I approached this Ultra with a question –
is a long run of 22 miles enough of a base to complete a 46 mile ultra? Injury had forced me to rest for most of the summer.
The weekend of fun started at Edinburgh
airport where I met the Kirkie Crazies – Bill, Ada, Terry and Alice. This was
not going to be a quiet weekend. Hire
car collected and we were off to register at the famous Likeys! Martin and Sue are two of the loveliest
people I have met and if you are ever in Brecon please go and visit them (take
your credit card)!
At the cottage Carol, Jeff and Sharkey
arrived and our party was complete. The evening was fairly low key and I went to bed at a decent time to be lulled to sleep by the rain battering off the Velux window above me.
After the usual race briefing and then
we were all lined up on the race start ready to go. There was a countdown and then we were off! The canal path was quite crowded during the
first mile so I upped the pace a bit to get some room. The first 6 miles went by quickly and soon we
were turning right to head up Tor y Foel.
Bill had very kindly told me about the FIVE false summits. I was really looking forward to an incredible
view of the Beacons but the cloud just got thicker and thicker. There was no view at all and I could barely
see a runner 10 metres ahead of me.
Right, a muddy descent in hard ground trail shoes - this wasn't going to be easy. I decided to put my Chamonix training into
practice – commit to the descent and trust in your body. I was doing it, I was
flying, my feet were moving so fast and then I was on my arse. Hmmm, something to be worked on.
There was a long section of fire road – it
took a while to end. Then I was running
up into the mist again – the path opened up out of the woods and I found myself
on a rocky uphill. There wasn’t much to
see except cloud, so I guessed I was heading towards ‘the gap’. A marshall came into view and I ducked
through 'the gap' and started down a rocky technical section. There was a fair bit of green slate which was
slippy underfoot.
Around the hill down and then the delights
of a checkpoint. Now, running in the
Brecon Beacons, you imagine trails with beautiful views don’t you? The next bit I can only describe as a
ditch! For about 1 to 2 miles I ran between
thorny hedges in about 4 inches of water dodging submerged rocks. Surprisingly this was more fun that it sounds and I think I was singing away to myself quite happily.
The route then went slightly random – road,
turnip field, another field, path, field, wood, road, road, road, canal! My day as X-bionic girl got approval from the
X-bionic rep handing out jelly babies just before I hit the canal. I liked him!
The canal was never ending and I was
definitely beginning to struggle. I
started chatting to a lovely Welsh guy called Rich – he was to be my companion
for quite a while. We came off the canal
and jumped a fence into a field – here we were greeted by the sight of about 30
Shetland Ponies which we had to run through. During the first lap
they must have been hidden by the mist. I have to
thank Rich as we worked together to get back up the hill – it
wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t fun! This time there was a view, there were hills
and a reservoir far below – it had become a different race!
The fire road was a struggle and my legs
were definitely failing me. I gritted my
teeth and held on, knowing the climb up to the gap would suit me when I got there. It was a bit harder seeing how much hill was
ahead of me this time. On my way down I had a
bad moment – really bad! You don’t need
to know about it – unfortunately Rich caught up with me here……! Sorry Rich!
I saw a figure in white clearing the gap
behind me, it looked like a girl! I was
not losing a place and I bolted! My legs
were in agony, but I pushed on off the gap and along the ditch. The longer road sections hurt and I was
relieved to finally get back onto the canal.
This never ended, not helped by the fact that I had to keep looking
behind me. Suddenly I was turning off
the canal and running through the village
- heading towards the finish, or so I thought! I turned into the school and had to run past
the finish, down a field, around a cone and back up! Laughing and swearing at the same time.
I was third lady! I hadn’t really been sure of my position for
the entire race I was so pleased ! It
was the best race prize I have every received – running poles! They were just what I need for my 2015 Chamonix plans.
After everyone finished and got showered
(thanks to Jeff here for helping me during a rather pathetic moment when I
couldn’t get the shower to work) we headed for the infamous pub quiz! The Welsh team always won – they won again! However, I do now know what a Geep is and the
name of the highest point in Cornwall!
I will confess to drinking slightly too much wine! It was a fun evening and I lasted until 1am before I cracked and went to bed.
To answer my question - yes, it is possible to run a 46 mile race on the back of a 22 mile long run, but I wouldn't recommend it!
sound like lots of fun and great prize x
ReplyDeleteWell done. Sounds a great event! One for the to do list!
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