The Northern Traverse 2016

Raring to go!

In 2008 I read a book called "Life on the Run" which was a tale of three guys journey across the UK following the Wainwrights coast to coast route, straight after reading it I bought the Harvey maps and dreamt of one day doing it myself. Well the maps got shoved to the back of the map drawer ready for future use. Fast forward to the last few years and after completing several 100 milers my mind started to wonder whether I could possibly run 200 miles. It's the natural progression, I think anyone with the mentality to run 100 inevitably wants to try 200 miles. My finger has hovered over the enter button a couple of times for the Tahoe Rim 200 but I could never really justify the cost. Then last year an advert flashed up on FB for The Northern Traverse, 190 across the UK following the Wainwrights route from St Bees Head to Robin Hood Bay. This was meant to be! So as soon as I received my annual refusal from the Western States I entered. I was in The Northern Traverse 2016.

All present and correct

After a couple of days of fine weather and R and R at St Bees the day arrived. We collected our number bibs, had trackers attached and walked out onto the grass ready for the 10am start. I was out sufficiently early to go and dip my toes in the water as is the tradition, touch the water on the West coast and the East coast when you finish. Group photo taken, we were called to the line, as usual on long events no one is prepared to step forward which I find a bit strange, as if we are all waiting for a group of elites to step up. Well Eoin Keith had stepped forward so had John Knapp and I tucked in with them no need to be shy. The horn went and we were off, there was a single track bridge 50 mtrs from the start so we sprinted to it, then immediately into a half mile climb out of St Bees. It was heating up already and the skies were crystal clear. We power hiked up and Eoin started edging ahead along with John and a couple of others. Their pace was slightly fast for me so as we rounded the light house at the top I maintained a steady pace and let them go. We turned in land and within the first hour I was on my own.

Happy on Day 1

I was loving running a nice slow pace and soon reached the first climb, Long Barrow, I power hiked through the woods and up the hill soon flying down the other side whilst still thumbing the map. It was red hot and I had made a late decision to carry an extra bottle making 1.5 litres, glad I did really as it was going to be red hot. One of the main hurdles of this event was the self sufficiency, each feed station was between 30 and 46 miles so between those points you are on your own. You either need to carry enough water to get you through, buy it on route or source it from else where. Well just before Ennerdale lake I found a café and stopped for an ice cold water. I ran the alongside Ennerdale water and it was gorgeous, beautiful surroundings, cracking trail, red hot, this was heaven. The trail soon left the water and into the forest, it was roasting and I was getting through my water very quickly. I stopped and filtered some water with my Sawyer Straw, a very time consuming process. I filled a couple of bottles and ran on. I reached the Black Sail hut but passed straight through bearing left up and over the hill. The run down to the slate mine and beyond to Rosthwaite is stunning. I was really on a high, keeping hydrated, well fed and not pushing too hard. I felt great. I passed two of the early leaders on the way down briefly saying 'Hi' but still making the most of this good spell. Leaving Rosthwaite the run took through more cracking trail to Grasmere and Thorney How an unofficial drinks stop. I wandered in and there was a lovely lady stood at a table with jugs of squash, flapjack and the like. No one else around just as though she had been waiting patiently all afternoon for runners to pass through. We chatted about drinking stream water and she said she had drunk straight out the mountain streams all her life and I had no need to filter. I was 50/50 on this, on one hand I had contracted campylobacter just the previous year drinking from a stream and on the other the Sawyer Straw was too time consuming. I left there with a big chunk of flapjack and headed the nine miles through to Patterdale, up and over Grisedale Hause. I arrived at Patterdale before nightfall, bang on schedule and decided to have a good feed up, Joe Faulkner was running the food and I know from previous experience how good his soup is so I had three bowls. John Knapp was in there and we sat and chatted about what a great day it had been.

Trail runners heaven

My feeding plan for the event had been to consume 3000 calories every twelve hours. This was to be made up of Gu, Jelly Babies and Tailwind and then stuff as much real food as I could at the feed stations. Also at each feed station were several tents so you could either sleep at every station or none or indeed sleep on the hill should you need to. My plan was to skip the first sleep, sleep for 2 hours at Kirkby then grab any other sleeps I needed on the hill.

John had got ready and left and I put on my long sleeve top and head torch in preparation for the night ahead. I left Patterdale and we were to head up to Kidsty Pike which was a good couple of hours. Kirkby Stephen was about 36 miles away so it would take me till morning to reach there. This is a cracking section, up past Boredale Hause, Angle Tarn and through to Kidsty Pike. I hiked the majority and ran where I could, we were well over 50 miles in and it was really dark and chilly before I reached the Pike. I had put the map away and was using GPS now. Had I been camping more and moving slower with a clear head I would have tried to nav by map alone but given I was aiming for the fastest time possible I opted for GPS especially during the night. As I headed down to Haweswater my eyes started flickering and the sleep demons were coming on. The previous days mountain running had taken its toll and I was nodding off on my feet. Lack of sleep certainly is a weakness of mine, if you want to do well in a non stop multi day event you have to cope well with no sleep and I don't! I'd made a last minute decision to wear Hokas as it had been so dry which I was happy with but as I bumbled along Haweswaters rocky edge I was tripping and stumbling. I took a Pro Plus as I couldn't shake off the the flickering eyelids. As the trail improved the caffeine kicked in and I felt slightly better, enough so to run with out the fear of falling over. As we reached the end of the water I was passed by two runners. My tiredness had cost me already. I left the road and came across a metal container full of drinks and an honesty box. Very nice, I thought as I choose a drink and choccy bar my head torch shining in the box. As I did a car passed by then quickly spun round and screeched to a stop next to me. "What the hell are you doing!" was shouted at me. I looked up and two massive geezers were sitting in their car looking ready to stove my head in. After a quick explanation the air was cleared and I was able to move on enjoying my can of coke.

I made my way onto Shap, the tiredness had subsided for now and I was able to run. I was getting really frustrated with my bottles, I was worrying that one of my soft flasks was going to fall out of the side pocket of my pack. This minor issue was stressing me out so I decided to put a full bottle in the main part of my pack then I could access it in an emergency. I ran into Shap, it was 2am. There was unmanned drink station located there which I thought would be closed so I pressed on into the night, only later did I find out it had been fully stocked with drinks and sandwiches, Doh! I ran up Shaps main street and soon veered off onto moorland and open fields. It was very dark and the terrain was up and down. I realized one of my bottles was almost empty so reached for my spare bottle, Shit, it had gone! I must have dropped it earlier while fiddling with my pack. I had 300 mls and 18 miles to Kirkby Stephen, this was never going to last. After the previous red hot day I was thirsty and needed to find water fast but as the miles ticked by I realized there was nothing, no streams, no tarns, nothing. I was still running ok but was seriously dehydrated, my mouth was almost stuck shut. I was in daylight now and spotted a tarn ahead and ran towards it with visions of gulping down loads of fresh water. It was not to be though there was a massive barbed wire fence between me and the water. In my shaky state the fence as an obstacle too far. Shortly after as cracks felt like they were appearing in my throat I found a puddle. Admittedly there was sheep shit in the puddle but it was wet so I popped out my Sawyer Straw and drank from the puddle, needs must. Thankfully it was enough to see me through until I found a nice flowing stream and managed to fill my bottles. I lost a few places through this tough stage but it didn't matter I was running my own race and this is all I could do.

Kirkby Stephen

I got in to Kirkby Stephen mid morning roughly 24 hours in and bang on my schedule. My plan now was to grab a few hours kip before cracking on. I ate and drank and headed for one of the tents. As I lay in the hot tent every sound was magnified, the light shone through my closed eyelids and my heart was pumping. I was never going to sleep. I laid there for a further 20 minutes before trudging back indoors for some more food and a mental re-plan. It was 10am and the next section to Richmond was 37 mile or so, I decided I could continue through all day and reach Richmond by nightfall then I could sleep. My mind was made up and after greasing my feet I headed out of the feed station. Soon after leaving I was rising back up again, it was a steady hike up to Nine Standards Rigg, it was gorgeous at the top I would have been quite happy to stop a while and look around but no it was time to push on. After some cracking trail running on the high ground it was time to descend again. I was running well and my quads were holding up. I had a really sore shin on my right leg from the hard descents of day one but this although very painful was a minor issue. The run across Malbecks Moor was lovely but my eyelids were flickering again, the lack of sleep was really taking its toll. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and every so often I would lay on the soft grass for a 5 minute power nap. They can be quite effective and gave me the strength to get through. I was about 20 mile in to this stage and roughly 30 hours without sleep. Just prior to Reeth there was some great technical trail and I was loving the scrambling, I climbed to the top of what seemed like a disused quarry and found a well made path heading down, I was hallucinating really heavily now. I have learnt to embrace hallucinations and they don't phase me, they just make life tricky especially when my eyelids are so heavy. I ran into the village and in my tired state I had it in my head that this was Richmond and I was really boosted by the prospect of sleep and rest. I chatted to a random guy who had been following the tracker and waiting ages to see a runner. He soon informed me this was Reeth not Richmond and my heart sank. There was still another 11 miles to go. I walked into the local shop, sweaty, stinking and incoherent but the shop keeper didn't bat an eyelid as I stocked up on water and chocolate. I trudged through the village eating my chocolate trying to get motivated for the next 11 miles. This was a tough moment in the race, we were around the 100 mile mark 33 hours in and roughly halfway, my feet hurt, I was tired, my shin was killing me, I'd had enough.

The route to Richmond was actually very nice, lots of grassy fields and woodland but not too many hills. I perked up as I ran two thirds of every field and walked one third. The miles ticked by as I dreamt of the lovely sleep I was due to have. I could see Richmond in the distance and everything in the world seemed great again. I was quite high up looking down at the village and it was roughly 9pm, I thought I'd walk down into town but even this seemed to go on for ever. I circled the town centre before doubling back on myself and eventually finding the rugby club, this all felt counter intuitive and I still swear I did an unnecessary lap of the town. Eventually I jogged into the feed station just as it started to rain.

I sat down with a massive sigh of relief, I could rest! I took my shoes off and started to eat some chicken stew. There were two other runners in there preparing to go out. They were discussing the night ahead, preparing their maps, they looked so un flustered and I felt so shit. I couldn't comprehend heading straight back out. I grabbed my kit and limped over to my tent in the now heavy rain. I jumped into my sleeping bag and set the alarm for 3 hours. In what felt like seconds I was gone and a few seconds later the 3 hours had passed and my alarm was bleeping. It was still raining and about 1 am. I donned my headtorch and sorted my kit in the cramped tent. My feet were noticeably swollen and I struggled to get my shoes back on. After 20mins or so I walked back over to the main feed station. I ate some porridge, a fried egg sarnie and a couple of teas, there were two others in here now one guy had just walked in and another was prepping to go back out, although he didn't look too keen. I was mentally preparing for the next stage breaking down the mileage etc. I was told at this point there would be no sleeping at the next aid station, a storm had hit and they were unable to set up the tents. In real terms this meant I had 45 miles to the next feed station, before entering straight into the last 30 mile on no rest. Ok keep calm I'm going to leave here at 2am, walk for 2 hours until daybreak, I should be at the feed station by 3pm, an hours stop then an 11hour 30 miler for a 3 am finish. Simple.

I left at 2am as planned, the rain had stopped and I power hiked into the darkness. My legs were stiff but I soon shook it off and the swelling in my feet subsided. I broke into a run as the first particles of light guided my way. I passed Catterick race course through grassy flat fields. The water on the grass was rolling down my legs and quite quickly my feet were soaked through. This was going to be a hindrance later on. I entered a secluded lane and walked towards a car with full beam bearing on me. This felt weird in my tired state and I half expected the engine to roar before the driver attempt to mow me down. I walked the couple of hundred metres to the car and as I walked along side the window was open. My eyes adjusted to the driver. "What ya doing?" he asked in a gruff voice. "Running the Coast to Coast" I replied. "Sure you are, it's four in the fucking morning". "I Know". "Well you better have some chocolate, keep your spirits up" he said as he cracked me off a few squares of his Aero. He pulled away laughing and shaking his head. A quite surreal experience that I'm positive actually happened. The lanes and fields continued for miles and I had several variants of running on the go, varying from actually running to power hiking to the ultra hobble. I felt happy at this point and was confident about the miles ahead. Through the ever over grown fields I eventually reached the A19. I knew there was a garage there and bought food, a sandwich, coffee, chocolate and maltloaf. I gulped down the coffee and stuffed in the sandwich before running the gauntlet across the now very busy dual carriageway. I walked up the lane eating my maltloaf and my thoughts were on my feet which were now soaked through and badly macerated. The pain was searing up my legs and by my reckoning I was at mile 150, it was about 1pm. 40 miles to go. I was hoping my feet might dry out a bit with a fresh pair of socks. Little did I know what lay ahead.

OMG I felt rough

The trail rose up through the forest and it was stunning, a very different scene to the grassy fields. After a lengthy climb I joined the Cleveland Way, the wind was getting up and coming from the North, whipping the tree tops and driving the now constant rain into my side. The rain was now soaking through my windproof top and there was a definite chill in the wind. I managed some running through this section and the Cleveland Way was very nice, I'm sure it would have been much nicer on a better day. I reached an unofficial feed station at the Lord Stones Café. I opened the door to the café but it was rammed full of people and red hot inside. This wasn't going to help stopping here so I left and pushed on. I started heading higher on the Cleveland Way and decided to tuck in some bushes to change coats. The rain was now driving in on the high wind and the conditions were testing to say the least. I dropped down to a road and again convinced myself that this must have been the feed station but couldn't see any signs. Maybe I was wrong again, I couldn't face getting the map out in the high wind so pressed on. The trail from here was very runnable and wide it also kept going up. The higher I went the stronger the wind blew, it was howling. I was in the clouds and the cold was going right through me. My feet hurt and I was exhausted but I had no choice but to run it was just too cold. The trail just kept rising and it was very exposed. I really started doubting my position, visibility was poor and stopping wasn't an option. I had a nagging feeling that I'd gone wrong. I was so cold and beginning to get worried. I needed shelter to regroup but there was nothing. Eventually I squatted behind a bank long enough to get my trousers on. I was not in a great mental state everything just seemed too hard to compute. I got my emergency phone out to ring in to make sure I was on track still but I couldn't work out how to use it. I realized I only had a few minutes before this got serious. I needed to know where I was on the map now otherwise I would have to get in my bivy then that really could be race over. I got a grid reference off my GPS and got a fix on my map with the compass. Thank god for that I was still on track but about 2 miles outside the feed station. I packed my kit back up and started moving quickly forcing myself to run. I ran all the way to Blackey Ridge and missed the turn. I ran on for several hundred metres before realizing my mistake I turned and headed back. I picked the correct turn and suddenly the pub emerged out of the cloud. What a relief! I nearly cried. I grabbed my kit bag before setting up camp in the disabled toilets of the pub. I completely stripped down and warmed by the radiator. I tried to grease and tape my feet but they were shot. Mile 160 about 57 hours in on 3 hours sleep. Mentally I was finished, I was dog tired, it was 5pm.  The only thing that got me dressed was knowing that I had one stage to go and it was too late to quit. I put multiple layers on and headed back out the pub to the feed station van. For the first time I felt too sick to eat which was not good. I stood in the van while they made me some rolls for the next leg. They were lovely and chatting away to me but my mind was in a daze their voices passed in one ear and out the other. I prepared myself mentally again for the next leg.

Just 30 to go.

30 Miles!! FFS!!

As I shoved the door open of the van I stepped into the gale, it was a head wind as I crossed the carpark, the wind was deafening and I tucked my head down a ploughed forward. My thoughts were, What am I doing? How am I going to finish this? I felt lost. It was actually impossible to run into the wind, I kept my head down and battled the wind the warm pub was now a distant memory. After a mile or so the trail turned off the road and across the rough moorland. It was flooded and thick with heather, the path was indistinguishable and really tough to follow. I followed my GPS to the line, occasionally seeing snapped branches so I knew others had passed through. This was as tough as it gets and not enjoyable, I was praying for some lower ground. Darkness soon set in and I was cold again. The cold didn't fight off the tiredness though and I was falling asleep on my feet. At one point in my frustration I started yelling profanities at the weather. The trail alternated from moor to trail to road but still no descent. The sleep monsters were full on now, I was hallucinating constantly, every rock or bush had a face. I was ignoring the faces but kept stopping and nodding off on my feet. I would suddenly snap out of it before carrying on. For large portions I was convinced I was with someone and would chat with them but the truth is I hadn't run with anyone for 60 hours!

Relief

At last I was starting to descend and the chill eased off. It was late at night as I walked into the village of Glasdale where I came across a phone box, it looks so inviting! That I got into the box and curled up in a ball on the floor. I took a 5 min power nap. My feet were so sore I could no longer step without the feeling of walking on broken glass. I had to shuffle along on the outside of my feet. The hills still seemed to go on for ever and the moorland didn't become any easier. I entered the woods at Little Beck and it was a steady ascent through thick trees, at points I would lose the trail and end up climbing through trees, it was muddy and steep. I eventually emerged out the top of the woodland and knew I wasn't far from the end now. I followed the last bit of moor to a well made trail this was it, I was on the home run. The trail turned into a track which turned into a road and at last I saw a sign for Robin Hood Bay. I left the road and headed down through a camp site to the coastal path. Daylight had arrived an hour previous and this coastal path was definitely a sting in the tail, up and down it went seemingly forever. I was hallucinating heavily still and all the rocks were alive with faces. It really was just a hobble now my as the pain in my feet was just mind bending. At last one final climb to a gate and stood at the gate was John Knapp, my god this is it the final stretch? He congratulated me and let me run off down the main street to the finish. I turned the last couple of corners to be greeted by my wife and James, the two solitary figures at the finish. I collapsed in a heap on the line only lifting my head to receive my medal. I starred into the sea and felt a wave of relief, it was over. 8th place 190 miles in 69hours incorporating 3 complete nights and just 3 hours sleep over some of the country's toughest terrain. I was spent.

Do I have to move?

Macerated foot. That is pain right there. 

I slept for almost 24 hours straight post race and felt completely shattered for days after. I also picked up a nasty stomach bug somewhere on the route which has not helped recovery. This race was always something I wanted to do, the course was harder than expected and it's definitely an itch scratched. Not sure if I'll ever enter a straight 200 mile race, the lack of sleep certainly limits my ability to compete at this distance. My feet slowed me down massively at the end but that is something that can be worked on but the difference between me and the guys above me was ultimately sleep. I just have my limits on sleep. I can easily go one night with out sleep I just struggle to go two. All things a side though I have managed to finish injury free and have a clear race calendar between now and Spartathlon. Let the training commence.

Tour De Hellvelyn

It's been a while since I've put a race report up, I've run a few events since the summer but none of them has inspired me to share the experience until I completed this one. The Tour de Helvellyn.

I entered two mountain events in December but the first in the Brecons fell by the wayside as I got drunk the day before. So despite the horrific flooding Cumbria had suffered in the previous week I was determined to get up there and get amongst it.

Grisedale Tarn

I drove up on Friday afternoon and after seven hours of mind numbing motorway I arrived in Askham in darkness. I managed to get the van parked in the community centre carpark and jumped in the back and got the kettle on. After a very tasty out of date boil in the bag ready meal I dived in the main hall and got myself registered. Dibber attached I retired to the van, my head was frazzled after the motorway so I was glad to be sound asleep by 10pm.

I woke at 5am because of the rain bouncing off the roof of my van, I laid there and pressed the snooze button several times. I was wondering whether I really wanted to do this? It was cold, wet, dark, windy, did I want to? Of course I did I love it! Two cups of tea and two pots of porridge and I was set. Full winter kit was needed for this one and I can honestly say I have never carried so much kit not even at UTMB, to be honest though given the conditions, the forecast and the fact that most of the day I was going to be wet, I made a sound choice of kit.

Kit Check

We had to make a decision on what time to start bearing in mind that you mustn't reach the Patterdale checkpoint before 9.30. I joined the kit check queue at 8 with a view of starting at 8.15, my aim was to get round in daylight so that gave me roughly 8 hrs. I didn't fancy being out on the fell in the dark. I had my kit checked and left, I wanted to follow someone to the fell because the Harvey map didn't cover the very start and I tucked in with a group until we reached the gate on to Askham fell. The rain was lashing and wind was blowing, today was going to be a challenge.

I had my map and compass ready but as soon as we were through the gate everyone split, some to the right, some the left. I took a quick bearing and the lefts had it. We ran into a vicious headwind and all the way over the flat featureless fell I was taking mental notes knowing full well I could return this way in the dark. I recognised the cockpit stone circle as it was the only bit of the course I had been to before but beyond it was all new to me. I fully intended to nav the route myself but when it's raining that hard and that windy it is very easy to follow the crowd and that is what I did. Had I naved the course on my own I would have been walking and a whole lot slower. I still have a lot to learn! After a lovely muddy trail and a stretch of tarmac we reached cp1. I dibbed in and moved on. After another stretch of tarmac we were treated to a lovely rise upto Boredale Hause. The wind was absolutely howling and it really was a struggle to stay up right at times, great fun though! I was soaked through and sprinted down towards Patterdale slipping over on a grassy bank as a went, I reached CP2 at Side farm, 10 miles in grabbed some sweets and was off again.

Cp 3 soaked through

We passed through Glenridding stopping to look at the raging torrent and the repairs that were underway, god knows how powerful that water was coming down during the floods. We started the long ascent towards Sticks pass and the weather was really having a moment now, It was lashing down. As I approached CP3 at Swart Beck bridge we were getting hammered, I jumped onto what I thought was a tuft in a puddle but it turned out to be a two foot deep pool, over I go again. Right infront of Stu at the CP. Glad he was there to take the piss. I was run walking all the way up but it was getting quite tiring the nearer to Sticks pass we got, That's when the eventual winner Jim Mann came running past. He made it look easy, I wish I had those skills. We reached the pass and I actually checked the map as it was very misty even with the high wind, straight over the top and we started our descent. I was really concentrating on the path as I sprinted through the mist, I looked up and couldn't see anyone, in that instant the mist cleared in seconds to reveal the most beautiful view of Thirlmere. It was fantastic, one of those moments when you just love being a trail runner. It was a long technical descent and I was flat out passing lots of runners on the way down. It wasn't without incident as fell two more times on the way down. Amazing fun though, I loved it. We dibbed in at the bottom and carried on.

28 miles in and still happy

The long descent had kind of gassed my legs and I was having brief moment, I took the time to have a chat with Rob and Braddon two fellow Dragons backers, I soon shook off the wobbly legs and started running again leaving the other two behind. I managed a jog all the way to CP 5, it was wet and slippery trail but I roughed out my bad patch. Got to CP5 and stuffed my face with cheese and sweets, it was the first time I'd seen Joe during the day.


I had a fold up cup in my pocket and drunk a few cups of water at the checkpoint. The conditions being as rough as they were I decided to drink on the go rather than faff about refilling my bottles, anyone who owns a inov8 ultra pack will testify what a faff it is to refill the bottles. In hindsight I would have not taken my bottles but should have taken my Sawyer straw, water on route was obviously plentiful but after getting campylobacter I should drink more carefully. Lesson learned.


The run from 5 to 6 was a forest track and easy going, I was a bit stiff in the legs but running well. I  soon came across the first of several beck crossings but the foot bridges had been swept away in the recent swathe of bad weather. The becks were now torrents and without bridges it was just a case of  jumping in and trying not to lose your footing, very dodgy indeed at some points but hey its not a tickling contest. I reached CP 6 and we were warned that Raise Beck ahead was dangerous and we should cut across to our left before crossing the water. I walked ahead with my head in the map trying to pick the route when I stepped in a bog, I waded through but my foot got caught on a branch in the mud, I went arse over tit straight into the bog my whole right side was in it. After dragging myself out I decided to pay a bit more attention.


We crossed the angry raise beck and ascended up the side until we reached Grisedale tarn, the wind was hammering us from behind and we started to descend. I could barely stand, the wet rock was slippy, the wind was blowing and it was very testing running. I could see people off to the right following the stream on the grass so I cut my losses as I was struggling on the rock and joined them. I slipped and fell again several times but yes it was much better running, I over took a few more runners on this section. We were soon back on the road to Patterdale and it would be the small case of 10 miles back to base.


I totally lost my bearings coming out of Patterdale and couldn't even remember the way back. I would have done a left had it not been for everyone going right but I still wasn't convinced. It wasn't until I crossed back over Boredale hause that things looked familiar. Up ahead was a pal of mine Ollie, who I was determined to catch up. It gave me good focus to spend the next few miles trying to catch him up. I finally caught them at CP 8 and we left chatting about the day. I worked out that I would now get back in daylight so all was good. I was busy chatting to one of the guys and Ollie shot off, he later told me he hadn't wanted me to pass him. Us mid packers are very competitive. With about 3 miles to go I felt amazing, time was ticking and I wanted to get in before dark so I left the other guy and pushed hard back across Askham fell desperately trying to reel Ollie back in. The weather had closed in again it was getting cold and raining hard again.  Sadly catching Ollie wasn't to be but I entered the hall just as darkness was falling and it was lashing down again happy to be back.


It was about 4ish so I had a couple of bowls of soup, a hot shower and started the epic journey home. As I left I could see the head torches coming down the road through the heavy rain and was very happy to be in the warm van.


Overall I had a fantastic race. The conditions were testing, the terrain was technical but I pretty much ran the whole way finishing in 7:42. I had no major energy dips and above all I had great fun. My only negatives were my own making, my right quad is still slightly iffy and has been since Sparta. Also I totally gave up navigating because of the weather which was a shame but it worked out ok. On the flip side I did seem to be one of the only people that didn't know the route. This certainly wasn't a race for a novice, so if you're thinking of doing this as your first ultra it'd probably be a good idea to try something else first and come back when you're confident with your mountain skills.


Everything was fantastically organised and you'd do well to find fault. Big thanks to the Nav 4 team I loved it. Thanks for the pics too.

Our wonderful momento

The Dragons Back race 2015. The Dragon eats sheep!

Around January time after the usual race refusals I was about to enter the Thames ring 250. I sat back and took a breath and pondered my reasons for doing it. All I could come up with was that there was nothing else that offered something new. That something new being the distance, but did it excite me. Sadly no, the thought of running that far seemed a chore. Oh I longed for the butterflies and giggly excitement a new challenge brings. That feeling you had before your first marathon or Ultra, that Christmas eve feeling, the TR250 didn't offer me that. Soon after I received an email from the Dragons back people about the race, I had butterflies just reading the race info. Within an hour of reading that I was in. My multi day experience was zero, my nav skill was minimal but I love the mountains and I love running of course. Perfect, it was on.


The build up months to this had been so exciting. I had been racing in the mountains, practicing my my nav and obtaining the necessary kit for the event. The event its self had cost a few quid so I was determined to save a bit on equipment. Below is the list of mandatory kit and what I used.




Mandatory hill kit


Waterproof jacket = Hagloffs LIM and Berghaus Vapour light smock
Waterproof trousers = Berghaus pack light and Inov-8 Race ultra pant
Survival bag = Poundland
Compass = Silva expedition 4
Headtorch = Silva trail runner 2
Whistle = On pack
Sufficient hill food = Each day spread across the running day I ate, 1 bag jelly babies, 3 Gu gels, 2 packs Tailwind, 1 small pack kids cooked rice or a pack of beef jerky and a bag of nuts and raisins.
Warm top = Cheap long sleeve top
Hat and gloves = Same hat and gloves I've had for ten years, All the climbing on day one wore holes in the fingers. Need new ones grrr.
Bottles = 2 x 500ml soft flasks
Pack = Inov8 race ultra 10
Shoes = Salomon fell raisers
I also had my phone, an etrex10 gps, waterproof marker pen and £50 incase of emergency.



There was also mandatory camp kit of all the usual stuff, sleeping bag, mattress, clothes, washing stuff, plate etc etc. All of your weeks camp kit had to go in a 59 ltr bag and you also had a 22 ltr resupply bag to keep your food in to resupply each day at the half way point. Most of my stuff was from decathlon or poundland and I saved a fortune on this.


I arrived in Conwy on Saturday to give me chance to relax for a bit prerace, the town was buzzing because of a local pirate festival taking place. The sun was out and it was gorgeous I sat by the estuary for a few hours in the heat of the day and watched the world pass by. After it cooled down a bit I went for a run on what I thought was the start route. Within a couple of streets I was heading out of town and up Conwy mountain, I passed a local who said "You won't be running in a minute, its bloody steep up there". I nodded and thought to myself, If only you knew. I ran up Conwy mountain and over to Sychnant pass where I turned and came back. Only a few miles but just a little confidence boost to make sure I started right.


On Sunday I got up and had a full English then I drove to Sycnant pass and hiked for a few miles just another little heads up on the race start. At 12.30 it was check in time at the Youth hostel, I grabbed my kit and headed there. It was fairly quiet and I soon was soon ushered to desk 1 to start the process. "Right, Photo id please". It was only by sheer miracle that I had my id, I had completely forgot I needed it!! Desk 2 was to get your number. Desk 3 was manned by my good buddy Andy Nuttall who was attaching trackers to packs. Well the tracker was more of a lunchbox and it had to go on our shoulder. We taped it to my pack and I tried it, it was digging in but what could I say? I had looked enough of a nob doing kit runs around Maidstone if I had been practicing having a lunch box on my shoulder I think I would have felt like a complete tosser! Desk 4 was manned by Stuart Smith who was part of the Nav4 team that helped train some of us. Cracking bloke who's incredibly friendly, he was attaching dibbers. I then signed my life away on the waiver and it was done. Checked in. I disappeared back to the harbour for a few hours before the race brief. The race brief was rammed and Shane the RD soon got to work explaining the rules and pointers. The race is fairly strict and rules need to be stuck too. Any discrepancies and you will be disqualified. One of the main parts that stood out was being able to differentiate between farmers land and open fell, which I was unaware of. Basically if you cut across a farmers field you would be disqualified. I had been a bit naïve about this and had assumed you could go anywhere. This added another dimension to the nav. The rest was pretty obvious stuff and we soon had to vacate the room to make way for dinner. I need a certain amount of peace and quiet prerace to take stock of the impending race so I decided to head in to town for a quiet meal and an early night.




Day 1

Nervous start

I headed up to Conwy castle and chucked my resupply bag in and we were ushered into the main castle. It started to rain, my nerves were bouncing around like no ones business. As we walked to the start area in the centre of the castle we were handed our day 1 map, shit it looked daunting! I was now crapping myself this map covered miles and miles with massive ascents and descents, it was mental, the area I had run on the Saturday was the first tiny section. The map was about two and a half foot long and the section I ran was an inch. This looked epic! The map was a Harveys 1:40000 and that gives good detail but all you get is a small red circle where each checkpoint is and a very brief description of its position. I couldn't speak, my eyes flicked across the map, what the hell have I done? I can't navigate this!! Time was flying by and my usual prerace chatting was replaced with a feeling of doom as I stared at this monster map. The choir had started belting out their tunes and it was followed by a speech from the mayor. Christ this thing is about to start and I feel like a tiny fish in a bloody huge ocean!
Next thing I know we are off and heading out through the castle and along the castle wall. We dropped down on to the road headed towards Conwy mountain, I was just running everything was going so fast, my plan to start walking and navigate from the off was out the window I was swept along in the fast pace. Cp1 was soon passed and we headed out to Sycnant pass and dibbed Cp2. We then took a different route to what I had anticipated and was running across open fell. The weather was grotty and the cloud was low just what I hadn't wanted but I stuck with the line of runners which soon thinned and we reached our first main peak, Tal y Fan. Around this point I was joined by Michelle Bowen, she was trying to nav using her Ambit and getting frustrated with the time it was taking.  The route to Drum was ok visibility was poor but I felt more confident, although still not using the map properly, Me and Michelle ran along the path that connect the summits, this is no way to navigate, just assuming that a path would take you where you want to go. We hit Foel Fras before heading into the Carnedds, visability had got worse and was down to about 20mtrs. We fumbled our maps and ran in the gloom trying to keep with other faster runners, Michelle fell and I lost us on the map. This is not how it was supposed to be! That moment in the Carnedds I remembered a comment I'd heard about not just following the crowd like sheep. I stopped and said to Michelle, lets stop get a grid reference pinpoint ourselves on the map and navigate properly. This became my mantra for the week "Don't be sheep", If ever I started following someone I would stop and navigate myself. Primarily because they might not have a clue and secondly that is why I'm here to be able to nav across open fell. The navigation was tough as was the running but we got to Pen yr Ole Wen, high above the Ogwen valley. At this early stage I was surprised to see runners going in all sorts of directions not navigating just winging it hoping to stumble on the checkpoint or to tag on the back of someone else. Coming off of Pen yr Ole Wen you can either go the safe way to the left which is longer or the knarly rocky way to the right of course I went right. We descended for about 45mins before hitting the support point in the valley floor, about 6 or 7 hours had passed.

Crib Goch

Michelle and I decided on a relatively short stop and kind of agreed to stick together for the day, visibility was still poor and the nav was difficult so two heads were better than one. We headed straight out of the carpark and started the massive ascent of Tryfan, a steep rocky mountain, It seemed to go up for ever! As we reached the top, I lost the obvious way and kind of shimmied around the sheer rock face, I hate heights and Tryfans summit just seemed to be a pinnacle of rock with no obvious way off. I was nervous. As I scrambled about I smashed my knee on a rock, a big chunk of skin peeled back and blood gushed, the adrenaline was coursing though and I strangely felt no pain after the initial burst of nerve jangling agony. We made our way off the summit and headed for the Glyders, the visibility was now about 10 mtrs. We were doing an amazing amount of climbing and I was getting tired, we reached Glyder Fach but couldn't find the summit. I pinpointed us and using the compass pinpointed the summit which I passed out exactly, however it was on top of a massive pile of rocks and I thought well It can't be up there, so after 20mins of faffing I decided to climb the rocks and found it on the top. What a relief! We climbed the second Glyder and took a direct line off the summit straight across the open fell towards Pen-y-pass. I lost Michelle on the descent but also missed the youth hostel coming out further down the road. I tracked back up the road and checked in at the hostel. I stood in the carpark scanning the map and realized I still had the Snowdon horseshoe to complete. I had hiked it a few years previous with my brother and I knew it was tough but right now I had already been going for about 9hrs and I was tired. How was I going to do this? and still be alright for another four days?? I headed up the Pyg track, caught Michelle who had taken a more direct line towards Pen y pass and we were soon climbing towards Crib goch. Crib goch is a hard slog and the top is a knarly knife edge of rock which we had to scramble across. My fear of heights soon surfaced again and I was trembling as I picked my way across the summit. The cloud had lifted and there were some great views to be had. We carried through and went up Snowdon, back into the clouds, it was cold up there and I got some strange looks as I jogged through the freezing mist in shorts and a tee shirt. We then descended and ascended two more summits before finally dropping down to camp. I was crushed we'd done about 35mile and been on the go for roughly 12 hours. I wandered into camp and was shown to my tent by the ever friendly Andy Nuttall. I sat on the floor and ate some chips. My god I was knackered.

I am so scared of heights

Camp consisted of loads of sleeping tents, mess tent, food tent, medic tent, finish tent and some toilets. After each day you come down to the finish tent and get dibbed in for the day. As soon as you've dibbed you get a print out of your days splits. As you walk through a marshal has your bags ready and carries them to your tent. Then you need to sort yourself out quick and prioritise what is important. Wash? Eat? Change? Organise? Personally for me I need sleep so my number one priority was to get sorted asap to unable me to get to bed fast. So my first night I got in about 7pm ate some chips and drank lots of fluid. I headed for the single shower only to find 5 other runners queuing so I abandoned washing. I then went to the food tent and ate some chilli and cous cous. Most of it ended up on my lap though as my bowl broke and had a hole in the bottom, not my best poundland purchase. Nothing a bit of duct tape couldn't sort. I didn't hang about in the mess tent though, I headed back to my tent and sorted my kit out for the next day. Time was ticking and I was shattered so I blew up my mattress and dived into my bag, I must have been asleep within minutes. My tent roomie Fabrice came in about midnight and smacked me in the face with his mattress, no problem though he'd obviously had a hard day too.


Day 2


My alarm had been set for 5am but I didn't need it, Another of my roomies Hisayuki would be up at 4.30 to wake us all with his clattering of kit. I was up and out the tent by 5 to get breakfast but the queue was massive for eggs. As I queued I had my porridge made which I ate in the queue before grabbing my egg sarnie and tea which I wolfed down. There really was no hanging about in the morning because the midges were out in force and I am talking millions of them! If you stood still for more than a few seconds they covered you, each one giving you a friendly nip. I spoke briefly to Michelle to see if she wanted to team up for the day, she agreed and we packed up kit, dumped our bags in before collecting the map for the day.

Just another massive ascent

I had asked Joe Faulkner if day 1 was the toughest, he said without hesitation that day 2 was tougher. Looking at the map it didn't look too bad so I wondered what he was on about? I was soon to find out. We headed out of camp on the mandatory route before hitting the first massive ascent of the day, Cnicht. My legs were still sore from the previous day and climb was long and hard, but it was a lovely clear morning and the views were gorgeous. On the summit we could see the next summit across a massive valley it was the first of the Moelwyns. The easiest way to it was to do a massive loop staying on high ground but it was still a trek. We were loving it though, peace and quiet and brilliant mountain running. We descended Moelwyn Mawr and quickly ascended Moelwyn Bach. No messing now we were flying. The run down to Cp4 at the reservoir was great, I love smashing the down hills and this was no exception. I have worked a lot on downhills in training and I can sprint down most slopes. Michelle was exceptional on the ascents and I would try and tuck in behind her and we powered up them but I may have just had the edge on the descents and I think she was just fine tearing down behind me. We were making a good team.
The section between CP4 and 5 is massive and very hard to pick a route, we broke it down into smaller navigational pieces of say 3 miles before making a new plan. Soon down the track we bumped into Richard Leahy, a good friend and someone who'd actually done some recceing. We chatted and ran with his group, but we ran past our turning, Richard had another way. As we continued down the track we stopped, looked at each other and realized we were doing it again, Being sheep! We turned round and ran back up the hill to our intended route. I said to Michelle that I might title my blog "Don't be sheep" she replied "The Dragon eats sheep!"
We reached a road section and discussed our route options, there were a few but we agreed a route and ran on. Part of this involved passing through a massive forest on a minor footway. Bad move! We ran and circled and ended up going the wrong way, Michelle got the hump with this and said we should have gone straight across a large section of hilly, boggy, heathery crap. Totally not our plan but I rolled with it. My god it was awful, about 4 miles of all of the above. We were scratched, bumped, bitten and covered in shit. Also it was a nightmare to nav because everything looked the same. We were criss crossing with Charlie Sharp, Ed Catmur and a few others all running round like headless chickens. Ed streaked ahead but we soon caught him, he was laying down? It transpired he had put his foot right between some boulders and tore his shin open. The gash was big and to the bone. Luckily out of the 5 of us there 1 was some sort of medic and quickly patched him up. Mind you Ed was going nowhere, he could barely shuffle let alone run on the toughest terrain ever. Eds race was over, one of us managed to get a mobile signal and called for help. The emergency team were on their way. As the weather was fine so we felt ok to leave and press on.
Just a quick explanation about the conditions under foot, we experienced just about everything from Tarmac to rock climbing during the event. We had long grass, short grass, tussocks, bog, rock, boulder fields, heather, thistles, scree, high exposed ridges and river crossings just about everything! Unless you knew the best route pretty much the whole time was spent cross country, either going up, down or across a slope. You fall over a lot and Michelle and I had our fair share of tumbles. Also much to Michelle's annoyance my style of navigation is to go the shortest route, across or through anything. If I could see a summit, we would be heading straight for it! Sod the long trail all the way round. This just added to the cuts, grazes and falls.
We eventually dropped into CP5 after a 4 hour section it was about 8 hours in total to the half way point of day 2. We continued into the Rhinogs and quickly disposed of the first one, on the approach to the second we reached a lake and the summit was high up to our left. The easy but long way was to take a steady climb straight ahead then double back but I was having none of that. There was a near vertical rock fall to our left, direct to the summit. We climbed that way, it was one of the high lights of the day for me. We climbed two more summits and as we descended off of Diffwys we were tired, extremely tired! We had a measure of the map and worked out we had a 5 mile undulating run back to the camp, it was murder and after the previous day I felt I had nothing left, I was running on empty but we made it after about 14 hours and 35 miles on the go. My god that was a hard, hard day.
A lot of people had dropped including half our tent. I had thought that guts and determination could get you through this but you also can't be a slouch. I can happily run a LDWA 30 miler in under 5hrs but we were averaging 7,8 or 9 hours over the marathon distance during this event. People were getting timed out and injuries were becoming more common place. Shane had said half the field wouldn't finish, I was beginning to understand. My roomie Fabrice had dropped too with shredded feet, Fabrice has finished just about every mountain race Europe has to offer including Tour de Geants and he told me this was harder than any of them.


Day3

Today was a subdued start, Michelle and I headed out at our now to be usual 6.30 and very little was said, we were tired from the previous two days. I had really sore feet from the previous days and Michelle's knee resembled an elephants head. The climb from camp was long and we spoke with everyone briefly on the route up. Visibility on the top was poor and I hadn't really followed the map too good. The first 5 miles of each day were the worst for me so I would rely a bit on Michelle to get us on the right route. As we reached what I thought was the summit Michelle ran off, no map talk just run. I was a tad disorientated so I followed her as quick as I could force myself until we reached the summit. I re-orientated myself and suddenly had a burst of energy, there was a large group of us and I led the running like It was day 1. We cruised along the ridge and any pain I had dissipated, I was having a moment, the sublime moment when running is the easiest thing in the world. Me, Michelle and an American guy, Travis pulled away from the pack and I navigated us on the move to Craig-y-llyn. Such was our pace I had already naved the next section too, we crested summit in the cloud and hit the summit square on. "Right lets not piss about, we are going this way" I stated. We descended the fence line flat out. Half way down we were buzzed by the camera drone, You knew your on the right route if you either see the drone or Ian the photographer pops up and starts snapping. We picked up another American guy, Kevin after the next Cp. Kevin was the guy pictured in the Times during race week. Kevin's reply to anything that you try to tell him is "I know", he made for tough conversation but the four of us were to spend the rest of day 3 together.

I love a scramble

We were still in thick clag and navigating along a tree line, one thing I know about navigating is that it is a nightmare naving through large forests, paths disappear, you become disorientated, everything looks the same and before you know it you are lost! So we did our best to stay out the forests. There was soon a break in the trees, I took a bearing and before they knew it we had hooked a left and we were hammering down an over grown hillside, after a few hundred metres descent we were straight back up the other side through thick heather. Not the easiest route but very direct. It was about a 5 mile run into Machynlleth from here and I had a major wobble. The high I had been feeling had passed and because I hadn't eaten properly, I hit a wall. The others were running good into town and I was about 50mtrs back plodding it out, preying for the Support point.
After refuelling we had a long and uneventful run to a couple more checkpoints, everyone was feeling it after the stop so I was happy with the run walk strategy. We had a last large climb and again we plumped for the direct route, my it was rubbish, the grass was 2 foot high and where I was lifting  my legs so high to walk I felt a ripple of pain from my thigh. Shit, I'd defo torn something, I just preyed it wasn't bad. We left the final cp and ran down the ridge through the cloud. " Stop", Travis yelled. "I didn't dib" he said. After much deliberation it was decided he had to run back to make double sure. It was too cold to hang on we had to move forward, Trav would have to go back then catch us up, Gutted! I kept looking back but couldn't see him, fair play to him though, he went back, dibbed and caught us just before the finish. As we entered the finishing funnel and dibbed for the final time we checked Travs splits for the day and he had indeed hit the last Cp twice, 10 minutes apart. Oh how he laughed ;-) It was a good day otherwise, a runners day, we had covered about 44 miles, naved well and got back in about 13 hrs. That was more like it. I had really sore legs after today and felt the best thing would be to spend most of the evening stretching, I ate some food and retired to the midge proof tent where I stretched for about an hour, possibly the longest I'd ever done it. My thigh was niggling but I was optimistic I would stretch it out.

Still smiling

In general we were going alright, we were still strong, people were dropping like flies but we were holding it together and speeding up slightly with each day. The Dragons back is definitely one not to be rushed. It really is a hare and tortoise type of race.


Day4

Todays map was massive! I'm talking the size of a table top! These bloody maps take some folding, todays was an OS map as opposed to the Harvey we had gotten used too over the past three days.
Cloud was low this morning and it was pretty dreary we were full on naving right off the bat, 10 mtr visibility, no features, take a bearing and make sure you hit your target. We nailed the first section and was soon passing the 6am starters many of whom were circling in the mist. We hit the corner of the forest bang on target but our worst nightmare, no path! We decided to cut through the steep forest on a bearing and pick up the main track. We found the path, changed direction and was bang on track. We reached a break in the path and a group had started to follow us. The features we could see looked right and just as we moved on up the track one of the following group yelled "this is all wrong" "we haven't covered the distance you think we have. With that the group turned on its heels and went the other way. Again Michelle and I assumed we were wrong and followed the group. Doh! The upshot was that we wasted about 20 minutes doing a massive circle to rejoin the original path further up. How annoying!! Don't be Sheep!!!
We eventually found the top and the checkpoint, we were in the middle of a massive wind farm. The tracks were clear on the map, the route was to cut across country and pick up the tracks as we went. Travis who incidentally joined us again for the day agreed but Michelle totally disagreed, she was having none of it. She insisted we should follow the tracks which was clearly further on the map? Hmm we were having a moment here. We discussed it for a minute and we weren't budging we were about to go our own way, At that moment there was clarity, Did it matter? No. Did I have to get my way? No. It was pretty irrelevant, in the grand scheme of things harmony and getting this thing done was important so we headed off down the track and after a couple of miles of silence I cracked open some jelly babies and normal service resumed.
The rest of the morning went quite smooth, some good running was to be had and our nav was good only having a minor mishap just before halfway. Travis had been quiet all morning and had rarely looked at the map, normal during a race when you have a bad patch you just suck it up and plod it out following the markers. During the Dragons Back if you have a bad patch you still have to nav or things are going to get a whole lot worse so if you can hitch on the back of someone elses navigation, that's a good thing, as long as you trust the leaders skills. He apologised for not getting involved before explaining he had the worst shin splints ever and judging by the red swelling he wasn't exaggerating. He asked me what I thought, well I knew he was in agony just by looking at his contorted face, all I could say was for him to forget the navigation and stick with us, get the day done, plod it out. At the half way point we sorted our stuff and filled bottles, Travis was hanging back and said he was going to stop with the medic and get strapped up. No your not I told him if you don't crack on now your days going to get worse now suck it up and lets move. He rubbed some ibruprofen gel on his wounds and we moved.

Innit lovely

I was having a good day really, I'd managed to sort my sore feet out, energy levels were good, I was running well, naving well and any leg niggles I had I'd managed to stretch out the night before. All was well with the Cowdry body. Michelle was doing ok too, her knee was a swollen mess and crunching a bit but she is a machine and complained very little at all. I had been drinking from any source of running water I could find and today I think I pushed it a little too far and drunk from what can only be described as a puddle. Oh boy was I going to regret that! We had a cracking run down off the last bit of high ground and was joined by a team of Americans a couple of whom had completed the 2012 event we chatted and run all the way down to the road. At the road we went to go left and they went to go right. There was no way they were right, the only way to go was left, We agreed to differ and went our separate ways, having had a little sportsmans wager on the best route. The running was good, part road, part trail and we munched the miles away. As we approached the last road section Travis was dropping further back and as the route was obvious it was time to leave him to hobble in, 6 miles of tarmac is a long way to walk! That 6 miles smashed my feet and joints though, that far on road in a pair of trail shoes is not good. I was glad to finish that section, about 12 hrs and maybe 45 miles we'd done ok. My legs were sore back in camp so as we were right next to a river I thought it'd be a good idea for a dip. I dived in. Shit!!! It was freezing, I got back out, warmed up then dived straight back in. I was so cold the pain just disappeared. I ate, sorted kit and sat chatting to Fabrice for an hour while I stretched. I don't know what effect the cold water had on my legs but all I could feel was pain. Excruciating, eye watering muscle pain. I was invited by a marshal to visit the medics tent but what use would that be? "Does it hurt mate" "Yes" "Hmmm do you want to pull out" "No" "Ok bye then". Instead I rolled into my sleeping bag and hoped I'd be ok in the morning. Incidentally Travis rolled in about 30 minutes after us having walked, crawled and with gritted teeth dragged himself to the end, he even commented on walking one steep down hill backwards just to relieve his shins. As for the group of Americans they came in 45 minutes after us having done an extra 5 mile of road!


Day5

Oh happy days, the last leg, surely this thing is done, its in the bag! Travis was going to walk it in so it was just Michelle and I today.

Start gate

We set off full of high spirits and jogged our way up the road away from camp, talk turned to what we would eat and drink when we finished a conversation reserved strictly for the last day. All I truly wanted was a cold can of diet coke and maybe a burger. Mmmm. We soon climbed the first summit which was half the size of some from earlier in the week. The Nav was simple, the running easy we soon started overtaking the 6am starters. We picked an easy route and the run to the support point was a pleasure. The support point had only just been set up, I had saved some chocolate all week for the last day so it was a real treat to eat that as we run away from the Cp.
Today must have been set as an easy route, there was nothing that could stop us finishing now.

The climb to Cp5 was long and steady, there was little in the way of paths or trods so we took a direct line towards the ridge that would lead to the summit, the wind was picking up and the tops were shrouded in cloud, the temperature was dropping and there was a few spots of rain in the air. What I have learnt is to try and make a call on the weather at the top before you get there, if you don't it is very difficult to get your kit out while it is blowing a hoolie. I could feel the weather was turning and stopped on our ascent to get my coat out, the first time all week I've had to do so.

The first view of our destination

As we reached the top of the steep approach the wind was whistling, visibility was gone and we took our bearing and found the Cp. The weather suddenly got worse as we moved to the next, we descended slightly and a few runners ahead turned left to contour the hill, we decided that it would be better to hold our line and carry on forward back up top. We had been joined by another runner who was part of the Berghaus relay team and the chit chat we were having soon stopped dead as the rain decided to lash in. This was serious stuff, it was cold, wet, windy and we were on high ground with no visibility. We took a grid reference to double check our position and then followed a bearing direct to the next cp, trying to run all the time so not to get cold. We were joined by another runner and we double checked our bearing, we were ok we ran on and nailed the Cp. We stopped briefly picking a route and taking a bearing in seconds before running on. There were four of us running and the pace was too fast to nav properly, I was getting frustrated, the weather was horrible and I was just following someone else again. At this point the leaders came belting through and two of our four picked up the pace to jump in on their group. We could no longer keep up and I was losing it, what had been a dead cert finish was now a battle against the elements just to get through. We carried on what I thought was the bearing but it didn't feel right, I hadn't eaten or drunk because I dare not open my coat so as soon as I saw a rock sheltering us from the wind I decided I had to stop and eat. We stopped I put on an extra layer, ate, drunk and orientated myself. We re-joined the weather and after a long cold slog we hit the Cp, what a relief!! That section between Cp 6 and 7 had been the scariest of the whole week, I let my guard down and the weather came up and bit me on the arse. We had been joined on the summit by another group who headed off too the right, we took our bearing and it appeared to be way left of where they went so we went our way and hit the road in no time at all. The rain had subsided but visibility was zero so we had to take a direct bearing to the next cp straight through rough heather and rock, I paced this section so not to miss our mark, we were spot on. We were on our way to the last cp and tried to run on a bearing but the terrain was awful and I soon had one of the biggest falls of the week, I went right over and reopened the gash in my knee and scuffed my thighs on the rock, I lay there buckled on the floor and had to laugh on the inside, what an adventure. As we reached the last summit the cloud cleared and the wind stopped, we could see the castle! I had a real feeling of emotion and a shiver went down my spine right at that moment, we stopped at the trig and both silently stared at the castle, this really was in the bag now.

The last few steps

The run up to the castle was steep but half way up we decided a run was In order so we ran all the way. My wife was there taking photos and we ran into the castle and dibbed in for a final time. It was done, we had completed the The Dragons Back race! Around 35miles and 11hours for the day, 24th place overall in 59hrs 37mins 18secs.

In the carpark we had ice cream and diet coke it was heaven, the sun was beaming and the crap weather was long since gone. We were ferried to the rugby club for hot showers, clean clothes and more coke. As we sat in the bar I noticed some movement on my legs, I had ticks feeding on me! Then from her bag Michelle's mum pulled out a tick remover, Who the hell has a tick remover on their person? Michelle's mum that's who. The presentation came and went and we headed to our hotel, no more camping for me this week. I was done.

The A team

Ooo ice cream 

I coped really well during the week, we paced it perfectly from the first day. My body held up well and when I did get macerated feet I managed to deal with it and not make it a major problem. I felt if we had had to go out for another day I could have. There was guys running who usually beat me at mountain races and they did again on days 1 and 2 but because I looked after myself I was able to pass them later in the week and they had no response, that felt good ;-) Also I was very pleased with my navigation, there is room for improvement but going from novice to Dragons back in six months, I'll take that, it has certainly opened many doors race wise. Teaming up was really not what I had intended to do but meeting Michelle had just worked right, I'm an ok male runner and she is a very good female runner our pace was matched perfectly. When either of us had a low the other pushed on, pulling the other through it. We both had to compromise too which is hard when you are both mentally very strong. She liked running on good trails where I would just cut straight across the direct route, both strategies had their pluses and minuses. Anyway thanks for a great week Michelle.

That's what its all about.

This race was made to look easy by the elite but be under no illusion it is tough. Had the weather been really bad for the week I know there would have been far fewer finishers. Two of the toughest out there were Travis who virtually power marched the final day in horrendous pain but got to the finish and my pal Richard Leahy who did more hours than most out there, he was first out and last in and suffered massively with his feet these guys epitomise mental strength and my hat goes off to you.
It has been a week since the race and I have started running again if only a few miles but I have picked something up from the water and have had terrible stomach issues. I'm awaiting results from the doc who reckons its probably a parasite and should shift in about 10 days.
This is the point where I usually get negative about my performance but not this time, I feel I did good and I absolutely loved the event. Sometimes everything clicks into place and you find a gem of a race, well the Dragons back is that race. Will I come back in 2017, too right I will I can't wait.

Thames Path 100 2015

Last year I went into the race after a campaign of good training, good eating and a perfectly honed race plan in place. Of course the race went tits up. Too much pressure on my self, it was always destined to go wrong. This year I thought I would not stress so much about everything, ate a less than perfect diet, put on a few pounds and generally had a much more relaxed approach to the race. I had a very loose plan A that was to be, run the first half in 8 hours and see how I felt. Possibly pushing forward for a pb attempt if I felt good. If anything was not going right I was going to back off as I've got the Dragons Back race at the end of June and I didn't want to jeopardise that. Having said that this race was special to me not only because it's my WS qualifier but it was to be my 11th attempt at a Centurion 100 having DNF'd 1 this would be my 10th finishers buckle.

Ready to go

I arrived a touch early for registration so headed for McDonalds for a pre race porridge and bumped into Rich Cranswick who had beaten me to it and was feasting on a sausage muffin. We chatted for a while before heading off to get signed in. Its always a good idea to get in early, I hate queuing for anything so I'd rather be early and then have to kill time. I had a good chat to James before I registered then had a natter with all the familiar faces around the registration room. I headed back to the car and got ready. I found a couple of other Spartathlon entrants and introduced myself to them, Paul Corderoy and Ian Thomas, I also had a chat with Martin Pether. Funny how you have all these FB friends and don't actually meet. I try to introduce to myself to as many as I recognise.


We were soon on the start line and the brief had taken place. I found myself right at the front and as per usually I could feel my race plan slipping away. I had had months to think how I would tackle the race and starting at the front wasn't in the program. I'd planned to start in the middle so not to get swept up in an early fast pace but no there I was again right at the front on my toes looking like I'm about to start a park run.

We are off

The horn went off and so were we. There were a few in front and I now concentrated on banging out 8min miles which due to some poor mental arithmetic should have been 9min miles. Still it felt good so I stuck with it. I felt really good early on and my thoughts soon went to a potential pb. I ran on and off with Ian and we chatted but I find it quite hard to concentrate on what I'm doing if I spend too much time waffling so the little and often chats suited me fine. Through the first aid station and I felt good.  My wife on usual crew duties told me early that I was going a bit fast but that fell on deaf ears. Today could be a quick one.


 I have been experimenting lately with a new powdered nutrition and it has been fantastic but after a couple of bottle refills it started to make me feel sick. Not great. Also I was using the Inov8 race ultra 10 pack for its first major event. It has 2 hydrapack bottles positioned under your armpits and then two straws up to near your mouth. I love the pack and set up but refilling is awkward to say the least especially trying to put a sachet of powder in the bottle then refilling then reattaching to the straws. I used a volunteer at every aid station to help with this. So thanks to all. On the flip side this is not going to be an ideal situation for the Dragons back and I'll have to have a re think on pack choice for that.


Soon out of Wrasbury I realised I couldn't maintain the pace and started to back off. My hamstrings, calves and one of my Achilles were hurting possibly due to being bent over laying turf all week. That and feeling sick certainly knocked me back. I started to enjoy the run more at the slower pace and began trying to get back on track for my 8 hour, 50 mile. Earlier in the day I had lubed my nether regions which is something I wouldn't normally do. I had chaffed my nuts during a training run so decided I needed some preventative measures. This in hindsight seems to have caused me more of a problem and I was getting sore. Perhaps I was having a reaction to the Gurney Goo I'd used? I reached Cookham and was back on track time wise. The running is lovely through to Henley and I had plenty of time to think about the race and how things were going. I could feel a hot spot on my foot and was very aware of a blister coming up on my foot.


I got to Henley and was greeted by the ever pleasant Karen and her excellent half way aid station. I decided to have a really good stop, so I first removed my sock to reveal a massive big toe blister which wasn't causing too much grief so I decided to leave it be. A change of top, a big bowl of pasta and a bag restock I was ready to go again. I'd reached Henley in 8 hours 11 so pretty much run a perfectly timed first half but the game was up I reassessed my race and made a firm decision that a pb attempt was off. Too much had gone wrong and my legs couldn't run the last half in under 10 hours. I decided it was to be damage limitation. Get the race done, no injuries and recover quickly to resume dragons back training.


I got to Reading and my chaffing was getting intolerable, I got a massive glob of vas and slavered it on but it just seemed to make the pain worse. I likened the pain to having sat on a cactus, it was awful. I had a quick few words with Jacqui and Paul before running on. I soon started running with David Thompson and we stuck together for a good few miles. We were counting down the miles a bit which is not best practice for getting you through but we were steadily run walking and apart from my obvious pain things were ok.


The head torch came out between Reading and Whitchurch as did my base layer it was getting chilly. I got into Whitchurch and my pal Lee was helping out. He had kindly bought me some dairy milk which was a real treat and gave me a real lift. Dave and I left Whitchurch and ran for a while until we reached the only hill on the course which goes down for about 20mtrs then back up the other side, well I managed to slip and fall bending my thumb back in the process. Great.

Cherry anyone?

I had a nice bowl of pasta at Streatley and told my wife to go and wait at the finish as there was nothing more I would need. It had started to rain so the coat went on too and we set off again. Some of the next 20 miles are amongst the dullest night time running you could experience. My chaffing was killing me, it was raining and it was bleak. This truly wasn't enjoyable at all. As I pondered the reasons why I do this and ate a small bag of jelly babies I managed to chomp right into my tongue. For f*ck sake there was blood pouring from my mouth. I put the jellys away and trudged on. Dave had more in his legs during this time and went ahead alone. I was ok though run walking and knew it would see me to the end. I had however forgot my cans of redbull to drink in the night and the sleep demons were pulling on my eyelids. At least twice I dozed off while running, luckily only running into the bushes and not the Thames. Not many people believe it is possible to fall asleep whilst running but I'm sure I'm not the only person this happens too.


The last 10 miles went by painfully, I had stopped applying vas hours previous and the cactus feeling was more like someone had fired staples into my bits. I ran, I walked and occasionally stopped with my legs spread to relieve the pain. I wanted this race done and I soon rounded the last bend onto the home straight. It was done 20hrs 20min. I received my buckle number 10.


I apologise to everyone at the finish who asked if I enjoyed it and got a blunt no, I'm a miserable git at best even if I've had a good race. However I did cheer up slightly after a good layer of Sudacream.


I'm glad I've got my 10th done as that has filled up my wall nicely and on the back of that I don't need to do this race again. I just know when entries open I'll be thinking that this race still has potential for a good time. Could the Thames path and I be finished? I'm not sure. I'm just not sure how to approach it next time to get a great time.

Number 10 in its rightful home