to O'Neils across the rd where i had a pint with some of the other competitors everyone seemed excited about the days ahead and some looked like they were having more than one pint. So to resist temptation I left early and had a walk to the start in Gas street.
If you ever decide to do this race do NOT stay in the Travelodge. I had the worst nights sleep ever! The night clubs feel like they are in your room constantly banging bass till gone 2am and then from then you get a steady flow of piss heads going back to their rooms and shouting like they are still in the clubs. So I probably got 2 hours kip.
We was up at 4.30 quick cuppa and some porridge then the short walk to the start. It was very busy in Gas street and all the usual suspects were there. Everyone was so preoccupied chatting that before we knew it we were ushered to the start and most of Dicks speech was cut short for a prompt 6am start. With a loud ready, steady, Go we were off.
The run out of Birmingham was nice enough and although a few chatted I kept myself to myself trying to get my head around what lay ahead. Once out of the brick paths of Birmingham it soon turned into a lovely trail. The miles soon ticked by and before I knew it we were at the first check point which I ran straight through. I always have a rough patch around 18 mile and true to form I had it but soon got over that. My plan was to run straight to Hatton locks (22.5 mile)and meet my crew. I arrived there in 3 hrs 40 but had run out of water a few miles previous so not perfect. I then agreed to meet my crew every 10 miles.
We met again at Stockton bridge (35 mile) and again I had run out of water it was really getting hot. I reached here in Just under 6 and a half hours and was running well. Just after this point Paul Ali caught me up and we ran together for a while just chatting the miles away often leap frogging but still not far from each other. The next 20 mile went really well I was running good, eating right and staying hydrated in the hot sun. I had one stop and reached my crew at 55 mile in 10 and a half hours. I can't remember exactly what running surface was where during the race but it was a fair mix of town pathways, good runnable trail and long and short grass. I don't particularly like running on grass but there was a substantial amount of it to come.
My next main stop was to be Navigation Bridge at mile 70.5 where I intended changing into my night gear but it was still light and warm when I arrived there so decided to hold on. I did have my pasta dinner though which was lovely if not a bit filling. I also cleaned and re-creamed my feet I stopped for about 20 mins my longest stop in all.  It was 8.20pm and I had been on the go for over 14 hours. I decided to meet my crew in 5 more miles to have a quick change ready for the night. My wife was crewing me on her own so after this meet I told her to go to mile 99.8 have a kip and we would start again from there. I put on my long sleeve t, hat and gloves. Picked up 2 cans of red bull, lots of gel and two bottles of water knowing I could get more water at the next official checkpoint and off I went.
The next 9 mile to the Bridge 99 were pretty non descript apart from a pain developing on my shin very similar to shin splints. It very quickly became quite painful. Bridge 99 checkpoint didn't go well I had half a bottle of water and needed two bottles to get to the 100 mile point but the aid station guy said I should have got my crew to meet me for water and I could only top up my half bottle. That really peed me off so I trudged off with the hump. This was mile 84.5.

The next section broke me, it was an absolutely freezing evening and I was walking due to the pain in my leg. I think Paul was behind me but I didn't see him during the night so it was lonely. It was long dew covered grass under foot so my feet were getting wet. I was also falling asleep on my feet despite the red bull. Thirsty due to the lack of water and to top it off it was the most boring piece of trail I have ever had the displeasure to run on. I reached mile 99.8 at 4am so had run a 22 hour 100 mile but was ready to quit. I woke my wife and said I was thinking of quitting and her explaining how I would regret it and me thinking I didn't want to have to do this again was enough to get me going again plus I had my pacer turning up soon.
I left her at 4.15 and agreed to meet her at Boxmoor mile 108. Soon after leaving I was in real trouble again it was now light but even with the pain I could not stay awake. I stumbled and almost fell in the canal so decided to ring my crew to get me coffee asap. I met my crew after about a mile and drunk the coffee. I started walking again and promptly threw it all back up. I was now slapping my face to try and stay awake. It took me a few miles to shake off the tiredness but I did now it was just the pain to deal with.
As I was running early my pacer wasn't there to meet me at Boxmoor and the urge to pack it all in was now strong again. I was now walking all the way because of the pain but it was about 6.45 and the chill had gone so it was just bearable.
I was now re-signed to the fact that Gary (GKD) my pacer was not coming and was totally despondent. Then from behind Gary came running up the trail at quite a clip. It was like a breath of fresh air he had painkillers for my leg, ibruprofen gel and got my food back on track even though I felt really sick. I then explained how much pain I was in and he explained what a pussy I was and we would be running again soon. We did indeed run into the Springwell checkpoint. Running was now a very painful experience and my grunts, screams and grimaces did nothing but amuse Gary.
We saw Alan Rumbles and Paul Stout at Springwell who made it clear the job was almost done and I would be finishing. So off we went with 25 miles to go and a new found clarity about the job in hand. We carried on running,walking and chatting and the miles started to tick by again. Gary shot off at about mile 130 and came back with a cold can of coke and an ice cream. That was the best ice cream I have ever tasted. I was now feeling ok apart from the excruciating pain in my leg and now my feet,my anti blister techniques were starting to fail.
I was running as much as I could muster and Gary wasn't taking no for an answer. I briefly met my crew at Cowley lock (mile 127.5) but only stopped for water, a shirt change and a last bit of cream on my feet. I had it in my mind to get to the last checkpoint grab some water and crack on. It was now midday and we were 30 hours in.
Soon after Cowley lock we reached the last major junction and turned into the home stretch the Paddington Arm. Within no time at all we met one of the crew members from the last checkpoint who saw I was in agony and ran with us for about the half mile to the check point. This was Henks checkpoint and after the young lady had dispensed with the niceties Henk promptly told me to f**k off.
This was it I knew I would finish now. One path, 12 miles and it would be over. We had one last water stop at 133 miles and carried on. With about 4 miles to go my leg gave up totally. I told Gary that was it for running the pain was just unbearable and I would have to walk this one out. I even had to pause every so often just to compose myself before carrying on. I could have cried. Literally.
Before I knew it the finish was upon us. I had that feeling of uncontrollable emotion but managed to reel it in and shuffled across the line in 35 hrs and 3 mins, 15th place overall. Dick shook my hand and put the medal round my neck.  A kiss for my wife, a shake of Garys hand and it was over.
My final thoughts are that without my wife/crew these things would be a whole lot harder. A pacer is a great thing especially one that puts so much into it. 145 miles is a bloody long way. I personally thought in places the route was astoundingly beautiful and apart from it's flatness can't understand why any ultra runner wouldn't have a go. My feet are still my downfall. Given how well the first hundred went I reckon I've got a sub 21 100 in there somewhere. The bruise on my shin looks like I've been run over not a running injury.
The big question is would I do it again? Well yesterday it would have been a no but today i'm thinking without the injury I could have smashed hours from my time so maybe. Like I said to Gary the only bit I didn't like was the bit by the canal.
Thanks to all the volunteers and especially Dick who puts on a cracking event. Just hope when he retires someone just as capable takes over.

The Steyning Stinger

I love this race it has it all, hills, mud, The South Downs and its hard as nails as far as marathons go.

I spoke with my running buddy Jeff a few days previous to this one and we decided to run it together after all we are both training for bigger things so no use bustin our balls too hard.  I went in to this with one primary goal and that was to run the whole thing. No Walking! If you've run this race you'll know that is a tough ask but with UTMB looming in the not too distant future hills are everything.
The Stinger has an unusual start basically you can go when you are ready or wait for the mass start at 8.30. I arrived early and after checking in and a quick cuppa we decided to go straight off, probably about 8.15.
I had read on FB that the course was exceptionally muddy and that was for all to see, within a few miles we had been up to our shins in it and I was lovin it.
After the first few miles we start to ascend rather dramatically out of Washington and all the way up to Sullington hill covering about 2 miles this was ok and we were feeling good. Then was a nice drop down to the A24 things were going well and we were putting the world to rights discussing all things running. No stop for us at the water station as we were both carrying fluid and didn't need a refill just yet.
Leaving the A24 you rise again for the second of four "stings" all the way to the top of Chanctobury ring. This is at least 2 mile from the A24 and a tough climb it was certainly a relief to reach the top. Chanctobury is approx mile 10. Just after this i started to feel it in my legs and come mile 11 my first Gel came out.

 We ran along happily to the Cissbury ring at 12.5 mile and refilled bottles before cracking on. Cissbury is quite nice, as you leave the water station you circle a golf course and rise back up before dropping back into the same water station 3 miles later. Three stings down and one to go but my legs were now letting me know about it. Mind you it is a nice feeling coming round and seeing all the other runners having to start their loop. Jeff and I ran along steadily albeit quietly as we arrived at the final loop around Steep down. I was struggling at this point as i did the previous year but told myself once I had rounded this final loop I would have a Gel to set me up for the final push in. From mile 21 to mile 23 is another hard uphill slog and the final sting, luckily enough we had a nice tail wind that pushed us up the hill. Then the final downhill push for a couple of miles and a nice muddy finish. I told Jeff there was someone right behind us and we needed to sprint the last 800 mtrs of course there was no-one behind i just wanted to inflict some pain.

 As you can see from the pics we were caked, just how I like it.

The day was completed with a medal and a cooked breakfast. Very nice.

Today was a funny old run I done what I had set out to do and that was to run the whole thing which i was pleased about. Jeffs company was great and we were just a smidge over 4hrs which isn't too bad given the hills and mud. What I wasn't too impressed with was my own performance. I've lost weight, I cross train, cut alcohol, my running training is smarter and yet I still had some real rough patches. My time was an improvement on last year but I wasn't interested in the time I wanted to feel strong for the whole race. Sadly I didn't, ok I am training a lot at the moment and have run almost everyday for the last two weeks so that may be it? My main concern is still my diet I could do with shedding another stone but food is my weakness. I do feel though to be able to push to the next level I will have to sort the diet thing out. This will be the hardest sacrifice yet.
 Incidentally my wifes words of wisdom on my performance were "Well you are 40". Hmm thanks for that.

Finally a special thanks goes out to my new sponsor.

http://www.kentphysio.co.uk/

Go team Kent Physio.