Yet again and something I really need to stop doing is last minute races! A 60km race with 2500m of elevation isn't a race you should just turn up and do, without some decent training.
Don't get me wrong I've got a good base built up, but the last couple of months, it's been the FKT and the Backyard Ultra, and if I'm honest I haven't really enjoyed too much of my running since the FKT, and I'm so looking forward to getting stuck in to planning the next one. If you haven't seen it, then I'm going to attempt to run the length of the Wales Coast path all 870 miles of it in April 2022. The current record is 20 days and 10 hours so obviously I'm going to try and beat it, but it's really going to take some doing and some serious planning.
Anyway back to the Black Mountains, Tuesday just gone I thought why not, got it cleared with my coach and we decided to use it as a training run. I was actually really looking forward to it my first proper race since February last year. 🙌🙌
No Team Smevs support crew this time round so I emptied the back of my van, threw in a blow up mattress and I was off. A 4 hour journey up from Kent, but I spent this time catching up on the Peter crouch podcast, if you havent listened to this before and you're into football then give it a listen, it's pretty funny.
Was there nice and early on Friday so helped out the guys at trail events, filling Jerry cans, folding hoddies and more of the little crappy jobs that just seem to mount up and there's always loads of them. Weather was on and off, the sun was wanting to play but the rain just wasn't having any of it, so you couldn't really sit out in the camping area so I got some food and got myself sorted for a good night's sleep 😬😬
If only, it was the complete opposite, I was asleep, but I wasn't, you know the sleep when you can hear absolutely everything going on around you, the rain was smashing off the van and I was pretty cold in the van as well.
Anyway the 4.30am alarm went off, and it was 💩1 then time for a coffee and some oats, then 💩2 closely followed by 💩3. Due to the Covid crap, it was rolling starts so you could go off any time between 6.30 and 7.30, the plan was to go at 6.30, to get out and get it done so I could do the drive of shame back to Kent. 6.30 came and there was a large group who went, but I decided to hold back 10 minutes, I thought it would make it a bit more interesting and I could play the catch up game, and just pick people off as I go. So 6.40 me and Mark made our way to the start line and off we went, I wished him luck and off I went in search of people to overtake. The first km was very narrow fighting through brambles and nettles, the rain throughout the night hadn't helped at all and within 5 minutes trainers and socks were fully submerged in mud and water, but I was already picking people off, bear in mind this was meant to be a training run. But if I'm honest, I'd already decided I was going to push to see where I was at, and that's what I did. A couple of km now and I noticed Glenn ahead so I gave him an oi oi on the way past, don't know him all that way otherwise he would of had a bum slap as well 🤣
Another km or so and then the shit hit the fan, the first proper climb and holy shit, it was a climb alright, hands on the knees powering way, no casual walk to save your breath for the top, this was a HR through the roof, lungs ready to explode and Calves on fire. All I could think was Adam ( he's the RD) is a twat 🤣🤣 I'd asked him in the week how bad the climbs were and do I need my poles. " You won't need poles, it will be a really fast course and the climbs are short and sharp"
Well let me tell you, there was nothing fast and nothing short and sharp about any of it, the climbs were long and sharp and absolutely savage 🤣🤣 could have definitely done with my poles.
Once we got to the top of this climb though it did open up a bit, we were running along the top of the ridge, thick fog with about 20 metres of visibility.
We had a lovely stretch of downhill then leading us in to checkpoint 1, a few stopped, but I was good I had all my own supplies so off I went, overtaking a few more people and starting to think that maybe, just maybe I could do alright, training run was a massive no no now, I was in race mode, powering on searching for the next runner. Another climb and I could see someone in front, he had poles and I was pretty jealous he was making it look so easy and there was me with my lungs hanging out my mouth. But I put the work in and overtook him, and then left him behind. Following the signs along the path on top of the ridge, the watch kicking in and out saying your on course, then your off course, so I was sticking to the arrows for now, turn right, so off I went, it was a nice flat section so I was flying as well, but the watch was still saying off course. I'd gone about a km when it just didn't feel right so I turned around and ran back till my watch said I was on course again and then followed the watch. An extra 2km just for shits and giggles. I later found out that some idiot had been changing all the directions of the arrows about just to be a dick. This isn't what you need in the middle of a race.
Anyway I'm back on track, this section was awesome, running along the ridge, I just wish we didn't have the fog as the views would have been sensational. I was flying at this point, absolutely loving life, then out of nowhere this young lad came ploughing through, absolutely tanking it, I tried to keep with him but he was gone. So I just let him go, he had started behind me so I knew he was definitely in front now. About a km further on the bloke with the poles was there Infront of me again so I overtook him again and came into checkpoint 2. I asked the guy how many had been through and he said 4 already so I was quite excited at this point, and that backed my decision to go for it.
So I left CP2 and I soon wished I hadn't, it was another big climb, up through a field and we just zig zagged up and down through a tiny little clearing, this one was a killer and the man with the poles was just sat in behind me. I knew if I could get to the top in front of him then I could lose him on the flats or a downhill, so I kept working hard and trying to divert the pain and started counting, everything time my left foot hit the floor I counted, 100 flew by, then 200, 400 came, then 500 and we were there at the top just in time for 600, it had taken my mind off the climb for a bit, but the legs were feeling it. Yes I train hills, but the North Downs only has 4500m of elevation for the full 153 miles of it. I hadn't trained in Wales for nearly a year so my body was asking my some serious questions.
Anyway I was off again at the top, I could see another soul in front of me, so I over took him, which put me into 4th, then 5 minutes later I overtook another to put me into 3rd, I was feeling good at this point and trying to catch the next, I could see someone in the distance and there was my 2nd place, I could also see CP3 I needed a bottle refill this time so knew I'd lose a couple of minutes but that was fine. Got into the CP and the lady told us that lots of people had missed CP2 due to the course markings, so I asked how many Infront were there and she said about 10. So that meant at least 8 of these has missed the last CP. All I could do was carry on and see what happens but I did feel a bit deflated at this point, I'd been busting my balls to catch everyone up to find out that loads have missed CPs, ok it wasn't there fault but it definitely wasn't mine either.
Anyway I carried on towards CP4 overtaking more people, but had no idea about positions or anything anymore, so all I could do was keep pushing. I then hit the marathon mark 42km 2000m of elevation done and it was sub 5 hrs so I was pretty happy with that all things considered. Another climb was ahead, and as I turned around the man with the poles was there again 😱 so I kept the distance on the climb hit the flat and I was off again and he was gone, but for how long? I'll tell you how long, till we hit the next bloody climb, he just appeared every climb out of nowhere, he was about 30m behind me. Then all of a sudden I heard front prints right behind me, and out of nowhere this lady just shot past, pretty much like that young lad earlier, me and the bloke with the poles both just paused and looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and carried on. I felt myself slowing down now I was 45km in and I was starting to struggle, the bloke with the poles had caught me up, so we ran together, chatting away. Along side a stream and there was a section that you had to drop down off a rock and climb up again the other side, but as I stepped on the rock I slipped and went flying, came down and landed on my arm and back pretty hard which took me a while to shake off. We then hit CP5 grabbed a couple chocolate squares and we were off again, straight into guess what? Another climb 🤣 we hit the top and the lady that had come ploughing past us had stopped as she couldn't see any markings, and she didn't actually even have a watch on, who does that, she didn't even know how far she had run 🤣🤣
She was lost, my watch was saying straight on, and the bloke with the poles said it's definitely left, I've done the recce and it's definitely that way, he went, I stood there for maybe a minute while I decided what to do, and went the same route as the pole man. Then within a couple of minutes my watch had corrected itself and was saying on course, then the lady came ploughing past me again for a 2nd time, she caught pole man up and those two just went, couldn't keep up, my legs were crying and I think I was maybe crying inside too. I was still moving as fast as I could go, but I could definitely feel it. Hit the top of the ridge again and then we past the cross over point so all the other distances joined back into the route here, so you could see people in front but you had no idea what race they were doing, I caught a few up to see them wearing a blue number which was marathon distance, I was green. A few more blue numbers, then a blue number overtook me. Then I could see CP6, I was really happy to see this one as I knew the next stop afterwards was the finish, I was done now, could have quite happily finished at CP6, this was the longest I'd spent at any of the checkpoints, picked at the sweets, a bit of Chocolate Swiss role and then I remembered I had some cheese and Marmite swirls with me, at 300 calories a go there a real winner. I'm not sure if my nutrition had been good or not to be fair, as it was meant to be a "training run" I was trying out the GU gels, I had a double chocolate one at the 90 minute mark and it was like someone had squirted chocolate Gnash into my mouth, very sweet and very thick, I'd been taking my usual tailwind but this has even got to a point now where it starts to make me feel a bit sicky.
Last CP and only 6km left, thank f**k it was pretty flat I just didn't have the legs anymore so it was a slog running along the fields, then we had to drop down into the bottom fields and where we had, had so much rain over night this track was like an ice rink, plus 400 plus runners had already gone down it from the other distances. It was lethal, I made it just about and looking up I could see the finish line a couple of hundred metres in the distance, one last little uphill through the overflow carpark and there it was, the line. 60km 2500m of elevation done. 🙌🙌
Did I enjoy it? Of course it was a great race, obviously will take away alot of things to help with the training in the future. The main one being, don't listen to Adam, always take your poles 🤣🤣
Still waiting on the final results to come out, but from my working outs I should have been top 5, but I was sat in 13th place due to people missing the checkpoints 🤷
You win some, you lose some.
All that was left to do, was to pack up my troubles in my old kit bag and hit the road for the lonely, pretty sore drive back to Kent. Another 4 hours, but some more Peter crouch.
Till the next one, which actually will be a training run, as I can't keep doing this to myself, going for gold and ending up disappointed. Stick to the big goals and get to where I want to be!
Thanks alot to the Trail Events company for putting on an epic race, proud to be an ambassador for the race! 🙌🙌
Mr Smevs X
