Just over a couple of weeks ago, whilst sitting on my sofa, I was thinking about my upcoming races this year. I am running the brilliant Ragnar Relay with 4 good friends, but this won’t require me to run more than 7-8 miles in one go. My usual level of bravado figured this will be fairly easy at any level of fitness (completely untrue) and despite the fact that I haven’t really run properly all year, I wasn’t worried. There was 12 weeks to go till the envent. Plenty of time.
Then my mind slowly turned to the next event after that, the Beachy Head Marathon. Slightly different kettle of fish this, but I have run it before, it was 16 weeks or so away and with my usual level of misguided bravado I figured it would be alright.
That brings me on very nicely to the next event, the Wendover Woods 50 (WW50). This is 50 miles, not 50km. So its an ultra. And it was (at the time) 18 weeks away. It is now 16 weeks away!
Now bearing in mind I had hardly run all year, have put on almost 10kg in weight compared to when I was running regularly, this is clearly a slightly bigger fish to fry. For some unknown reason, I thought that this course was fairly flat. I even tweeted as such. You can read the fairly worrying responses to this tweet here.
Anyway, the long and short of it is that the WW50 is hilly. Sorry did I say hilly. I should have said HILLY. Sorry did I say HILLY. I meant HILLY. Apparently, it has approximately 10,000ft of elevation gain over 50 miles. If you consider that the South Downs Way 100 (twice the distance) has approximately 12,000ft of elevation change, this should give you an idea of just how hilly the WW50 is.
Rapidly I felt my previous bravado leaching away from me. In place of this bravado was abject panic. “Is it possible to train up from virtually nothing to 50 miles in 18 weeks” I thought to myself. Well there was only one way to find out.
Jump forward two weeks to the present day, and I have two weeks of training behind me. Two gruelling, punishing weeks where my body had to learn to run again. Even 30 minutes was hard. How was I ever going to run for upwards of 15 hours? Then it all came together in one beautiful moment, and I remembered why I love running so much.
Sunday was my “long run” day, so I headed up to the South Downs just north of where I live in Portsmouth, ready for a nice gentle 70 minute run on the trails. It was evening time, about 8pm. The light was perfect when I parked my car. It was still, quiet and beautiful.
The run started in the Sustainability Centre car park near East Meon. I was straight onto the South Downs Way and immediately heading uphill. For those of you who have not run on the South Downs Way, it is almost always either uphill or downhill. As I ran up the first hill I felt OK. In fact I felt a bit better than OK, I felt good. I reached the top of the hill and remember thinking “well you couldn’t have done that two weeks ago”.
As I plodded on, down single track running trails and descending a super steep rocky path, I felt good. I was running well. No aches and pains. Not feeling like I couldn’t breathe. It felt good.
Meon Springs
Running past Meon Springs fishing and campsite, I realised that I hadn’t passed a single other person. I hadn’t even seen a car, or heard a plane in the sky. No tractors or agricultural vehicles. Nothing. I was all alone on the South Downs with just cows, sheep and goats for company. The sun was dropping in the sky, bathing the countryside in a beautiful orange glow. I raised my hands up to the sky and was thankful. Just to be able to run in such a stunning place, to be able to do this, is magical in its own rights.
Reaching the bottom of Old Winchester Hill, I turned around and headed back the way I came. It is amazing how running the opposite direction always seems shorter to me, despite the fact that I had a very steep incline to walk up and it actually took me a little bit longer to get back.
Arriving back at the car park, I posed in the classic style of the wonderful @RunningDads on twitter (who is the master of this strange open mouth pose) and my run was complete. A total of a hilly 10km in just over 70 minutes. I’ll take that any day of the week.
So that is why I love running. All alone, sun setting in one of the most beautiful places on earth I was reminded that with training, you can condition your body to enable you to enjoy a 10km run. If you run in the right places, at the right times, you get a connection to nature and the outdoors which is second to none.
Hope you are all out there enjoying your running as much as I am.
Have you heard the story about the Australian fella who only ate potatoes for a year? Yes that is right. Just potatoes. Only potatoes. For one year.
He is called Andrew Taylor and his story is an amazing one. A chronic overeater (even though he was a vegan) he decided to cure his food addiction by eating only potatatos for a year. He was perfectly healthy for this year, lost a shed load of weight (about 50kg) and now runs https://spudfit.com/, where he helps others do do the same thing.
Now I am not a chronic overeater, but I am prone to making very bad food choices and I am terrible at sticking to any sort of diet. I also need to lose weight (all be it no more than about 15kg (I currently weight 95kg). I found Andrew’s story hugely inspirational when I first heard it on the outstanding Rich Roll Podcast.
Left – Andrew “Spudfit” Taylor Right – Rich Roll. Two heroes of mine.
So hear is the plan Batman. I am going to base my diet almost entirely on potatoes until I lose 15kg and get under the 80kg mark. This is about the right weight for my height in terms of race fitness, and as I mentioned in my previous blog post It’s time to address the elephant in the room, carrying too much weight is not a good idea when running.
I am not doing pure potatoes like Andrew did. I will still munch an occasional salad when out and about and I cannot get my hands on a potato, but if I am at home, or heaven forbid at a friends house (where I will asking for potatoes) then I am sticking with good old spuds.
If I stand any chance of completing a 100mile Ultra not only do I need to be at the best possible weight I can be, but I also need to be at that weight quick so the impact on my body is less during training. As the miles ramp up, carrying round 15kg of extra baggage is just not an option.
So if you see me at the greengrocers with a big sack of potatoes, you know what I am up to.
TTFN
Snooky
PS – if you are interested in finding out your idea weight for running, you should check out the Racing Weight website. A brilliant resource and well worth a look. They have a book too 🙂
So Dear Reader, I have been on 2 runs in the last two weeks. First run was 20 minutes. Second run was 25. I was planning on more than 2 runs in 2 weeks, but I hurt my back somehow so running was not an option. C’est la vie as the French say 🙂
Run 1 – QE Park
Run 2 – Near Home
As you can see the pace is far from breakneck, but two runs is two runs. It feels like a 100mile ultra is a very very long way away, but you have to start somewhere.
This couple of workouts has helped remind me that running is always tough. Sure there are a few people who are just naturals and can run and run, but for the rest of us mortals it is usually a considerable effort.
No matter if you are running 1km, 10km or 100km a lot of effort goes in. Some people can’t even run 10metres (I was one of these not so long ago), so if you run, you run, no matter how far, or fast it may be.
The scale of the problem
All that being said, I do still need to run 100 miles. If you have a look at the image below, this is my “heatmap” for all my running in 2017 (the year I completed Race to the King)
The long blue line from near Steyning, to Winchester is the Race to the King. 53 miles along the South Downs way. I ran this, with what I discovered after the race were 3 broken ribs following a fall at only 6 miles into the race. I completed it fast enough to qualify for the South Downs Way 100, which is the event I am taking on in 2020. So I can run. I can also run a long way. I just need to get back, and then quite a long way past, that prevous level of fitness.
The plan
The plan is simple. I have booked Beachy Head Marathon in October. I will get fit enough to complete this in around the 5 hour mark. Before any of you speed demons scoff at this, it is VERY hilly 😉
I am going to use a dedicated running plan from Strava to do this. I have never tried this before, so will report back on how it goes. The plan doesn’t start until August as it’s only a 12 week plan, so until then I will just run a bit, slowly upping my time on my feet and taking it slow. I am good at taking it slow. 😉
Following Beachy Head it will be a short 7 month training plan to go from marathon fit, to 100 mile fit. All over the lovely British winter. I must be mad. I am not entirely sure how I am going to get that fit yet, but that is a problem for future James to worry about.
So I’ve got a plan, some sort of running pedigree behind me, and a bucket load of willpower. More on willpower later, because it is the difference between completing and failing at ultra distance. But that will have to wait for another post.
Any of you reading this who are running the London Marathon at the weekend, hope your training and your taper have gone well and you are looking forward to the race.
For those of you not running the London Marathon, you could do worse than get yourself out onto the South Downs. I have included a few bonus pictures from a recent dog walk up there. Simply stunning.
Though a few things have changed since then, broadly speaking most of it hasn’t. I am still around 18kg overweight for my ideal running weight, which means every time my foot hits the floor 18kg more weight is flowing down through my leg and impacting the ground.
According to this article Ground reaction forces when walking or running, as your foot strikes the ground you exert somewhere between 2.0 and 2.9 times bodyweight through that foot. So in my case, at 90kg I am putting 180-260kg through each foot each time it hits the ground. If I was to lose 15kg, so I was running at 75kg, this would reduce the impact to 150-217kg each time my foot lands. So a reduction of 30-47kg per foot strike. If we take a middle figure of 40kg for each foot fall, and work out that over a marathon distance I probably have around 50,000 individual foot strikes, that is a total reduction of a whopping 2,000,000kg less weight going through my limbs. 2 MILLION KG !!!!!!
An average fully grown elephant weights 5000kg. So due to being overweight, I am exerting the equivalent of 400 fully grown elephants through my body and into my feet for every marathon distance I run. Staggering really.
Also this is a very good indication as to why marathons are so tough. You have to condition your body to take all of this weight through your feet. Luckily for us, we are Born to Run (if you haven’t read that book and you run, or even if you don’t run, then you really should), I passionately believe in running in minimalist shoes (I actually prefer sandals) and I know I can condition myself to complete marathons at almost any weight,
But my challenge is not a marathon. My challenge is an Ultra Marathon. 100 miles of Ultra Marathon in fact. So carrying even 1kg of extra weight is simply not an option.
So it is time to lose weight. I have a plan for this, but that can wait for another blog post. So in the interim, if you are a keen runner and are looking to increase your performance or endurance, addressing the elephant in the room could be a good place for you to start.
After a two year hiatus, I have decided to start blogging again.
The short reason why I stopped, is during my challenge to complete 13 marathons in 12 months, I sustained a very bad rib injury running the Race to the King.
I couldn’t train, the challenge was over. So I quit. I am not proud of this, but I did. I quit running, quit blogging, and around the same time quit living.
I was diagnosed with depression late in the summer of 2017, but really I had probably had it for some time before that.
My journey through depression has been an absolutely horrible one. I am not ashamed to admit that I was close to suicide on more than one occasion. If it hadn’t been for some key interventions from some close family and friends, I probably would not be writing this now. The irony of depression is that these people probably didn’t even realise they were intervening at the time. Just a phone call here, or a text message there would bring me back from the edge.
I was taking anti-depressants. Little pills that stop you feeling. They stopped me feeling low. They stopped me feeling high. They stopped me feeling everything.
I have been for counselling. I have seen a total of 3 counselors. All were excellent and helped in their own way but none got me all the way out of my slump. I didn’t want to exercise. Didn’t want to take care of myself. Didn’t want to engage with my loved ones. Didn’t want to do anything.
I read countless books on depression. Listened to podcasts. Practiced mindfulness. Tried yoga. Nothing would stick. For 2 years I was like this. 2 bloody years!
A few weeks ago I made a decision, which was against all medical advice, and I just quit my anti-depressants. Cold turkey. No weaning myself off of them. Just stopped. It felt like the right thing to do. I had tried to quit them before but this time felt different. Instantly I felt better. I started going to the gym again. Went back to my old triathlon club (where I was welcomed with open arms despite being missing for 2 years). I started to message my friends again. Friends I had neglected for far too long. Started to go out again. Started to feel myself. My old self. The one who had been missing for 2 years. Two very very dark years.
Tonight, whilst sitting in a hotel room in Munich, I made the decision to start up the blog again. Made the decision to commit to completing a 100 mile ultra marathon. Made the decision to push my body again. Probably further than I have ever done so before. At the ripe old age of 40, it is time to make a comeback. Like a phoenix from the ashes, Snooky will be reborn.
This is going to be a hard journey. I know it is. But I need to feel it. Feel the pain of getting fit again. Feel the burn of 1000’s of miles of running. It is hard to describe, but it is like a calling. Any of you who regularly run may well know this feeling. For me it was lost for a very long time. Now it is back.
I invite you all to follow me on this journey. I will be blogging about running. But I am also going to blog about my depression. Blog about the things that I did and the things that I have learnt that hopefully will help others suffering from this horrible disease. Cause it is a disease. You can’t see it, but my God you can feel it.
So welcome to the new blog. The new me. Better, wiser and hopefully one day fitter than the old me.
It feels good to be back!
Snooky
PS – I am in no way advocating that anybody out there who is taking anti-depressants should do what I did and quit without consulting with their GP. What I did was dangerous. Please, if you are taking anti-depressants and want to stop speak to your GP. Don’t be stupid like I was. It could have easily gone the other way for me and been a disaster. In fact, I quit once before and it was a disaster, so please be careful.
It is with great sadness that I have to tell you all that my 13 marathons in 12 months challenge has been cancelled.
I successfully completed the Race to the King, but during the Ultra marathon I sustained a serious rib injury. Over 2 months later they have still not healed properly. I have managed one more marathon in the interim, but had to walk the vast majority of it and it took over 7 hours.
I am simply so far behind my training now that I am going to either hurt myself or get a permanent injury if I don’t withdraw.
There is no doubt in my mind that if I had not broken my ribs as badly as I did the challenge would be ongoing, but this injury meant I was unable to train. This total lack of training has put me so far back that continuing on is dangerous.
I am devastated to have had to do this. Thank you to everybody who sponsored me for the Race to the King. This is a brilliant race and if anybody is considering an Ultra I would strongly recommend it. I raised around £1500 for Chestnut Tree House, which is excellent and the money will be gratefully received and put to superb use.
This blog will not be updated for a while. I am not sure exactly what the future holds for me in terms of endurance racing. The realisation that I am really not very good at it has dawned hard on me, and I need some time away to heal up, strengthen up my aging body and then find my love of exercising and competing again.
Perhaps the blog will be back one day. Who knows. Until then.
So as I write this , it is 26 days until Race to the King. 26 days until I lace up my trainers, and alongside my good friend Freestone, start to run/walk/trudge/shuffle my way along 53 miles of the South Downs Way.
Me and Freestone. We are handsome fellas…….right?
I have been doing a fair amount of training. Concentrating on a double run every weekend (either a shorter run followed by a long one, or the other way round) I am training my body to run on tired legs. I have made sure to train on the South Downs as much as possible, to simulate the conditions on race day. I have even been out running in the midday heat.
All of this is well and good, but I do seem to have developed a bit of an injury. It was
inevitable. I have no running pedigree. No years of running experience to fall back on. I have only really run any endurance type stuff for the last 4 years, and only regularly trained on long runs in the last 6 months. The injury I have is an overuse injury of some description. The pain is in the area highlighted in the photo on the right. I have consulted the good old internet doctor and think it might be a metatarsal stress fracture. This seems the most likely option anyway.
Now the injury only hurts me once I have run for more than 2-3 hours, but consistently at around this mark it kicks in and hurts like hell. I will likely be running for around 14 hours at the Race to the King, meaning that I will have to run in pain for at least 11 hours. This is going to be a bit tricky to say the least.
I now need to decide what to do. I could just ignore it and keep going. I could rest and avoid all running for a couple of weeks and see where I am. What I really should do is go and see a physio, so I think this is what I will actually do.
Am worried that they will tell me no running, and that really I should not be doing the race. I am doing the race regardless, so my thinking is that going to see the physio can do no harm and might actually do me a bit of good.
You never know, they might just give me a magic pill that not only sorts my foot out, but also turns me into the best ultra-runner the world has ever seen.
It’s 0700 on Sunday 30th April and my alarm has just gone off. Must be time for the Three Forts Challenge.
Those of you who regularly read my blog will already know, I was a bit nervous about this marathon. The Three Forts Challenge has the tagline of “the tough one”, and this is for good reason. With over 1000m of elevation over the marathon distance, this was going to be very hilly. Run amongst the beautiful South Downs, whilst being tough this marathon also had the added bonus of having a cut off time of 6 hours. Bearing in mind it takes me 5 hours to run a totally flat marathon, I was very concerned I would not make it through the course within the 6 hour time window.
Now the best advice is to always prepare your gear the night before a race and I would strongly recommend that anybody follow this advice. In my case though, I never ever do, so was scrambling around trying to find all the gear I wanted to take with me. Having eventually located it all and scoffed down a bowl of porridge, I bid a fond adieu to my wife and kids and headed off to Worthing, where the race would start.
Arriving at the race car park I was faced with the usual group of fellow runners. All whippet thin, with legs like gnarled tree trunks, my nerves were getting worse not better. I found a space on the grass to sit down and started to organise my race pack.
I was trying something new for this race. Having had a recommendation from an old golfing buddy turned ultra-runner, I was trying out Tailwind. You simply add a sachet of tailwind to your water bottle and there is no need to take on any additional food or electrolytes on your run. No gels, no sandwiches (a personal favourite of mine), no jelly babies. Nothing. Having used it on one training run with great success, I was keen to see what it could do during a long race.
Having sorted out my pack, I started upon my pre-race warm up routine when Bushy and Marie showed up. I knew they were coming to support me and it was great to see them. Both were very encouraging and said they had ultimate faith in me getting through the race before the 6 hour cut off. There were going to drive around the course and meet me at various points. It was brilliant to have some support along. Especially brilliant that it was Bushy, who was at my side for the vast majority of my Ironman race and without him I would never have finished it. Shame he was just at the sidelines rather than running with me, but he is joining me later in my 13 in 12 journey for the Midnight Man Marathon, so will look forward to running with him then.
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After a few pre-race photos, it was time for the off. With the local town crier announcing the start of the race, we were away. I started a the back (as is my custom), and received hearty cheers from the crowd as we made our way out of the playing field and immediately started to climb up a wide dirt track. The first climb of the race took us to Cissbury Ring, one of the three Iron Age forts the Three Forts Challenge is named for. I felt my usual nerves at the start of the race, but quickly calmed down and concentrated on not tripping over as we made our way up single track alongside Hill Barn and Worthing golf courses. I have played both golf courses, and couldn’t help but think that perhaps I would be better with my 5 iron than my running shoes. Too late though, the race was on.
As the route continued to climb it opened out a bit, allowing the pack to spread out. Due to the undulating nature of the route, you could often see way into the distance and I was impressed to see runners already way ahead of me, despite being going only about 20 minutes. Just before the 5k mark we found ourselves on the top of the first hill next to Cissbury Ring. There is no fort there, just a circle of trees where the fort used to be, but it was cool to think of an ancient fort being there and I found my mind tracking back to what it must of been like 100’s of years ago. No road, no power lines, no fences. Just rolling hillside and probably a lot more trees.
Turning away from Cissbury, we were treated to a beautiful view of Lancing College, with its gothic architecture. I have always loved how Lancing College looks, but had never seen it from this vantage point.
Lancing College – not taken from the run route!
The course then made its way down into the valley of the River Adur. This was the first point that Bushy and Marie were going to meet up with me and I knew it was at the 7 mile marker. To be on track for finishing in less than 6 hours, I would need to be at this point no more than 1hr 30 mins from race start. Amazingly, as I jogged towards the aide station after the river crossing, I was only at 1hr 5 mins of race time. 25 minutes ahead of schedule.
At the 7 mile marker
Emptying a package of Tailwind into my water bottle and filling it up from the aide station, I exchanged a few words with Bushy and Marie about how good I was feeling and how much I was enjoying the race and then I was off. Bushy kindly pointed out to me “the hill is that way”, gesturing towards the next challenge, the climb up to Devils Dyke.
I genuinely felt great at this point. I was consuming 500ml of water with Tailwind in it per hour and was bang on this schedule. I had died not to look at my heart rate whilst running this race and just run “on feel”. This is something that Tufty (triathlon coach who I owe a lot of my Ironman success to) had encouraged me to do on occasion. Don’t be slave to the gadgets, just run based on feel. If you feel good, keep going. If it gets tough, slow down a bit. Just keep going. I had been following this mantra and the race was unfolding nicely. That being said it was a long way to go still. The Three Forts Challenge is actually 1 mile longer than a normal marathon (27.2 miles rather than 26.2) so at the 7 mile marker I was only 1/4 distance into the race.
Making my way across a main road I was then on a steep single track towards Devils Dyke. Walking up this single track, it flattened out a bit into a field which then turned into a road. This road was fairly steep and most people around me were walking up it. I fell into step; however I felt good, so almost immediately decided to run. Starting running, I was overtaking a few people. This hill was relentless, going on and on and on and on, but I kept running and kept on overtaking others. I really was feeling strong. Far stronger than I expected to. I kept on sipping at my Tailwind and just kept on running. We then reached an undulating section, where I was confronted with a runner coming the other way. This was the race leader, who had already reached Devils Dyke (the race turning point) and was on his way back. I made mental note that this was after 1hr 40 minutes of running. I wanted to see what time it would be when I was at the same race point on the way back.
After the undulating section there was more climbing across fields where I managed to keep on running and quickly found myself at the turn around point, where once again, Bushy and Marie were waiting. They both commented about how good I looked. I must admit I felt great. No need to get anything from the aide station (due to the Tailwind) so I had a quick cup of water from a very friendly race marshall, bid Bushy and Marie farewell and was back off the way I had come.
Devils Dyke turnaround point
I knew that Bushy and Marie would make their way back to the River Adur aide station to see me again, so I decided to try and beat them back. Other than the undulating big, it was almost entirely downhill and I wanted to try and run hard down this section. Making my way back towards the downhill, I noted the point where I had seen the first placed runner and I was 40 minutes behind him. “Not bad”, I thought to myself, though tis was less than halfway. Reaching the downhill I picked up my run pace and flew down the hill, again overtaking many fellow runners.
Picking my way down the final section of single track, my quads were on fire from running downhill for so long, but as I got to the aide station I was very happy to see I had beaten Bushy and Marie there. They had probably been for a coffee and a bacon sandwich in that period of time, so there was no real victory, but I had been quicker than they expected me to be which I was pleased about.
At this point in the race the route does not follow the same route we had run out, and diverts off into unknown territory. Finding yet more rolling hills, I once again was overtaking people on the uphill. Approaching 3 hours of running, I still felt great and was beyond the half way point. I decided to give Cat a ring at this point just to say hello and let her know I was getting on OK. I phoned her at the 26km point. I had been running for 3 hours at this point and had 18km to go. It was great to chat with her and she was delighted to hear that I was getting on well. After a quick chat, it was back on with the running.
Climbing again, at around the 28km mark my hip flexors started to really hurt me. This is common on my long runs and I knew I just had to keep going and it would hopefully pass. There were very few runners around me at this point. The race had really spread out and I seemed to be mostly on my own as I wound my way uphill, past a pig farm and onto yet more rolling Sussex hills. The route of the race is simply beautiful. I am lucky enough to have been brought up and lived the majority of my life close to the South Downs. Despite this, I am consistently overwhelmed by their beauty, and today was no different.
During this point in the race I was reflecting back to some chats I had had with other runners earlier on. People had noticed my Chestnut Tree House vest and asked me if I was fundraising for them. I mention my 13 in 12 challenge, which was met by all who had asked me with equal praise and admiration. To all of you who may be reading this who chatted with me about my fundraising, it was great to get your support out on the course and lovely to meet you.
The race climbed on and on up to Chanctonbury, the final of the three Iron Age forts and the highest point I the race. Reaching this was a great milestone and forcing myself to keep going had meant that I had pushed through my hip flexor pain and was once again feeling strong. I had kept up the regiment of Tailwind (one sachet in 500ml of water per hour) and I must admit that it seemed to be working an absolute charm. Having reached the top of Chanctonbury, it was downhill for a while, then we had to climb once again up to Cissbury Ring before dropping back dow to the finish.
At the 4 hour mark it had started to rain a bit. I didn’t mind. The fresh rain had that amazing smell that you get when it first starts raining. It wasn’t raining hard and I was enjoying the run so it took nothing away from the experience. Reaching the low point before the climb back to Cissbury, I was making my way along a farm side track where I saw Bushy and Marie huddling under an umbrella. This was totally unexpected as I thought I would see them again at the the finish. I stopped for a quick chat. As you can see from the photo, I look a bit the worse for wear, though I felt great. Hip Flexors were playing up a bit, but otherwise I was in very good spirits.
Saying goodbye to Bushy and Marie for the final time before the finish, I knew that I had only 8km to go. Once final climb and then it was mostly downhill to the finish. The climb up to Cissbury was steep and as usual I was walking it. It started to level off a bit and I started to run. My legs felt good. I was passing other runners again. This never happens to me, and especially not after being on my feet for over 4 hours. “This Tailwind really is magic stuff”, I was thinking to myself as I rounded the back of Cissbury and knew I had about 4-5km to go.
Unbelievably, I decided to run hard for this final stretch. My body felt willing and I had a chance of coming in at around the 5 hour mark which would be brilliant.
Running through the final undulating sections I eventually found myself on the single track past the golf courses towards the finish. Due to being within 2km of home, there were other runners around me who were also pushing themselves. I kicked hard and managed to pull away from them. All of them. I was flying as I went down the final hill, turned into the playing fields and crossed the line.
5hours and 5 minutes according to my watch. Far beyond my wildest expectations and also only 3 minutes off a marathon PB (set on a totally flat Brighton Marathon course). Hang on a minute. The Three Forts Challenge is 1 mile longer than a normal marathon. Looking back at the data from my running watch, I was through the marathon distance in 4hrs 55 minutes. So that is officially a marathon personal best on a super hilly course. I will take that any day of the week.
Finding Bushy and Marie straight after the race, I was simply delighted with my run. I loved every second of the Three Forts Challenge. The Tailwind I used for nutrition was excellent. The course was superb, all the marshals and volunteers were outstanding. My fellow competitors were friendly and supportive. All in all a brilliant event in simply stunning surroundings. I will definitely be running this one again.
5hours and 5 mins of effort and I am done – and very happy.
One final thought from me before I sign off this blog post. For the first time ever, the first time in my life, I finally feel like a proper runner. I was able to enjoy and entire race. I got my nutrition right, my hydration right, my gear right and as a result I loved every second of this race. It may seem strange to some, but I had never thought of myself as a decent runner before this race.
There may be a bit more at play than this, and I am indebted to a college at work and his NLP (Neuro-Lingustic Programming) skills, but I will leave this for another blog post.
On Sunday 30th April I am running the Three Forts Challenge, a 27.2 mile off road marathon. The second of the thirteen marathons I have planned over the next twelve months. This is going to be a hilly one people!
From the title of this blog post, you would be right in thinking that I am a bit nervous about this race. This assumption would be perfectly valid. In fact, I had an anxiety dream about not finishing the race last night.
This is not due to the distance, or due to the hills. It is due to the cut off time. I did not check this when I booked; however upon reviewing the race website over the weekend I noticed that the race must be completed in 6 hours. That is 27.2 miles (or 43.5km) of tough hilly off road racing in 6 hours. Bearing in mind that it took me over 5 hours to complete the totally flat Brighton Marathon just 3 weeks ago, and you can start to see why I am feeling nervous.
Over the weekend I met up with my friend Tom, who is running the Race to the King (my 53 mile June Ultra-marathon) with me. We went out for a 3 hour run on the South Downs, starting and ending in Amberley. The terrain is extremely similar to what I will face at the marathon. The Three Forts Challenge has 1050 metres of elevation spread across the race distance. On Sunday, we covered 22.7km in 3 hours, with 554m of elevation.
Using simple mathematics (thank you Mr Hyden and GCSE Maths), we can work out that if I match the exact same pace I managed on Sunday at the Three Forts Challenge in 6 days time, I will cover 45.4 km in 6 hours (allowing for 1108 metres elevation).
So the race itself is 43.5km in 6 hours with 1050 metres of elevation, and I am theoretically capable of 45.4km in 6 hours with 1108 elevation. Easy, right? Nothing to worry about. I will be back with plenty of time to spare (well at least 10 minutes).
Except sadly there is plenty to worry about. I will need to stop at aide stations and get water and perhaps some food. Though this will not take long, it will eat into my time. As will the inevitability that I will not be able to maintain the same pace I would run for 3 hours over 6 hours. This is twice the distance, twice the hills and twice the time on my feet. Alas, I am more confident of returning from the race on Sunday with a DNF (Did Not Finish), than a medal.
This will mean two things. One, I will need to fit in another marathon over the next 12 months to make sure I hit my challenge of 13 marathons in 12 months. Two, the realisation of how far away I am from being able to run 53 miles non-stop (on the exact same type of terrain), will hit me like a tonne of bricks.
That’s it for this blog post. Very cheery I am sure you will agree. I am going to finish my glass of wine, watch a bit of TV and then go to bed. Perhaps overnight I will metamorphosize into Scott Jurek, or Charlie Engle, or one of my other ultra-running heroes? Or perhaps I will turn into somebody who simply doesn’t bite off more than he can chew and knows his limits.
Whilst both of these outcomes is equally unlikely as the other one, what I do know is that the human body is capable of some remarkable things when it is pushed. The Three Forts Challenge will push me, probably right to the edge, but one thing is for certain. If I don’t make the 6 hour cut off time, it will not be through a lack of effort!
An average fully grown elephant weights 5000kg. So due to being overweight, I am exerting the equivalent of 400 fully grown elephants through my body and into my feet for every marathon distance I run. Staggering really.
I was taking anti-depressants. Little pills that stop you feeling. They stopped me feeling low. They stopped me feeling high. They stopped me feeling everything.
description. The pain is in the area highlighted in the photo on the right. I have consulted the good old internet doctor and think it might be a metatarsal stress fracture. This seems the most likely option anyway.
Snooky's Adventures 