Saturday 7 March 2015

Land of my Mother's Father - Brecon Beacons Ultra 2014

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!