Ultra Race 45/90
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Official Result |
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This weekend I ran a Rory Coleman ultra race from Northampton to Tring and back.
The 9am start on Saturday at the Park Inn saw about 40 runners set of down the road only to miss the first turning down towards the canal after 50 yards and my 2nd place suddenly became last but one. For a flat race along a canal I found it rather tough. There are few variations in the terrain where you would usually vary the pace and no hills to use as an excuse for a walk break. After 2 hours I was beginning to wonder how I was going to keep going for another 9 or 10 hours when a friend happened along doing a 25 minute run with 5 minute walk strategy. I tried it for a bit with her and it saved the day - if there are no hills then make up your own! 5pm saw the end of the light with a few miles still to go, which turned into a few more because the Garmin finally clocked close to 47.5 miles. Running in the dark on a muddy path next to a canal was a bit nerve wracking, especially when the path came to an abrupt end. I should have crossed over bridge a few miles back and had to gingerly make my way across a lock. I managed to keep the pace up to arrive at Pendley Manor in Tring in just under 9 hours.
The thought of a second day of the same was almost too much, but having entered, and more to the point paid, I was duly dropped of by Sylvia at 9am. The legs had made a remarkable recovery overnight and the only blister was slathered in Vaseline. I used the 25/5 strategy right from the start, even though I didn't feel I needed to after the first 25 minutes. It was nice to be able to see the bits I couldn't see the previous evening. The path on the other side looked a whole lot narrower than I remembered! The section through Milton Keynes from 20 to 30 miles seemed to go on forever, not helped by the checkpoints being unevenly spaced. Darkness fell again accompanied by a bit of sleet. I was kept company from Wolverton by another runner doing his first ultra. He hadn't run the previous day and he was a bit uncomfortable finding his way in the dark. After a final hiccup when I mistook a multi-storey car park for the hotel we arrived back in just under 9 and a half hours. This time the Garmin made it 46.7 miles but we did have to cut a small corner to avoid an angling contest.
Noel Jones