On September 5th 2020, I ran the Classic Quarter 44 mile ultramarathon from Lizard Point to Land’s End, which is the most Southerly tip of England to the most Westerly. The race is organised by Endurancelife and includes around 5500ft / 1600m of ascent. It was my first race of 2020.
Preparation
I felt relatively confident going into the race. Lockdown had meant a very good training block, although I may have peaked a month too early and then started getting reoccurring knee and ankle issues.
A sub-zero 36km run. It took 3 hours 52 minutes at an average heart rate of 150bpm and an average pace (with auto-pause) of 6:25 min/km, leaving a 2305 calorie hole.
‘Go Long’ are short reports from my weekend mini-adventures on bike and foot, as I continue to train for more ultramarathons and Ironman. They are most likely of interest to other endurance masochists, as well as those looking for new running and cycling routes around Bath and Bristol.
In Part 1 I shared my preparation for my 100km fundraising run, with a focus on the heat, as this race was due to take place in the longest heatwave the UK has seen in 5 years 🔥
This is my race report of how it went on the day I ran the Cotswold Way Challenge 2018.
Royal Crescent, Bath
Cotswold Way Challenge 2018: Royal Crescent, Bath
I woke up at 5am and immediately peeked out the window. Thank the gods, it was overcast. It was actually quite cool out, about 13°C.
At the end of last year, I sat down and drew up my 2018 race calendar. It would be my first year of running ultramarathons, and I knew I wanted one race to also be a fundraiser for mental health.
The Cotswold Way Challenge seemed the perfect candidate, as the mental health charity Mind were already involved. It would be my first 100k—with a daunting 2400m of elevation—and definitely the pinnacle of my running year. As a bonus it was a point-to-point race (no loops) starting in Bath, traversing a large part of the beautiful Cotswolds, and finishing in Cheltenham.
As you may have guessed from my frequent running spam, I love to run. Fewer people know that alongside my passion for sadistic feats of endurance, I have also struggled with panic attacks and anxiety for a few years now. They arrived suddenly with no apparent cause, and have been by far the toughest things I’ve ever had to face. An anxiety disorder is a horrible, horrible thing that over time makes you doubt everything from whether you can leave the house, to your own sanity.
In Part 1, I talked about my inspiration for running 50 miles and the injury-ridden preparation for my first ultramarathon. This is a report of how it went on the day of the Butcombe Trail Ultramarathon 2018, my first ultramarathon.
Photo credit: Jeremy Hutchinson
The Night Before
Prepared power porridge: 50g oats, 200ml milk, 2 tsp honey, a banana, and some whey protein.
K-taped my knee, essentially making my quadricep a quinticep. My physio had taught me how to do this a while back, when I got my patellar tendonitis diagnosis. It’s a handy way of distributing some of the load.
Drank an SIS hydro, to make sure my electrolytes were topped up.
Checked my GPS app had the map loaded, and printed off some navigation pointers.
Morning registration
My alarm went off at 5 am. I was awake before anyway. Demolished the porridge by 5:30 am, giving it two hours to digest before race start. Necked a small coffee, as I wanted the option to take on some caffeine during the race. Took another SIS hydro to top-up electrolytes, applied Bodyglide to any potential rubbing areas, and headed off into the windy, wet morning. Application of sun cream was not deemed necessary.
How to run 50 miles. It’s probably not a question that keeps most people up a night. But it’s something I’ve wanted to do for the last year.
These two posts are a detailed rundown of my preparation and experience of my first ultramarathon, as well as an informal and hopefully entertaining guide for anyone looking to run 50 miles, or just push their running further.
In September 2016, I ran my first race: a 10k. Afterwards, full of enthusiasm and zeal, I wrote this blog for an old website. I remember wanting to sign up for a half-marathon, but nothing beyond that. Two years and two ultramarathons later, I’m re-publishing it as a guide for beginners, and something for me to smile back on.
On September 18th 2016, I ran the Relish Running Two Tunnels 10k. I finished a whisker under 50 minutes, which I was very, very happy about.
