Ultra Running training plans #9 Speed training for ultras

#9 Speed Training for Ultras

Following on from earlier in the series of articles we talked about specificity and training planning along with mileage. Let's jump straight to it....

Initially, your ultra running performance will probably NOT be limited by your speed, you'll be busy making mistakes with nutrition and getting lost along with having a picnic at each checkpoint like I did. There are a couple of factors that come in to play, your running economy, your conditioning, your stamina, mental toughness etc.

Once you've built a bit of experience making some mistakes and practicing different strategies (or learned from someone else's mistakes) you'll be able to keep your body fueled and you'll be finishing some ultras mid pack perhaps in the top half. You'll eventually hit a plateau from just running more. To really make a difference in your ultra running times let's consider this

What are the chances of running at your 10k pb pace for a 30 mile ultra? Much less 50 mile or 100! Exactly....Nobody in an ultra race is 'sprinting' EVEN the 'fast ones'. Every runner is running this at a relatively low intensity compared to their 10k pb pace.

So you do get some variances, some people can maintain a higher % of their maximum effort or heart rate for longer than others but, if someone can run flat out for 10k and it takes them 60 mins they are going to be going a lot slower than this when they run 30 miles.

If this runner improves their speed though, so that they can run 10k now in 50 mins instead of 1 hour then slowing down to run a 60 min 10km pace (or 10 min mile roughly) is going to be much more comfortable and therefore be able to go much further at this pace.

When I started running I couldn't run 10k but I built up to it and then eventually I managed to run quicker than 1 hour. So that was a 10 min mile pace.... Now I can run 10km at about 5.30 min mile pace sooooooo..... Slowing down to 7 minute miles for me feels fairly comfortable. With a proper training plan I'm now able to run under 7 min miles for 50 miles. If I never improved my speed much from starting running this would be impossible as I couldn't even run 1 mile this quick when I first started.

#chorley 6 hour race. Grim conditions but a good friendly race

A post shared by Charlie Sharpe (@charliethatruns) on Oct 7, 2017 at 9:57am PDT

If we take someone who can run a 30 min 10k which is about 5 minute mile.... a 6 minute mile is going to feel fairly comfortable, a 10 minute mile is going to feel like an uncomfortable shuffle.

Bottom line, speed is still a factor in ultra running and shouldn't be neglected, it might not be a prime focus year round every single week but it should certainly feature during some of your training phases.

100 mile training advice #5 Nutrition for ultra running

#5 Fuelling for ultras

It's usually only a matter of time before an ultra runner gets to learn about fuelling... One long march to the finish whilst being unable to stomach any fluids or sugars or anything at all for that matter, it can wipe out energy levels in no time and before you know it half the field has passed you and there's nothing you can do about it... I generally don't get many issues in this department as I stick to a couple of sources of calories and it works for me... I did manage to run the first 8 hours or so of Trans Grancanaria without taking in any calories, I was drinking 'Pepsi Max' on the checkpoints thinking it was the same as Coca Cola, loaded with sugars BUT it's actually the sugar free version! Doh! I suspected something was up whilst I was barely able to run or focus and kept going dizzy up hills. After investing some time in getting calories in me I ran the later stages totally fine.

I think the main risks with fuelling are

1 relying on one source of calories then getting sick of it, eg setting out with just gels for 24 hours worth of running and being unable to even look at a gel after 6 hours.

2 trying some food or powder or potion that you have never tried before and it throwing you off

3 not taking in enough calories or fluids early on and then being in a giant energy deficit and unable to maintain any kind of pace

4 perhaps not so drastic but worth noting, fuelling inconsistently and just having a bit of a roller coaster in terms of energy levels.

Which brings me to my top tips...

1 - Practice the foods or drinks you plan to race with, try them in a training run and see how you feel.

2 - When it's very hot (talking 30 -40 plus degrees C) I might consume about 1 l per hour of fluids, you might need more or less so listen to your body, depending on size and acclimatisation, try to practice in conditions similar to what you'll race in

3 - Always have a bit of a back up or emergency calories, if you run low on food or water, maybe a section takes you a long time between checkpoints or you get lost or something and miss a checkpoint, being tired and thirsty and not having anything is a grim feeling.

4 - There aren't any magic foods or diets or pills that will make up for a lack of training, sure eating a healthy balanced diet is going to put you in good stead, but going on a crash diet for 2 weeks to try and compensate for not getting the miles in will probably do more harm than good.

5 - Carbohydrate loading... Could almost be a section on its own, carb loading is where you increase the amount of carbs in your diet for 2-3 days leading up to a race to ensure your glycogen stores are topped up and you're ready for a long race. It doesn't involve gorging on junk food for 10 days before your next 10k and it definitely doesn't mean you need to eat your bodyweight in donuts every time you want to go for a run.

There are other considerations but these should definitely get you started. If you are having issues with your stomach in races or long runs, what you're eating might be playing a part. Worth looking into in more detail if that's you!

100 mile ultra run training #4 Kit

100 mile ultra training #4 kit

You can checkout my kit on the 'My Kit' Tab

#4 Kit!

Kit should be straight forwards... However, often the focus for kit is in the wrong direction... Rather than thinking can I get a jacket that's 50g lighter, should we instead be asking, 'Is this going to keep me warm and dry if I get stuck on a mountain?'

When you're out racing for a long time like in a 100 mile ultra, maybe even just a hilly trail marathon, you might experience some poor weather conditions. If your jacket is leaking and you've not slept all night and it's getting cold and your legs are tired but you've got all your kit on, it's very easy to get to a nice warm checkpoint and think 'Bugger it, I'm not going back out in that' as you begin to shiver at the thought of heading back into the cold night.

In reality you aren't injured or anything and physically could keep going but just the discomfort of plodding on in those conditions isn't a nice thought. You end up with a DNF because you took a poor quality jacket and skimped on kit. Perhaps the next people into the checkpoint are at least dry on the inside and heading back out into the rain they are at least shielded from the rain. An hour later the weather could brighten up and clear, maybe it will get worse, either way just having the right kit for the job can keep you in a race! It doesn't mean you need the most expensive fancy things, just something that is 'fit for purpose'

The other big point about kit is make sure you have practiced and are used to the kit you are going to use, don't turn up in new kit on the start line that you've never used. Eg I've met someone totally lost with a GPS in hand because they didn't know how to use it, I've seen some impressive cuts from a poorly fitting backpack grating at the skin all day and more posts online about foot problems than I could ever count.

After a while you should be able to dial down your kit and know exactly what you need so you can confidently turn up to the race knowing that you can handle what you're going to face without any panic or worry that everyone else is carrying something different to you.

See you on #5 for the next thing that'll go wrong on you one day, fuelling and nutrition for 100 mile ultras

100 mile ultra training #3 race plan

#3 PLANNING

We've ticked off some of the basics already, next we need to think about the actual race plan. Now some people turn up and have no idea what they're in for and yes, do get to the end. My best performances and those of my clients have come from having a race plan. It might be as simple as just knowing a few basic things like the number of climbs in a race or which parts of the course you expect to do during the night.

I like a balance between simplicity and detail although it depends a little on the route... For flat races or routes that are lapped perhaps, this is easier as the terrain is consistent... For mountainous races which I like, you might have a couple of hills in the first half then 10 giant climbs during the second, either way good to know this and plan accordingly.

So you should have an idea of what sort of pace you can move from your training and warm up events. Eg my 3rd 100 mile race with about 4500-5000m ascent I had done a 56 mile race with about 2500m ascent and a 40 mile with 2000m at an intensity that was comfortable for me. I figured if I could do 56 mile in 12 hours relatively comfortable and with some navigational errors probably costing me 30 mins total I'd be able to finish the 100 mile about 24 hours all going well (In reality I did 18 hour 23 as I'd underestimated my fitness and pace and over estimated the course!!)

Knowing approximately what to expect time wise, even a ball park, helps you decide on the kit choices (step #4) and fuelling strategies (#5) You might love detail and do everything down to the minute, You might decide that the 2nd half of your 100 mile is going to be about 2 hours slower than the first half, then when you get halfway you know what you're facing.Not having a plan is like setting off driving somewhere when you have no idea of the destination and can lead to complete confusion or overwhelm.

Sure you might hit a bump in the road and have to adjust your plan as you go but at least you can prepare mentally for this.If you are planning a 20 hour finish time and you hit half way in 12 hours, you can realise that you're 2 hours off the plan and decide an appropriate adjustment... Maybe you just massively under estimated the route and potentially could be out for 4 hours longer than you expected, now you can start fuelling additionally to cover it or pickup extra kit from your drop bag because of the cold night you're about to be running in unexpectedly...

Good Luck :)

www.charliesharpe.co.uk

100 mile ultra run training and advice #2

#2 CONSISTENCY

There's no overnight shortcut, it does take some consistent practice to see improvements. You have to make a start NOW, from whatever your current position, you can't spend your life waiting for everything to fall into place so you can do the things you want, just start, start small and be consistent. I wasn't fat or particularly unhealthy when I started but I was basically adapted to climbing and doing bodyweight exercises with additional weight strapped to me.

So what was my 3rd time running 100 miles I went to Spain for Ultima Frontera 160km. By now I'd been running regularly for 9 months and sporadically for the same again before that.

Once I decided to take this running thing seriously I started to train 3-4 runs per week on top of the bodyweight training I was doing I was eating a colossal amount to keep my energy up and was still able to gain muscle mass despite running or cycling daily. I didn't try and run every day or set any goal that was too outlandish (maybe it depends who you ask) but I decided that running every other day was achievable and I kept at it.

Anyhow so October 2011 I'd done a handful of ultras quite a few marathons or similar training runs and trained well through the year, now it was time to travel to a different country to race in the heat of Spain and in some decent mountains. I had made a lot of the mistakes in smaller races but I'd kept my training up throughout all the challenges of everyday life, roughly I did the following in a typical month

weekend 1 - ultra

weekend 2 - long training run

weekend 3 - back to back long runs

weekend 4 - some cycling and a short race 10k/ half marathon

Through the week I'd do about 3 runs,

Run 1 around 90 mins to 2 hours might be 10 mile or 2 x 6 mile depending,

Run 2 faster session, either progressive or intervals or something with some speed

Run 3 - Easy effort could be hills or just local trails

Along with this I was cycling on the days I didn't run mainly to get around, no structured sessions on the bike and training in the gym with bodyweight and kettlebells or going climbing about 5 days per week (This is probably a little high but I was doing both and hadn't picked a main sport at this point)

So vaguely that's what I'd do.... I didn't always feel fresh and ready but I pushed myself and got it done.

When it came to the actual race... That's where I executed #3 ...

www.charliesharpe.co.uk

100 mile ultra lessons and advice #1

You've heard it before 'It's all in your head' and 'Mind over matter' well here's my number 1 lesson from this pile of 100 mile + medals (except for the Trans Grancanaria one actually that's only 80 mile)

MINDSET

I'm not going to take you on a magically journey of self discovery but stick with me a moment.

So my first 100 mile was going to be the Conti Thunder Run in 2011 but for some reason about 6 weeks before I decided to enter the UR 100 mile at the last minute in June.

Now I'd done a couple of back to back marathons a 50k then a 50 mile and a 12 hour race but then I got run over whilst cycling!!

I wasn't able to run without pain and I was told to do nothing for 6 weeks (which I interpreted to mean go out on the bike instead, I couldn't stand up and peddle but sat down and in easy gears I could roll along) I did a couple of easy runs after about a month then entered the 100 mile with the plan to basically walk with some odd bits of running slowly. Set out right at the back and pretty much was the back runner until the later stages, everyone I overtook was dropping out.

It wasn't exactly plain sailing... I had made no plan for the race at all and had no idea of the route or what was really involved, I lost my jacket and head torch somehow so literally did the whole night in the dark with no light, and it rained for most of the night, I had a spare poncho and just toughed it out.

About the only good news was that I made it to the finish and didn't have any injury issues apart from a dead mobile phone from all the rain. Anyhow..... What got me through this whilst everything around me went wrong was my mindset. I was determined to keep moving and therefore I would eventually reach the finish. How hard could it be?

Nowadays I am much stronger mentally but I also have solid race plans and good knowledge of my ability. The mind is focused on how hard to push myself when it gets tough.

I've put mindset first because no matter how fit you are, or how much fancy equipment you've got.... If your mind isn't in it your body can shut down and give up in no time

More on my website http://www.charliesharpe.co.uk

Andorra Ultra Trail 170km +13500m

I first spotted the Andorra Ultra Trail a few years ago as I trawled through race calendars looking for 100 mile races and with it falling in a busy time of year it's clashed with a few races I've done in the past like Lakeland and Al Andalus, so this year I decided I'd shake things up rather than do the same races over again and get entered.

The first thing that struck my attention was that the ascent is more than double that of the Lakeland 100 and about 35% more than the UTMB or Northburn 100 milers. I was fully expecting it to be the hardest 100 miler I've done. The previous winning times are over 30 hours and the cut off time is 60 something hours to give an idea. Seeing as my body doesn't cope well going over 2000m I knew I'd have to at least get out there a little bit before hand to get a feel for it.

After my last trail run coaching holiday in June I headed over to Andorra and completed the majority of the route (about 90%) in 4 days carrying a small pack with my overnight stuff in. Generally when  I spend much time above 2000m running I feel totally breathless even at walking pace. The average height of the race is about 2100m with only the start and finish and the mid way checkpoint down at around 900m.

In terms of planning I reckoned with a 7am start on the Friday morning, I could finish at some point on the Saturday, maybe just before dark. I expected somewhere between 36 and 40 hours depending how badly the altitude got me. The legs are stronger than ever at the moment so I didn't really consider having any problems in that department, and after recceing the course I knew what I was in for, the big ? was how my body would do with the altitude.

So lets drop straight into race day and just before 7am everyone is gathered in an old street of a small town Ordino in Andorra, there's a buzz of excitement around as 397 runners are ready to depart with a short loop around the town before starting the first climb, over the first 15km we climb up to 2600m the first high point on the route profile, I believe there was 16 points over 2400m. I started pretty conservatively knowing that there's obviously a long way still to go. I was probably just inside the top 30 and passed most of the climb talking to a Japanese runner who would eventually finish 2nd.

After a long descent down to the first checkpoint at Sorteny Refuge just under 20km in just under 3 hours I was feeling ok so far and moving quicker than on my recce run as with the course markings it was very easy to follow the route. I was in a good rhythm and moving ok but started to feel my breathing deteriorate around 30kms in. There literally was not a cloud in the sky for the whole weekend and the views all around were amazing. I was excited about heading up to the highest peak of Andorra at just over 2900m, Comapedrosa which would be around the marathon distance having done over 4000m of ascent to this point. My pace was barely moving as I gasped for breath just trying to move forwards. I knew we'd drop down lower after this so kept pushing on slowly to be greeted at the summit by a bag piper and some enthusiastic marshals.

A couple more climbs, some massive descents and about 25km I would be at the first big aid station and looking at the time I figured I'd be there before it went dark which despite how bad my breathing was I was still moving well enough to finish just inside my expectations. I passed the next few miles with a Spanish guy and practicing my Spanish on him seemed to pass the time well. It wasn't long before we reached the descent into Margineda and we slowly drifted apart, I even passed a handful of runners.

I'd been managing to take in more calories than I normally would and spent about 10 minutes at the checkpoint eating drinking and getting the head torch out etc ready to push on into the darkness. From memory I think I was about 25th at this point. The next few km is a pretty aggressive climb of about 600m before a lot of climbing from 1200m to 2600m which took me about 4 hours for 8 miles!

The first 50 mile had taken about 17 hours 20 min knowing I had just over the same again to do I thought that my finish time would be probably 38-40 hours if I continued at a similar fashion. My breathing was particularly bad here and I spent a lot of time just sat down taking deep breaths and coughing a lot which was frustrating but I persevered and tried not to look at how slow I was averaging. The next section all the way up to the 130km/80 mile checkpoint at Pas de la casa is pretty remote, there are no roads or anything other than a couple of old stone shelters and huts, I guess if you set off on this section you've got to keep going until the checkpoint otherwise you'll still have a 3 or 4 hour hike to get off the course down to a road. The section stays above 2000m with 5 main climbs to 2500m/2600m or so.

I had an even rougher section through here as I was coughing a lot and having to rest every few minutes even when slowly walking up hill. I had a dip in a river a couple hours later as the weather was getting nicely hot again and after that caught up with two ladies who were moving along well. Myself and the American lady were pretty close together for about 30kms and although my legs didn't feel like they were doing anything, my lungs were working hard to even keep up.

After reaching the Pas de la casa checkpoint I knew it would be tight but I'd be able to finish pretty close to darkness and I was fairly certain I'd finish before midnight. There are 3 big climbs then a final 15km down hill to Ordino. It's basically a marathon from the 80 mile point but you can forget your usual marathon pace when there's a few thousand meters of ascent and you've already run for about 31 hours. I basically just continued on as fast as I could manage (slow as!) and ticked off one climb at a time. I wasn't feeling any worse now, just coughed and wheezed my way along. On the final descent I passed a handful of people, my legs were still happy to run as fast as my lungs would let them. I reached Sorteny checkpoint for the last time and whipped out the head torch for the final 8km or so. It seemed to drag a little looking for the finish but there were still supporters out in the town as I rolled in at 11pm on Saturday night having run for around 40 hours 30 minutes. Have a look at the kit I used here http://charlie-sharpe.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-kit.html



In terms of how I feel about the race, it's about where I expected time wise though it's just frustrating that on the races where there are significant amounts run at altitude, my performance declines heavily compared to those where the highest altitudes are 2000m or so. It's a fantastically organised and challenging event, I was disappointed there are no finisher medals (you get a nice jacket instead) If you like mountains you should definitely consider a visit to Andorra! There's a lot to do from hiking, running to climbing and mountain biking etc.

Apocalypse 100 mile ultra - Beyond Marathon - 1st place

That was a warm one!
In brief.... 22 hours 28 min (I think),
101 miles,
4700m ascent,
1st place,
12 finishers (29% finish rate.... 83% finished the 50 mile option)
Checkpoints approx every 10 miles (drop bags at 30/40 and 70/80mile)
Starts and finishes Church Stretton, Shropshire.
Weather... 20 odd degrees sun, not much wind, or shade.
The route... roughly to give you an idea. made up with 1 big loop and 4 smaller loops and starts and finishes with a 10 mile stretch to the centre at Church Stretton.

The route layout - actual map was a little more detailed ;)

In the lead up to the event I'd been in Birmingham for a couple of weeks on NLP and Hypnosis training courses so managed to pop over to Shropshire (about an hours drive) for a couple of weekends. It worked in quite well. I'd been over the whole course aside from a few minor sections that had been amended to keep the route off roads as much as possible. I did take the Garmin Etrex 20 handheld gps with the updated route on although there were only a couple of points I actually got it out. There was a really well written set of directions which I read through the week before the event and also a pre marked map, I never got either of these out during the race. There were a few bits of reflective tape out on the course here and there but on the whole it was unmarked.

Recces...
One weekend was Saturday - first 45 mile, and then Sunday 3 of the 10 mile loops
The second was Fri night 10 mile loop, Sat last 30 miles + 8 back to car
and the 3rd I did Fri night 10 mile loop, Sat 50 mile (none of the loops but the whole of larger loop)
The day before the race did the first 5 and last 5 miles at an easy pace with some walking

The road to mile 92

As for the actual race I'd woken up pretty early in the hotel and had my bag packed up and drop bags ready. I've been running with a Nathan race vest most of the year so decided  to use that but also took a Salomon waist pack just in case. Registration and kit check was really smooth as always, we were given the option of not carrying spare layers and waterproofs given the forecast provided they were in drop bags, so with that in mind I re packed and carried the waist pack with 1 bottle in and the rest of the compulsory kit and gps then left my race vest set up in the 40 mile drop bag so I could swap there.

9am start came around pretty quick and after a short briefing outside the Carding Mill Valley Visitor Cafe we were moving. I pretty much led from the start and was first into the first manned CP at 10 miles with eventual 2nd place finisher close by. The first of 4 10 mile loops would bring us back to this CP before heading along the Striperstones towards Longden Common and the pub which made CP 30 and 40 mile, There's a great view off of Corndon hill and as I was travelling so light progress felt easy, it wasn't long before I'd made a gap and started to build a lead.

Nice views off Corndon Hill!

After that loop we took on the Striperstones which is essentially a long ridge with a stoney path along it which was nice running before hitting some fields again and a little bit of country lane before mile 30 which seemed to arrive quite soon. I had a couple of cups of water and a cup of coke, topped the bottle up and was on my way pretty handy, on the whole the 2nd loop is quite easy going. It was warm from the start but It hadn't really bothered me initially. Kept the water dripping in although started to get very hot around 35 miles. I got to the self clip checkpoint around mid 30 miles and had to budge some cows out the way which had taken a liking to the fence post it was attached to and knocked it down. Just before Earls hill I went down into a stream and cooled off and refilled my bottle from it before a steady ascent up the hill. I didn't move all that quickly after the hill as I could feel myself heating up so just as we went into the woods I sat myself down in another stream for a few minutes and just enjoyed the cool water. I topped my bottle up again and moved on slowly through the shaded woods for a couple of km before running it back into the 40 mile point.

Arriving at the CP runners were sprawled out all over the pub garden (their 30 mile point as the loop came back to here at 40 mile before 50 mile runners headed back to Church Stretton and 100 milers headed over towards Wenlock Edge) I got a little pot of rice pudding and fruit from my drop bag and washed it down with a couple of cups of water and half an orange. I really didn't feel like any food that wasn't juicy so swapped my tracker and a few things from my waist pack into the race vest and set off out of the CP towards halfway. I don't usually stop for much time at all at CPs but spent a bit of time here getting water in and cooling down which I think was time well spent.

I ran well over to Dorringon to cross the A49 and grab an ice cream from the shop before heading off along the country lanes to the 50 mile CP. I bumped into a guy called Richard out for a 20 mile run along here (think he was 7 miles in) so I kept up with him until we parted ways after a couple of miles. I was still feeling pretty good but very warm. It's about 12 miles to the CP and it did seem to take a little longer. A bit of a drink but no food for me here and I made my way along the Wenlock loop which was partly shaded, although no real hilly bits along here I stayed at a steady pace as I had a bit of a bloated kind of feeling as if my stomach wasn't letting anything through and I could feel water sloshing around. It was about now also that I stopped lying in streams that I passed as temperatures had come down a little and I didn't want to end up staying wet once it cooled down and went dark.

Back at mile 60 and the CP I lay down and did a few stretches whilst munching down some strawberries which were the best thing I'd ever tasted at the time, I was well looked after there! (btw DID I mention how awesome all the supporters and crew were too????) I even managed a biscuit too. I set off after a cup of coke and from here it turned into a wildlife adventure along the Edge as the light began to drop and darkness arrived. All along Wenlock edge the bushes were alive with rustling badgers, foxes, rabbits, deer and rodenty looking things and the trees were bustling with owls and pigeons and bats! It was quite exciting seeing the eyes reflecting back off my torch in the darkness. It went quite quick and before long I was looking out for the 70/80 mile CP and the start of the final loop!!!

Some enthusiastic cadets were manning the CP and had some burgers and hot dogs on the stove (I declined as there was no way I felt like eating anything except custard and some fruit) before heading off into the darkness. This loop seemed to have 2 climbs which felt flat on the recces I did, but I could tell I was going uphill by now! The last part of the loop up to Flounders Folly Tower I had a brief wave of tiredness and some minor hallucinations (seeing people and hearing people following me etc) A quick moment to admire the tower before heading down the steep descent which was one of my favourite bits of the course then down to the CP again where current 3rd place was although he had made his mind up to drop out. I wolfed down a bit of rice pudding and was feeling really good at the thought of a final 20 miles to go and dawn approaching. I thought the flapjack looked really nice but could only manage one mouthful. I picked up my gloves from the drop bag and swapped the torch batteries and grabbed the mp3 player (hadn't run with it in a race for a while but it was good to take the mind off the next 5 miles) shortly after leaving the cp I was crossing a field heading to the A49 and had a strange feeling as if the ground was shaking I glanced back and caught the eyes of a herd of blood thirsty young bulls reflecting back at me, they carried on following me to the gate, probably a bit excited by a bright coloured, reflective visitor that looked like easy prey.

It seemed around here the tracker I had, had paused itself and didn't come back on, so I put the occasional Facebook update that I was still moving despite the tracker as I had got quite a few texts asking why I wasn't moving even at such an hour in the morning! The text support was amazing by the way! Thanks everyone!! So one CP to go I felt ok and knew the way, progressed on quite well and daylight began to emerge. A few over grown bits of fields to battle through slowed me down somewhat but kept on going until the 92 mile CP. It was great to reach here knowing that I had 10 miles or less to go. A cup of coke and a bit of a water top up and I got going once more, stomach was feeling good again just didn't feel like eating, although energy levels were fine so I just kept moving. I'd been over the last 5 miles the day before the race so knew the distances now and just kept ticking along, for some reason I wondered if I was being caught so made an extra effort to run from the farm, right back up and over the Long Mynd. I dumped what was left of my water bottle over my head and began the final mile or 2 descent down to the finish line. I felt quite relieved knowing it'd soon be over and I could get back to the hotel and sit in a cold shower.

Wendy was down at the finish with open arms and a nice big medal. Soon Richard appeared with a race nice looking trophy and after a photo I sat down for a cup of tea. I guess I stuck around about an hour before heading back to the hotel where I managed a little bit of breakfast. Thanks so much for the support! A really well organised series of events. Look out for 12 Labours and The DON coming up this year on the Beyond Marathon site!

Shower with a seat!! Holiday in - the Ultra Runners Choice ;)

Some things that helped me in 'the heat'... If you live somewhere hot you're probably laughing that 20 odd degrees is considered heat I know!
Linger in the shade if possible... eg cross over the road to get the shade of a hedge,
Sponge or just tip water over yourself but possibly try and keep it from dripping into your shoes and your feet getting wet.
Keep hydrated and practice drinking on your runs
Stop and rest if needed, it might cost you a few minutes there and then but in something like an ultra can make the difference between finishing and not!
Try to acclimatize as much as possible.
Adjust your race plan accordingly, I backed off the pace I wanted to run at and was glad I did!


I finally finished at 7.28 on Sunday morning with 2nd coming in around 10.18am and 3rd just before 3pm I believe.

Route and results below!

http://beyondmarathon.com/apocalypse-100/apocalypse-100-route/