‘I don't know what I want...’ I was sitting in a chair in the shade at the 96 mile checkpoint on the South Downs Way Race. It was hot and I had been going for around 28 hours and was finding it hard to make a decision on the simplest things. ‘So do you want tea, coffee or soup’ was the question Ruth (my wife) was asking.
A year previously Mike Blamires (an ultra running mentalist with an unhealthy obsession for head wear) had called. ‘Sharky, I’ve just entered this race down south, its a hundred miles, do you fancy having a crack at it?’. I thought about it for a minute and said ‘yeah, why not!’ and immediately went online and entered as it was the kind of route I had been looking for. It was also at the time of year when it wouldn't be too cold (I don't cope with cold well...). The entries were limited to 50 people as this was the inaugural running of the event and I scraped in to become runner number 49. Running a 100 had been something I had aspired to do for a long time but knew there was a good chance of failure due to so many complications and considerations that may crop up in preparation for an event like this. A hundred mile event is tough enough and with an additional 13.600ft of ascent it puts it on a par with many established 100 mile ultra marathons.
In between times I had suffered my first DNF at Brecon 2009 (feeling sick after 30 miles), but came back to run the London Ultra and the Scottish Ultra early in 2010. My ankles had taken quite a battering on the latter event due to the terrain rather than the distances. My recovery was slow but sure. I started to run more consistently partly due to starting a running group which made me more disciplined with my own training. Long runs at the weekend and hill reps on a Tuesday night, with other mid length runs in between. The week before the event I had picked up a middle ear infection that was affecting my balance but seemed to be under control by the start of the race.
Mike arrived on Thursday before the race to break up his journey from Hull and so he could get a decent night’s sleep. We chatted about the race, had a look at the route and the next day picked up a few last minute items. We travelled down with our crew, Ruth, Justina and Helen. The plan was that while Ruth and Justina would crew at check points, Helen (a good steady runner who completed her first Ultra with me in London earlier in the year) would run a section on the first day and then either a night section or one on Sunday as well. We stayed in Brighton the night, had a huge pasta at an Italian restaurant and went for an early night.
Next morning, we got our stuff together.Itaped my feet as usual. We then drove to Eastbourne bandstand for the start of the race, registered and met up with Matt who was being crewed by Terry (eclipse) and two other friends. Our crew wished us well and we stood on the line, I turned to Mike and we shook hands. ‘Lets do it!’
CP1 - Eastbourne to Southease 0 - 19 miles (3:42mins)
The race started in the rain with a head wind and a climb up onto the top cliff following the coastal path towards the white cliffs of Beachy Head and on past Birling Gap. We resisted going out too fast knowing we could pay a heavy price later. Fortunately it wasn't cold, so being wet immediately wasn't such a big deal as we turned inland though the Seven Sisters country park and Friston Forest, then up through the village of Litlington where we picked up our pacer Helen and kept moving at a good clip. We made steady progress towards the first checkpoint at 19 miles. Both Mike and myself were determined to run as much as possible, keep the walk breaks short and to the steepest hills and kept pressing on throughout.
CP2 - Southease to Pyecombe 19 - 34 miles (7:40mins)
The first checkpoint was fairly busy. We stopped with just enough time to refill our water, take a drink and push on. We had linked up with Mat by now and the four of us were taking turns to lead out and keep the pace moving. We left the checkpoint, crossing the railway and made our way back up onto the ridge and under a claggy sky. Much of the route is rolling hill tops and steep ridges. In fact there was so much of it, its really hard to distinguish one part of the route from another. We ran over bridges, through villages, routed forest trails and fields. All of which are reasonably signed with posts and the occasional water tap, if your lucky enough to spot them. There were a handful of times when we got caught out. Whether this was through tiredness or lack of information, its hard to tell. But on the whole we made only a few minor mistakes on the route and lost very little time.
CP3 - Pyecombe to Washington 34 - 49 miles (11:52mins)
At Checkpoint 2 we dropped our pacer off. I changed my short sleeve for a long sleeve half zip as it was soaked through, forced down some salt and vineger Pringles, whilst our efficient crew replenished my waste pack with Jelly Babies and refilled my water bottles. I was using Peronin and it was working well although I tend to mix it lighter than the instructions state. We picked up Matt again as we headed out. His crew seemed to be doing an equally good job of sorting him out and we were now rockin'. It seemed the more we ran the better we felt and the more determined we became to finish. Night started closing in on us, we had been up into some of the higher Downs and at 40 miles we were going strong.
We crossed a bridge and decided to put our head torches on and check the map again. Mike seemed to come over a little funny and I asked him what was up? He said he thought it was low blood pressure but in a matter of minutes we were trucking on again. A little later on and we were still running well when Matt suddenly stopped by a gate and threw up. We gave him some time to recover and then pressed on. Some time later, we met up with Matt’s crew on a road crossing, Fortunately they had more water with them and they were happy to help us all out. Thanks lads! They had some Pepperami’s which was just what we needed at this stage and this powered us on again. At times Mike told me we were hitting 10.5 minute mile pace, so we knew we were up for it. Nearing Washington, Matt took a turn for the worst and started throwing up again. This was not good. We had been discussing sticking together all the way and finishing, but he seemed like he was in a bad way. Apparently, he had also been recovering from a virus and his IT band was playing up, so altogether I guess he was feeling pretty shabby. We slowed down to walk him into the checkpoint. The bike stewards asked if he was OK and Matt was now convinced his race was up. We met Terry and his crew, told them how he had been and said to get him sorted out in the checkpoint before he made any rash decision, it might pass. Meanwhile, our crew were spot on again. I changed into tights for the night stage and long black Injinji’s (from uncle ‘Likey's’ just like the Frenchie's wear on the MDS : )).
CP4 - Washington to Amberley 49 - 56 miles (13:39 mins)
We left the checkpoint. Matt was walking with Terry but he was soon ill again straight out of the checkpoint. We had to make a decision and told Matt we had to really crack on or we would now miss the cut off. Matt understood. He had been telling us to go on before the checkpoint but we wanted to see him in. We had been making good time so far and I had seen a few people pass us in the checkpoint but I could see Mike was not happy. I was a bit confused as we had been going so well. Then Mike told me we had to be at the next checkpoint before midnight. We had slowed down bringing in Matt but the major problem was that the cut offs on some of the early checkpoints were just too tight. We were determined not to be beaten by a cut off. We had put so much into this race already. So, from around 49 to 56 miles we hit the gas and hardly stopped. Mike clocked us at 9.5 minute mile pace on some sections which is not bad considering we had completed approx. 50 miles already. We flew into Amberley before the cut off, to the surprise of checkpoint staff and well in time of the cut off. I had to knock our crew up as they hadn't expected us so quickly. They soon got into action and we were both relieved but also hungry. As we sat in the garden of the Bridge Inn (it was closed but the checkpoint staff had use of the garden) jacket potatoes were handed out with beans already on (beans.. I bloody hate beans). Luckily I had packed a few expedition foods and again our crew sorted me out with a Spaghetti Bolognese. But I could only eat half of it. The good news was that the race organisers had realised the cut offs were too tight and became more relaxed about the times and decided to support anyone who had a fighting chance of beating the final 32 hour finish. We had planned on a 28 hour finish. However, that was now out the window due to the harsh weather at the start and the delays we had encountered.
CP5 - Amberley to Cocking 56 - 68 miles (18:03 mins)
Leaving Amberley, we stopped briefly as we came across Matt coming the other way, who wasn't looking too good. He wished us well and I told him we would finish this thing for him. I guess it was meant to cheer him up but he must have been gutted to be on the verge of pulling out. We went on up the road, with a brief stop (I had some chaffing that wasn't getting any better and I think Mike may have had some too) we started laughing at the prospect of someone turning the corner to see us in our full glory lubing up! We tried not to waste too much time and ran as much of this next section as we could but at a more reasonable pace. The route from here becomes more forested which meant really watching out for roots in the dark. At times the trail twisted around and went through dense woodland. On one occasion I stopped to see where Mike was but it was completely dark. I shouted... nothing. I walked back down the trail... ‘Mike’...’Mike’...nothing. Then a groan from further back down the track. ‘You alright mate?’I shouted. ‘Yeah, Yeah... fine’. After a couple of minutes he caught up and we carried on. ‘You been sick?’ ‘No mate just retching... nothing came up’. ’ We’ll take it easy for a while then’ I said and we walked for a while across an endless ploughed field chasing two head torches of other runners further up the hill. We topped out and couldn't resist getting back into our steady run again although I was also feeling a bit nauseous. Fortunately it never came to anything. We eventually came across some signs for CP5 and stepped up the pace a little. Just as we thought we were close the bike steward appeared like a UFO, his head torch and bike lights streaming rainbow colour's at us. ‘How’s it going lads?’ ‘Yep, we’re all fine... how far to the checkpoint?’ ‘Oh not far...about about 6km’s’. I thought it was going to be much closer. Those last few miles went on and on. We finally turned into Cocking car park (yes, we did all the jokes) to a warm welcome from our crew and the CP staff. The staff here were particularly funny and tried to offer us all sorts of things that we couldn't stomach. We were both cold and they wrapped Mike up in blankets and our crew gave me two coats. We sat for around ten minutes trying to get something down but I only managed a few salt and vineger Pringles, a few salted nuts and a couple of cups of tea. Mike started cramping and we knew we had to move on quickly.
As we started this section, I decided a little light entertainment was in order. So Mike B and the CP staff were privileged to experience my rendition of Sinatra’s ‘Fly me to the Moon’ as we made our way down the road. It seemed to cheer us both up and I think the South Downs is a better place for it! The night had been foggy, but the sky soon began to lighten and as we came out of some trees at the top of a hill a few miles down the trail, the sun was just rising... a welcome sight. The pace was down to walking now as Mike had developed quite a hobble from turning his foot repeatedly, possibly on the quick section into checkpoint 3. I don't really know. I was also feeling chaffed and slightly delirious. I sat on a grass bank at the side of a road waiting for him. He arrived shortly and sat down. ‘I’m all over the place Mike’, ‘Me too Sharky... feel like I’m off me head’. We both laughed and then got up. ‘Come on.. we need to crack on’ I said and we ambled on. Mike was having a tough time of it. He’s a good ultra runner, but today it was working against him and he was struggling. There’s nothing you can really do for a friend who’s hurt their foot. Although I’m sure it was much more frustrating for him than it was for me. I drifted ahead again and when I couldn't see Mike anymore I sat outside a farmhouse and waited. It seemed ages this time before he arrived and he wasn't looking very happy. I know how much he wanted this but it doesn't matter what you say, sometimes words aren't enough. ‘Come on mate’. ‘Sharky... I’m gonna pull at the 80 mile checkpoint’. ‘No, mate ... you’ll be alright once you get there. Sort yourself out and you’ll probably feel much better’. ‘Yeah, but seriously I’m not gonna hobble another 23 miles am I?’. ‘You can do this mate. You’ve still got time’. Time? I hadn't thought of that. What was the time?... Oh shit, I have 25 minutes to get to the checkpoint and it was a mile and a half away uphill. What to do? ‘Mike.. I’m gonna have to go for it. If I feel shit when I get there I’ll pull out as well’. ‘No way mate you’ve got to do it now! You’ll be fine’. So, I pushed on breaking into a jog and then a steady run watching out for a switch-back I knew was ahead and didn't want to miss. I ran steadily into the Queen Elizabeth Country Park knowing I would be at CP6 fairly soon (the country park has around 20 miles of trail routes). I only just spotted the sign (all SDWR signs are bright green with a black arrow) on my right hand side and headed up the switch-back. I had my thumb on the map and carried on along the route for some time before seeing another arrow showing the way down a long straight forest trail. The CP would be close to the other end. But as I reached the end yet another arrow and 10 minutes later another. I was becoming confused. Why put the CP in the middle of the forest? It didn't make sense! I ran on now out of water and slightly panicking that I was lost. Another sign around the bend and yet another further down. I could hear the road where CP6 was suppose to be but this run in was taking forever. Finally, I stopped by one of the signs and read the small print in the bottom right hand corner ‘frontrunner.co.uk’. What the fuck? I ran on now suspecting this was an entirely different set of signs than the ones I was suppose to be looking for... and I was seriously worried I wouldn't find my way out of the wood, having run 80 miles, my phone battery had died that morning and I had no water left. I was in deep shit. I finally saw a building through the trees and headed towards it. I came out onto a metaled road by what looked like a visitors’ centre. There were 2 cars parked with no one in them. I looked around and noticed a land cruiser coming into the park. I ran over and flagged the guy down. Explaining my situation, the man lent me his phone and refilled my bottle with water... although I’m sure he thought I was either mad or making it up when I told him I had run from Eastbourne. The CP staff reassured me I wasn't that far away and explain the simplest route to get there. Then the forest ranger turned up and offered me a lift, which I refused. ‘Sorry I cant, I’ll be out of the race’. He then told me to follow him as he knew a more direct route to where the CP was based and he and his dog ran with me through the woods until the CP was in sight down a steep winding bank. I thanked him and made my way to the CP absolutely knackered, relieved and now slightly pissed off. Which turned out to be a good thing as it only made me more determined to finish. I then went through the whole procedure of explaining this to my crew and the CP staff who told me unfortunately and unbeknown to them there was a 10k trail race set up in the forest that morning...with identical signage. I had just completed half of it. ‘Did I win?’ I asked... they laughed ‘No mate you came second’. Great! I was now determined to carry on and by this time (this escapade had taken approx. 30minutes) Mike was now being helped into the CP tent. ‘What the fuck happened to you’ he said looking surprised to see me. ‘Don't ask!’.
CP7 - Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Exton 80 - 91 (94) miles (26:52 mins)
I changed my running tights for fresh shorts, kept the long Injinji socks on and put my Raidlight cap on. The day was hotting up. Helen appeared ready to go and we made our way out and straight up a 500ft hill. Helen is a good friend and wasn't really a pacer, much more of a running buddy... someone who would make sure I was making the right decisions, eating regularly and doing all the stuff I couldn't think about. It was slow going at first but I was back on track and Helen just let me dictate the pace. Throughout this section walkers, runners and bikers were asking what I was doing. Some already seemed to know and shouted encouragement. I could hear Helen explaining to people, it was a real lift.Iprobably seemed zoned out to them, but I could hear them and just kept waving. Conversation wasn't my strong point at this stage. My legs throughout had felt fine. I had watched every step as I often turn an ankle which usually dictates my race, but so far I had encountered no cramps, aches or real pains... just tiredness. My feet were also fine which is amazing considering I used to suffer from bad blistering due to underlapping on the toes and my orthotics are quite pronounced in the arch and can cause rubbing in that area. I was well aware of this and I had taped my toes, arches and heals as this had worked well for me in the past.
There are quite a few climbs out of this section. They are long and drag on like hell but once over them there is some good field and forest running and I decide I just wanted to be there, so picked up the pace again. We came cruising into the next CP just as the crew car arrived (nice timing!). I knew I was doing OK now as it had taken us 5 hours18minutes to complete the previous 12 miles, but these last 11 miles had only taken 3 hours 31minutes. I was pleased and sat in the chair whilst I got two lots of chicken noodle soup. The crew worked brilliantly again filling my bottles and replacing my ultra pack with essentials. These seem to be the stages where crew come into their own as your focus seems to be on only going forward.
CP8 - Exton to Beauworth 91 - 96 (99) miles (28:24 mins)
I was really feeling the heat now and had to keep pouring water over my head and wetting my cap. I’m not sure if it really was that hot or I was loosing the ability to control my own temperature. I had been drinking constantly but there is a chance my sweat rate may have reduced. I also had to walk out of the checkpoint for quite a while before my hip would let me break into a run.
There were a couple of larger hills that I had to dig a bit deeper on and then the hills got a bit easier and more runable again. Helen was always there to ask if I needed food or more water and check that I was reading the SDWR signs correctly. She motivated me and kept me informed of how we were doing with the mileage. I know I would have had a much harder time without my running buddy. The one thing I didn't tell Helen until later was that on this stage I had hallucinated for a while. I’m quite a sceptical person and was always suspicious of the so called ‘sleep monsters’ so this came as quite a surprise as they were quite vivid. As we ran through a section of rolling hills I saw out of the corner of my right eye a single decker bus, it was painted two tone brown at the top and cream at the bottom and was keeping perfect pace with us. However it was about twice as big as a normal bus. When I turned to look properly it was actually a village a short distance away. I saw the same sort of thing out of the corner of the left eye, but this was a very large land rover and when I turned to look it was in fact a corrugated grey metal farmyard barn. I was aware they were hallucinations and found them amusing, but I didn't say anything to Helen as I thought she might get worried about my condition. I did, however tell her later. We kept a good pace and soon came out onto the road and and turned into the checkpoint. We had covered these 5 miles in 1 hour 32 minutes. Mike was standing there, having been back to the hotel and sorted himself out. I was really pleased to see him and high five'd him as I came in. I sat in a chair in the shade. I was really hot and had been going for around 28 hours. I was also finding it hard to make a decision about the simplest things. ‘So do you want tea, coffee or soup?’ was the question Ruth was asking.
‘I don't know what I want...’ I mumbled. She gave me chicken noodle soup. I looked it and took a small sip, tried to reach for some salt and vineger Pringles and promptly spilled hot soup on my leg. “I got it’ Ruth said trying to dry my leg..’its OK, I didn't want it anyway... I’ll just drink water.’ I got up again as my hip was starting to seize up and I knew we needed to keep going. They tried to get me to eat more but I didn't feel like it. I asked if I had any Perpenteum (another electrolyte/ carbohydrate/ protein/ vitamin powder) left, as I needed a change in taste but there wasn't any. Never mind. I knew the Peronin would keep me going although it was now tasting quite chalky. Maybe I was a bit dehydrated. I've thought about this since and think it may be down to the amount of calcium in it (you know that dry taste you sometimes get from toothpaste?). The crew shouted encouragement as we went out for the last 7 miles.
The Finish - Beauworth to Winchester 96 - 103 (106) miles (31:18 mins)
There was know way I was stopping now and once I got the hip loosened up we picked up the pace which was now slow with more walking breaks than running. I just had to keep it together. After a short time Helen told me the crew would meet us again near a main road crossing, which was nice as it chunked the last stage down and gave me something to look forward to. We were still up on the ridge and I knew that we would start descending towards Winchester. I kept looking out for signs of the city but it was not in sight yet. It wasn't long before I could see Mike and the crew at the main road crossing. ‘Helen, I’m just going to carry on.. I cant stop again’... ‘Yeah, no problem... I’ll get some water and catch you up’. I grabbed a handful of crisps and went straight on. Mike made sure I got across the road OK and with more words of encouragement. I headed on and now downhill at last. I had seen their faces as I’d past them and said a quick ‘Hi’ but there was some worry there, particularly Ruth. I knew I was OK but wondered if I just looked like shit. Helen caught me up and we kept moving at an even pace. I knew I had energy to run but something told me to keep it in reserve until I knew the end was insight and then run in. We came down the hill and Winchester was in full sight now. There was a large field which seemed much larger than I had anticipated and my head dropped a bit. Then the bike stewards appeared and told us we were about a mile and a half from the finish. We crossed the motorway over a bridge and headed into Winchester, a few streets and that was it. I asked Helen when would we get onto the last long street and to my surprise she said ‘we’re already on it!’. Excitement set in. I was going to bloody do this and I nearly welled up. Holding it together and deciding to go for smiling over crying, we turned onto the last street before the final turn to the finish. Mike and Dick Kearn (Dick had been stewarding throughout the race) were standing on the corner up the street. ‘Come on, lets run’ I shouted at Helen and we took off up the street and were soon at the corner with Mike and Dick clapping. I turned into the finish straight and just enjoyed the moment. Coming in at 31hrs 18mins 54secs beating the cut off by just over 41 mins, (although looking back now I think that could have been a couple of hours quicker). I was handed my medal and sat down. I couldn't believe I had finished. Ruth was there, tears in her eyes, Justina (crew) was smiling and laughing as usual and Helen got a big hug for all her brilliant ‘buddying’. Mike who I have so much respect for and had put his heart and an amazing amount of miles into this race came over and we shook hands... it meant so much more, and understandably it wasn't just his foot that was hurting. He had had the ability to complete this race but he hadn't had the run of luck. Everything needs to come together, you need to want it badly, you have to take it at a pace your body will allow for hour after hour, you have to avoid injury on the race and most of all you have to have great support from the people around you. Fortunately for me on this day everything went in my favour. I’m sure in future races I may not be quite so lucky.
I climbed two flights of stairs in the hotel to use the room facilities provided by the race for showering and changing. I starting to shiver as I showered. My left hip/quad started going into spasm. My initial thoughts were that it was cramp, but I had been vigilant all the way through the race and had experienced no cramp and very little leg discomfort apart from my hip. The spasms were incredibly painful and came on periodically. They made my whole body straighten and I could not concentrate on anything. I had to keep my leg in a certain position or it would shoot through my body like I had been tasered. Ruth helped me onto the bed but I was in just as much pain lying down, so she helped me sit up and get dressed. I made my way back down the stairs slowly and into the bar where Mike, Justina and Helen were enjoying a drink. I had to sit in a certain position to avoid the spasm but as I shifted it came back again much to the amusement of everyone else. I needed to see a doctor and Ruth got me an appointment at the A&E Winchester Hospital within an hour. They wheelchaired me into A&E after a few comedy moments trying to get in and out of the car and I was soon seen by an Irish doctor who was very good. We explained to him the situation and that I thought it was probably a hip flexor problem. He did a few reactional tests, realised my muscles were not cramping, checked the movement of the hip and knee joints and came to the conclusion that I had possibly damaged the middle hip flexor, not badly but enough to trigger a nerve reaction that was completely debilitating my movement. He prescribed me some Diazepam to relax the muscle around the nerve and Cocodimol for the pain. After a while we were all heading back home in the car and I was feeling so much better now most of the cramping had stopped. Since then, the hip has improved every day and four days on I feel completely fine. I suffered no DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) or after effects from lack of sleep and feel elated in having achieved my first 100 miler. A big thanks to Ruth, Justina and Helen, I couldn't have done it without you. Mike, you did some amazing milage and you’ll be back stronger than ever. Take it easy.
10 Tips on completing your first 100 mile ultra
- Make sure your crew consists of family, close friends or other ultra running friends
- Explain to the crew what is require, they may not have done it before but if you explain what you might need at each checkpoint and as it changes throughout the race it makes their job easier and your race smoother. A good crew is irreplaceable.
- Eat well the week before with plenty of fruit and veg, fish etc. I changed my diet quite a bit in the months leading up adding oats, fruit (blueberrys are good), Humous and lots of salad, oily fish.
- Choose a race you know you’ll enjoy.
- Take some time before the race to sit and think about the race, maybe visualise the course or convince yourself of a finish.
- Compile a large variety of nutritional snacks/powders etc and put them in a plastic box with a lid so they are easily available. You may love Pepperami at 40 miles but it may turn your stomach at 80 miles.
- Prepare a variety of clothes options, check the weather beforehand and adjust as the race plays out.
- Try to avoid negative thoughts/people on the race, i.e. if someone catches you up and says ‘this is really horrible isn't it’.. just get away from them, you don't need this. Think positiverly and enjoy it. If running with mates try to be outwardly positive too.
- Run with a mate or group can greatly increase your time and keep up motivation, make sure you can run at each others pace or adapt within reason, don't try to keep up if the pace is too quick..
- When on the race don't get overwhelmed by the whole distances, just try to get to the next checkpoint as economically as possible. Try to avoid injury, watch you footing, be aware of your surroundings.
NOTE: This race is a qualifier for the UTMB. Awarded the max for one race - 4 points.
UTMB is now 5 points to qualify.
UTMB is now 5 points to qualify.
