Good morning, everyone
How are we all today? Well I can't speak for anyone else, so seeing as it's my blog I will only speak of how I am today. Well as ever I am thankful that I get to appreciate this beautiful morning, and that I have what I do, but tempered with this today is the knowledge that I am back on the mainland breathing the putrid air, drinking the questionable water, having to drive to get around and not being able to wake up every day unflustered and so inspired in multiple ways, but instead waking up every day hurried and with various different pressures closing in from every angle. In short, I have just spent around nine days on St. Mary's; the main island on the Isles of Scilly. Whilst there I breathed ample pure air, drank plenty of pure water, did a little swimming in the sea, ate plentifully and bountifully, slept wonderfully and woke up naturally every morning with the light of the sun, and covered plenty of distance by foot, including.....yes, you won't believe it, a fair bit of running! The running included some hills, and occasionally included me pretending I was leading in the final mile of Western States 100, looking back anxiously over my shoulder every so often to make sure I wasn't being too closely pursued by whoever was in second place.
There's something about being somewhere of stunning natural beauty and of great silence that inspires me to move my feet in some kind of rhythm, and when this doesn't entail Morris Dancing it leads to plenty of running. Having the time away from all the aforementioned pressures, of which I didn't mention any in actual detail, also allowed the time to get back into some kind of running form without wondering if I ever would again. This unhurried method reminded me how simple a thing running is, and that all I needed to do in order to run like I had run before was to actually do it. Just to run. My muscles (atrophied as they were from underuse) could remember how to do it, I just had to actually do it. Ok, so I couldn't go and bust out a sub 20 hour 100 miler tomorrow, but I would feel fairly confident of jogging a marathon in around 4 hours if there was a delicious banana cake at the end of it. Despite the even further increased pressures on my time that are to follow this time away, seeing as some unforeseen expenses at the end of it have left me right at the brink financially, I am absolutely determined not to lose this moderate level of running fitness I have crowbarred back into my life, and so whether it takes the occasional uber-late night jog, or the occasional uber-early morning one I most certainly WILL keep it up. In fact, I even plan on sharing the little wisdom I have accrued from my stumbling into running over the previous few years to coach people who are just starting out and help them to achieve their goals. Ok, so I'm not gonna coach anyone to take down Kyle Skaggs' seemingly impenetrable Hardrock 100 course record......hey, way to ruin my clever ultra running reference, Kilian!!!......Ok, so I'm not gonna coach anyone to take down Kilian Jornet's stunning Hardrock 100 course record, but maybe I can help someone who was where I was a few years back to get to where I did or beyond. Whyever not? Details soon to follow.
Ok, so it's a while since I did an epic blog, which is mostly to do with time constraints, and so to end this I shall mention the concept of shorecraft - being able to tell whether a tide is coming in or going out the minute you get to a beach. How is your shorecraft? Does it need work? I can help with that too! Take much care until next time......
Many of you already know this, but if anyone doesn't this is a book I wrote that fills in a few gaps left gaping by this blog post.........
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Everything-Will-Work-Out-in-the-Long-Run-signed-personalised-copy-Dave-Urwin-/261519504796?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item3ce3c6f59c
Monday, 14 July 2014
Thursday, 26 June 2014
It worked out in the long run (sorry outdoor buzz for stealing your title ;) )
Ok, so I haven't posted in here for quite a while; never seem to find the time nowadays for such things as blogging, which could either indicate an extremely busy life or merely nothing to blog about. Maybe even both.
Well this is just a little post about what long runs have done for me. Well without wishing to be overly dramatic, I just don't know how I might have coped with elements of the past few years without being able to get out and run long. Simply put, just going out there and running long when I never had showed me large pools (I won't say vast oceans as that may be a little OTT) of strength and determination that I never knew I possessed. It's not an original thing to say, but knowing I had the determination to keep putting one foot in front of the other when my body was begging and pleading me to stop by firing up pain receptors in a number of different places allowed me to believe that I would be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other in life too, and deal with whatever could be thrown at me. I have two perspectives to share on this that can help back up my experience, the first is from a little tome known as The bible - you may have heard of it. This is from James 1: "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
Whether you read the bible or not, the above verse speaks a truth that is surely relatable to any ultra runner - we have all been through those lows in races that seem like they might derail our chances of getting to the finish, but invariably if you push through them you will come out the other side and find new sources of strength to keep you moving forward. Having the knowledge that the lows will come but you can deal with them as long as you keep looking after yourself and putting one foot in front of the other is enough to bring any challenge into the realms of possibility.
The second sentence I would like to share is from the late Caballo Blanco; I saw a talk he gave in Bristol a few years back, around six months before he died, during which he said (not word for word): - "The way to cope with the challenges of life is to have faith in something. Look at running 100 miles; you will inevitably have times when you suffer, but you get through it. It's the same in life; you have low points, but you get through them. All you have to do is believe."
That is what I am getting at; once upon a time running a marathon seemed like an impossible dream for me. There came a time when I would think nothing of doing a marathon length training run. The long run allowed me to make the distinction between 'Can't' and 'Won't' and is still an analogy that helps me to realise I can get through the challenges life presents. Ok, so maybe I can't literally have a few hundred pounds taken off my debts by running long (oh how I wish it were that simple), but knowing what I have achieved by pushing through the lows in a running sense shows me what is possible, and is part of what stops me from spending each day freaking out about things I can't change with a click of the fingers.
My book 'Everything Will Work Out in the Long Run' (signed copy) is available via this link.....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Everything-Will-Work-Out-in-the-Long-Run-signed-personalised-copy-Dave-Urwin-/251544118720?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item3a9132a5c0
Well this is just a little post about what long runs have done for me. Well without wishing to be overly dramatic, I just don't know how I might have coped with elements of the past few years without being able to get out and run long. Simply put, just going out there and running long when I never had showed me large pools (I won't say vast oceans as that may be a little OTT) of strength and determination that I never knew I possessed. It's not an original thing to say, but knowing I had the determination to keep putting one foot in front of the other when my body was begging and pleading me to stop by firing up pain receptors in a number of different places allowed me to believe that I would be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other in life too, and deal with whatever could be thrown at me. I have two perspectives to share on this that can help back up my experience, the first is from a little tome known as The bible - you may have heard of it. This is from James 1: "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
Whether you read the bible or not, the above verse speaks a truth that is surely relatable to any ultra runner - we have all been through those lows in races that seem like they might derail our chances of getting to the finish, but invariably if you push through them you will come out the other side and find new sources of strength to keep you moving forward. Having the knowledge that the lows will come but you can deal with them as long as you keep looking after yourself and putting one foot in front of the other is enough to bring any challenge into the realms of possibility.
The second sentence I would like to share is from the late Caballo Blanco; I saw a talk he gave in Bristol a few years back, around six months before he died, during which he said (not word for word): - "The way to cope with the challenges of life is to have faith in something. Look at running 100 miles; you will inevitably have times when you suffer, but you get through it. It's the same in life; you have low points, but you get through them. All you have to do is believe."
That is what I am getting at; once upon a time running a marathon seemed like an impossible dream for me. There came a time when I would think nothing of doing a marathon length training run. The long run allowed me to make the distinction between 'Can't' and 'Won't' and is still an analogy that helps me to realise I can get through the challenges life presents. Ok, so maybe I can't literally have a few hundred pounds taken off my debts by running long (oh how I wish it were that simple), but knowing what I have achieved by pushing through the lows in a running sense shows me what is possible, and is part of what stops me from spending each day freaking out about things I can't change with a click of the fingers.
My book 'Everything Will Work Out in the Long Run' (signed copy) is available via this link.....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Everything-Will-Work-Out-in-the-Long-Run-signed-personalised-copy-Dave-Urwin-/251544118720?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item3a9132a5c0
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Thames Path 100 2014 race report (a race report with a difference!)
Good morning! As I sit typing this I find the weather to be sunny, which is in stark contrast to the conditions experienced when I volunteered at Thames Path 100 last year, although I am led to believe represents the reality of the conditions for this year's race. The warmth of the sun apparently led to many runners experiencing nausea from fairly early on, which almost certainly would have been the case for me - I am never actually sick during a race or training run but if it's hot then you can guarantee I'll be urging at some point. On a ridiculously hot day I once spent a good couple of hours retching as I tried to run the Quantock Greenway's northern loop, but was reduced to a hobble due to said retching. Eventually I felt well enough to jog slowly again, but it took some time.
So I've had the mental capacity to keep moving forward for a couple of hours whilst my body tries to reject the fuel I have given it. That should stand me in tremendously good stead for running 100 miles. So what went wrong? Why am I sitting here typing about how I missed the Thames Path 100 than about how I brought home the bacon there? Well as it happens I've just dreamt about doing the race, and just before I woke up I was moving well past the 100k point, passing a number of people and telling them I'd still break into the top 10, even though at least seven people had already finished at this point (my race would be going pretty badly if that had been the case.)
Well, to cut a long story short I had a troublesome ankle injury last Autumn. After my last race in October I decided to give it a good rest. Then we were hit by many of the most ferocious storms I can remember experiencing. This didn't really inspire me to get out running. All of that time I was writing a book, then getting it published, then processing pre-orders. In between all that January 1st happened and I had written a list of 100 kind of resolutions that would help me have a fitter, happier, more productive (see what I did there any late 90s indie fans?) 2014. Then suddenly it was nearly April and I'd barely run a step in anger all year. "It'll be Ok," I reasoned, "As long as I can have a few weeks' half-decent training I'll be able to give TP100 a go." I even had a crazy idea in mind of trying to finish in time for breakfast; a time of between 19 and 22 hours. It was flat as a pancake, I thought, and so it shouldn't be impossible. Around that time I did a run of about 19 miles on the 'infamous' Taunton to Bridgwater canal, but nine minute miling didn't feel all that slow, and I was having to take walking breaks from 6 miles in. A few days after that I went for a run on the 'legendary' Ilminster to Chard cycle path. Within a mile or two I just knew in my heart that I wasn't going to be ready to give it my best shot. Maybe I'd be able to death march to the finish in about 26 or 27 hours, but maybe I wouldn't. If I was going to do a Centurion race I wanted to know when I stood on the start line that if everything went perfectly I could get to the finish in a decent time.
It was with a very heavy heart that I decided to relinquish my place, for there were many people I'd been talking to excitedly about the race beforehand, many of whom I was looking forward to meeting for the first time. Maybe I could volunteer instead? Well the fact is that in stark contrast to when I volunteered this time last year there's a whole heap of stuff going on in my life that means I could have done without a busy weekend away anyway. This has led to the realisation that the publication of my tome really does mark a bit of a turning point. It does mark the end of a chapter. The fact is that unless I become a millionaire any time soon I don't see myself being able to crowbar in enough running time to be able to train to give a long ultra a proper good go. Until such a time as this changes I won't be entering one. Oh nosirree. Instead I shall be building myself up as a runner again from scratch, ready to absolutely set alight the next ultra race I take part in, be it later this year or not for several years. My immediate running goal will now be to train for.....a FIVE K!!!! Yes, that's right. A distance I have never raced. I will be training for Taunton's 'world renowned' Long Run Meadow Park Run (don't know if that's even its proper title.) This will involve a fair bit of speedwork, and little in the way of long runs - now that's ironic. Also, for some reason I keep happening to look at a clock when it reads 3.36, which happens to be my current marathon PB. I am hoping all the speedwork will allow me to go out one day and run a marathon faster than that, just to prove I can. I will attempt to do it in race conditions if I get a chance.
Instead of dwelling on what I can't do I've decided to focus on what I can do. I have time to train for a 5k, and in fact to give it a really good go at getting a half-decent time. I won't be aiming for 15 minutes and change or anything crazy like that, but will see if I can post a sub 20 by the end of the summer, which is actually pretty quick for me as I hate running fast if I'm brutally honest. I'll do that and just see where it leaves me, but my hope is that it'll make me fitter overall and as I gradually aim to get towards being ultra fit again I will end up fitter than I've ever been. Genius ;)
So what about the Thames Path 100 race report? Well, on Friday I got that familiar buzz of excitement, even though I wasn't racing - I guess my brain knew that I would have been. Then over the weekend I looked for updates where I could find them, being unsurprised that Ed Catmur was storming ahead at the front, smiling broadly when I saw that someone I knew was doing well, having a frown that needed turning upside down when I saw that somebody I knew had dropped. On Sunday morning, at about the time I envisaged myself finishing, I felt pretty morose. For the rest of the day I kept thinking about how I should be absolutely wiped out physically, mentally and emotionally, and looking forward to eating everything in sight for the next couple of days, then slowly recovering and getting back to running again. Well it didn't happen. I haven't beaten myself up about it, and have been lucky enough to dream very vividly about doing the race, which is the next best thing. I won't rush my return, but will get a different kind of racing buzz soon in a way that I can without decimating the time I need to do what needs doing currently. To quote a line from an old Streets song, "Something that was not meant to be now is done, and this is the start of what was."
Oh and blimey o' reilly, WHAT??!!!!! I've just remembered the title of my aforementioned tome, and how the rebuilding process begins with Longrun park run - I guess everything will work out in the long run!
(If anyone wises to order, please follow link below)........
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Everything-Will-Work-Out-in-the-Long-Run-signed-personalised-copy-Dave-Urwin-/261467388436?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item3ce0abba14
So I've had the mental capacity to keep moving forward for a couple of hours whilst my body tries to reject the fuel I have given it. That should stand me in tremendously good stead for running 100 miles. So what went wrong? Why am I sitting here typing about how I missed the Thames Path 100 than about how I brought home the bacon there? Well as it happens I've just dreamt about doing the race, and just before I woke up I was moving well past the 100k point, passing a number of people and telling them I'd still break into the top 10, even though at least seven people had already finished at this point (my race would be going pretty badly if that had been the case.)
Well, to cut a long story short I had a troublesome ankle injury last Autumn. After my last race in October I decided to give it a good rest. Then we were hit by many of the most ferocious storms I can remember experiencing. This didn't really inspire me to get out running. All of that time I was writing a book, then getting it published, then processing pre-orders. In between all that January 1st happened and I had written a list of 100 kind of resolutions that would help me have a fitter, happier, more productive (see what I did there any late 90s indie fans?) 2014. Then suddenly it was nearly April and I'd barely run a step in anger all year. "It'll be Ok," I reasoned, "As long as I can have a few weeks' half-decent training I'll be able to give TP100 a go." I even had a crazy idea in mind of trying to finish in time for breakfast; a time of between 19 and 22 hours. It was flat as a pancake, I thought, and so it shouldn't be impossible. Around that time I did a run of about 19 miles on the 'infamous' Taunton to Bridgwater canal, but nine minute miling didn't feel all that slow, and I was having to take walking breaks from 6 miles in. A few days after that I went for a run on the 'legendary' Ilminster to Chard cycle path. Within a mile or two I just knew in my heart that I wasn't going to be ready to give it my best shot. Maybe I'd be able to death march to the finish in about 26 or 27 hours, but maybe I wouldn't. If I was going to do a Centurion race I wanted to know when I stood on the start line that if everything went perfectly I could get to the finish in a decent time.
It was with a very heavy heart that I decided to relinquish my place, for there were many people I'd been talking to excitedly about the race beforehand, many of whom I was looking forward to meeting for the first time. Maybe I could volunteer instead? Well the fact is that in stark contrast to when I volunteered this time last year there's a whole heap of stuff going on in my life that means I could have done without a busy weekend away anyway. This has led to the realisation that the publication of my tome really does mark a bit of a turning point. It does mark the end of a chapter. The fact is that unless I become a millionaire any time soon I don't see myself being able to crowbar in enough running time to be able to train to give a long ultra a proper good go. Until such a time as this changes I won't be entering one. Oh nosirree. Instead I shall be building myself up as a runner again from scratch, ready to absolutely set alight the next ultra race I take part in, be it later this year or not for several years. My immediate running goal will now be to train for.....a FIVE K!!!! Yes, that's right. A distance I have never raced. I will be training for Taunton's 'world renowned' Long Run Meadow Park Run (don't know if that's even its proper title.) This will involve a fair bit of speedwork, and little in the way of long runs - now that's ironic. Also, for some reason I keep happening to look at a clock when it reads 3.36, which happens to be my current marathon PB. I am hoping all the speedwork will allow me to go out one day and run a marathon faster than that, just to prove I can. I will attempt to do it in race conditions if I get a chance.
Instead of dwelling on what I can't do I've decided to focus on what I can do. I have time to train for a 5k, and in fact to give it a really good go at getting a half-decent time. I won't be aiming for 15 minutes and change or anything crazy like that, but will see if I can post a sub 20 by the end of the summer, which is actually pretty quick for me as I hate running fast if I'm brutally honest. I'll do that and just see where it leaves me, but my hope is that it'll make me fitter overall and as I gradually aim to get towards being ultra fit again I will end up fitter than I've ever been. Genius ;)
So what about the Thames Path 100 race report? Well, on Friday I got that familiar buzz of excitement, even though I wasn't racing - I guess my brain knew that I would have been. Then over the weekend I looked for updates where I could find them, being unsurprised that Ed Catmur was storming ahead at the front, smiling broadly when I saw that someone I knew was doing well, having a frown that needed turning upside down when I saw that somebody I knew had dropped. On Sunday morning, at about the time I envisaged myself finishing, I felt pretty morose. For the rest of the day I kept thinking about how I should be absolutely wiped out physically, mentally and emotionally, and looking forward to eating everything in sight for the next couple of days, then slowly recovering and getting back to running again. Well it didn't happen. I haven't beaten myself up about it, and have been lucky enough to dream very vividly about doing the race, which is the next best thing. I won't rush my return, but will get a different kind of racing buzz soon in a way that I can without decimating the time I need to do what needs doing currently. To quote a line from an old Streets song, "Something that was not meant to be now is done, and this is the start of what was."
Oh and blimey o' reilly, WHAT??!!!!! I've just remembered the title of my aforementioned tome, and how the rebuilding process begins with Longrun park run - I guess everything will work out in the long run!
(If anyone wises to order, please follow link below)........
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Everything-Will-Work-Out-in-the-Long-Run-signed-personalised-copy-Dave-Urwin-/261467388436?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item3ce0abba14
Sunday, 9 February 2014
Starting afresh
Good afternoon!
Ok, so I have decided to start my blog afresh to reflect starting running afresh yesterday. By starting afresh I mean that since DNFing at mile 65 of Caesar's Camp 100 in October the amount of times I had intentionally gone out with the purpose of going for a run until yesterday 8th February I could count on all of my fingers and toes even if I was paraplegic. I hope that joke doesn't offend anyone; I like to think that if I was paraplegic I would see the funny side of that joke. Anyway.....
Yesterday was the Cotswold 50k; an informal event organised by Tim Lambert involving an out and back 32ish mile run from Bath to Old Sodbury and back to Bath. I was credited with helping to organise the event but short of agreeing that it was a good idea, promoting it a little bit and doing an off-the-cuff race briefing in which I insinuated that Jez Bragg's solo run across New Zealand was the result of Tim not being able to open a tin of rice pudding at an aid station when crewing for him at Western States 2012, which pissed him off so much that he had to go to the other side of the world to calm down, and then I painted Emily Canvin as the kind of person who'd point and laugh, take a picture of you on her phone and share it on facebook just because she'd annihilated me in North Dorset Village Marathon last year despite me running a big PB, I can't say I did much organisation, and so all credit must go to Mr Lambert. As it happens, Emily was doing this run on the back of winning the 50 mile Thames Trot the previous weekend and still made it to the half way aid station before I did, and so her merciless rubbishing of my running abilities continues. Looking at it another way though, runners like Emily exist to keep the rest of us humble; runners like Emily don't need to be kept humble because they already are. The inner peace and humility that comes from being bloomin' good at running seems to be something that all bloomin' good ultra runners I've met share.
So 18 of us ran; I won't list all of them, partly because I don't remember every single one of the names, and partly because I want this post to be relatively short. What I will say is that each and every one of those runners brought their own personality to the day and the personalities blended into a delicious soup nearly as tasty as the gluten free flapjack made by Chris and Nikki Mills that was present at the half way aid station. The half way aid station was run by the peerless Nici Griffin. I told Nici she was the real star of the show on the day and I meant it; if you had to be outside on a day typical of this stormy winter we've been having would you rather be running and keeping warm or stood in one place waiting for a bunch of silly sausages who thought it was a good idea to run in that horrendous weather to arrive? She never stopped smiling or dancing, and was her ultra supportive self the whole time. Her wonderfulness has not gone unnoticed in the ultra running community, hence the glowing praise plastered all over facebook of her endeavours, and her employment by Centurion Running this year. Anyone who volunteers for the length of the Spine race must have a phenomenal love of the ultra scene, and this is crazily inspiring for the rest of us. Nikki also did a fabulous job of volunteering on the day, even going beyond the call of duty to give myself and Emily a lift back to Bath when we dropped at the half way point. Emily's excuse was a hard 50 mile run seven days previously. Mine was possibly having to rush off to Bristol at any moment, but I wasn't even remotely disappointed to not run the return leg because I have to admit that those 16 miles to half way had been the toughest 16 miles I'd run in a very, very long time.
So basically it's a simple equation; if you don't run properly all winter then 16 miles is going to be pretty tough unless you're Kilian Jornet or someone like that. For me it involved a bit of cramping just 8 or 9 miles in; I think this was because I hadn't eaten enough, needed some electrolytes and because of the mud leading to a greater effort in most strides, but essentially lack of training was mostly to blame. The route was stunning; sweeping hills, pretty (if a little blustery and unnerving) woods, picturesque valleys. After my cramping I decided to slow it right down for a while, eat a bit, have some electrolyte-infused water (half a Nuun tablet) and it was at that point I was able to reflect a bit, stop thinking about how much distance those ahead of me were putting on me and just enjoy the fact that I was outdoors, the breeze was on my face, I was far away from anything urban and I was at peace. Lovely stuff! I even got a bit of an endorphin high when I started running again, and had ideas for a couple more books in my head - not books about my own story I hasten to add. Maybe one day they will get written, but for now I have my first one to promote/sell....well, I will as soon as the publishers decided I can have it anyway. Several people said they were looking forward to reading it during the day, and I am looking forward to being able to allow people to read it, that's for sure.
Was great to run again, great to run with other people again, great to meet people in the flesh I'd only spoken to online. Everyone was awesome. Mega props to Kat Ganly for driving down on the morning of the race from Brighton (as well as Nici driving down from London) and devouring lots of KFC on the way home having put in an awesome run. Also met Andrew Jordan, Richard Hill, Zoe Thornburgh, Rich Cranswick for the first time as well as others I'd not been expecting to meet. What lessons did I learn from the day? Well one of the main ones I still haven't learnt is not to go shopping when still high on endorphins. I appear to have bought a crazy green jumper with a couple of fish on the front. Luckily it wasn't too pricey, but will I wear it again? I'll have to, won't I.
If I was to give a final thought it would be that running is good, and ultra runners are usually good people. I already knew that. So how about something I didn't know? Well Ok, thanks to Richard Hill I now know that a 10 acre farm in South Wales may cost somewhere in the region of £200,000. Now that is intriguing! If I sell half a million copies of my book it may be something to consider (that would be more than £200,000 but then there's tax, living expenses, debts to pay off.....basically I still may not be able to retire on it.) Thanks for reading, and happy running and non-running to you all.
Ok, so I have decided to start my blog afresh to reflect starting running afresh yesterday. By starting afresh I mean that since DNFing at mile 65 of Caesar's Camp 100 in October the amount of times I had intentionally gone out with the purpose of going for a run until yesterday 8th February I could count on all of my fingers and toes even if I was paraplegic. I hope that joke doesn't offend anyone; I like to think that if I was paraplegic I would see the funny side of that joke. Anyway.....
Yesterday was the Cotswold 50k; an informal event organised by Tim Lambert involving an out and back 32ish mile run from Bath to Old Sodbury and back to Bath. I was credited with helping to organise the event but short of agreeing that it was a good idea, promoting it a little bit and doing an off-the-cuff race briefing in which I insinuated that Jez Bragg's solo run across New Zealand was the result of Tim not being able to open a tin of rice pudding at an aid station when crewing for him at Western States 2012, which pissed him off so much that he had to go to the other side of the world to calm down, and then I painted Emily Canvin as the kind of person who'd point and laugh, take a picture of you on her phone and share it on facebook just because she'd annihilated me in North Dorset Village Marathon last year despite me running a big PB, I can't say I did much organisation, and so all credit must go to Mr Lambert. As it happens, Emily was doing this run on the back of winning the 50 mile Thames Trot the previous weekend and still made it to the half way aid station before I did, and so her merciless rubbishing of my running abilities continues. Looking at it another way though, runners like Emily exist to keep the rest of us humble; runners like Emily don't need to be kept humble because they already are. The inner peace and humility that comes from being bloomin' good at running seems to be something that all bloomin' good ultra runners I've met share.
So 18 of us ran; I won't list all of them, partly because I don't remember every single one of the names, and partly because I want this post to be relatively short. What I will say is that each and every one of those runners brought their own personality to the day and the personalities blended into a delicious soup nearly as tasty as the gluten free flapjack made by Chris and Nikki Mills that was present at the half way aid station. The half way aid station was run by the peerless Nici Griffin. I told Nici she was the real star of the show on the day and I meant it; if you had to be outside on a day typical of this stormy winter we've been having would you rather be running and keeping warm or stood in one place waiting for a bunch of silly sausages who thought it was a good idea to run in that horrendous weather to arrive? She never stopped smiling or dancing, and was her ultra supportive self the whole time. Her wonderfulness has not gone unnoticed in the ultra running community, hence the glowing praise plastered all over facebook of her endeavours, and her employment by Centurion Running this year. Anyone who volunteers for the length of the Spine race must have a phenomenal love of the ultra scene, and this is crazily inspiring for the rest of us. Nikki also did a fabulous job of volunteering on the day, even going beyond the call of duty to give myself and Emily a lift back to Bath when we dropped at the half way point. Emily's excuse was a hard 50 mile run seven days previously. Mine was possibly having to rush off to Bristol at any moment, but I wasn't even remotely disappointed to not run the return leg because I have to admit that those 16 miles to half way had been the toughest 16 miles I'd run in a very, very long time.
So basically it's a simple equation; if you don't run properly all winter then 16 miles is going to be pretty tough unless you're Kilian Jornet or someone like that. For me it involved a bit of cramping just 8 or 9 miles in; I think this was because I hadn't eaten enough, needed some electrolytes and because of the mud leading to a greater effort in most strides, but essentially lack of training was mostly to blame. The route was stunning; sweeping hills, pretty (if a little blustery and unnerving) woods, picturesque valleys. After my cramping I decided to slow it right down for a while, eat a bit, have some electrolyte-infused water (half a Nuun tablet) and it was at that point I was able to reflect a bit, stop thinking about how much distance those ahead of me were putting on me and just enjoy the fact that I was outdoors, the breeze was on my face, I was far away from anything urban and I was at peace. Lovely stuff! I even got a bit of an endorphin high when I started running again, and had ideas for a couple more books in my head - not books about my own story I hasten to add. Maybe one day they will get written, but for now I have my first one to promote/sell....well, I will as soon as the publishers decided I can have it anyway. Several people said they were looking forward to reading it during the day, and I am looking forward to being able to allow people to read it, that's for sure.
Was great to run again, great to run with other people again, great to meet people in the flesh I'd only spoken to online. Everyone was awesome. Mega props to Kat Ganly for driving down on the morning of the race from Brighton (as well as Nici driving down from London) and devouring lots of KFC on the way home having put in an awesome run. Also met Andrew Jordan, Richard Hill, Zoe Thornburgh, Rich Cranswick for the first time as well as others I'd not been expecting to meet. What lessons did I learn from the day? Well one of the main ones I still haven't learnt is not to go shopping when still high on endorphins. I appear to have bought a crazy green jumper with a couple of fish on the front. Luckily it wasn't too pricey, but will I wear it again? I'll have to, won't I.
If I was to give a final thought it would be that running is good, and ultra runners are usually good people. I already knew that. So how about something I didn't know? Well Ok, thanks to Richard Hill I now know that a 10 acre farm in South Wales may cost somewhere in the region of £200,000. Now that is intriguing! If I sell half a million copies of my book it may be something to consider (that would be more than £200,000 but then there's tax, living expenses, debts to pay off.....basically I still may not be able to retire on it.) Thanks for reading, and happy running and non-running to you all.
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