I recently had the opportunity to witness an Ultra Marathon taking part on The Ridgeway; in fact, the race was the length of the Ridgeway, all 86 miles of it.
Simon, a friend at work, has recently discovered that, at the age of 52, he is not bad at this kind of thing. His first ‘Ultra’ was a double marathon back in July, all seemed to go well in terms of pacing which resulted in 2nd place within his age group and 29th overall, pretty good for a first attempt. Encouraged by this, he went into The Ridgeway race with plenty of training and preparation but no expectations, 86 miles, after all, is a bloody long way.
My plan was to park at Burry Down near the A34 at 10pm, this was the 52 mile mark. I had been in touch with Simon’s wife, Liz, beforehand to make sure everything was on track. Liz was the support crew, travelling from check point to check point providing encouragement and supplies as required.
The check point was well set up (staffed by a local running club) with LED lights marking the approach and exit along the Ridgeway. As I looked down the pitch black trail I could see head lights bobbing in the dark, it was difficult to gauge how far away they were but the people attached to them eventually appeared. The runners were treated to a wide range of energy-dense goodies at the check point ranging from sandwiches to jelly babies to hot drinks. Race numbers were noted as runners arrived.
I was amazed at how spritely some of the runners looked as they trotted up to the check point, 52 miles is a ridiculous distance to run and still be looking so good. One chap made the check point, rested his hands on his knees and didn’t say anything until one of the marshals spoke with him. He was obviously out of fuel and suffering but managed to ask for a cup of tea. This did the trick to a degree; he perked up enough to get some food in and then carried on, I hope he finished.
A number of people had dropped out earlier in the day demonstrating how tough the first half of The Ridgeway is, the race starts at Ivinghoe Beacon and moves along westward. The first half is hilly, wooded and the signage can be tricky especially in the dark.
Simon is a meticulous planner, he knew that success lay in pacing and his plan seemed sound, he arrived at Bury Down within 5 minutes of the predicted 10:30pm. He had run every inch of the trail in training to familiarise himself with the route but in marathon-sized chunks. Once I had shaken his hand and congratulated him on getting so far he realised who I was, I was worried that he looked a bit shaky and was certainly swaying slightly as he stood at the check point. I thought he would shovel in a lot more food than he did, I guess there was the time pressure making itself felt at the back of his mind and maybe he just didn’t feel like eating, I’ve felt like that on the bike before.
Ibuprofen tablets were swallowed and gel was administered for his knee, he mentioned that the first part of the race had been hilly creating problems, especially the downhill bits. Liz made sure he was in one piece and had everything he needed; she made a point of saying that she would see him at the next check point at Sparsholt Firs, another 9 miles away. It must have been a comfort to know that there would be a person to meet at each check point especially on the long, dark sections. There were 9 check points in total. Runners were spread out so this was definitely a solo challenge; things must have felt isolated to say the least, especially on the tough sections.
Looking stronger than when he arrived at the checkpoint, Simon left and the dark swallowed him whole…. that was it. A surreal moment which I won’t forget for a long time. Simon has always been supportive of my events giving good council and encouragement, I was very happy to return the favour. I left for the car feeling a little guilty that I would be sleeping in a warm bed in half an hour, Simon still had 35 miles to run.
I checked the race website the following day to discover that he’d finished 15th overall in 18 hours and 56 minutes, I still can’t believe it is possible to cover a distance like that; the numbers just blow your mind. An awesome effort and worthy of note, check the website for more info and stats, it’s good reading.
http://www.tra-uk.org/ridgeway-challenge
Further reading…..
If you liked this blog please take a moment to check out my book describing the solo Land’s End to John O’Groats ride in 2012, all profit from sales to www.criduchat.org.uk
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