Hi all
Good to see everyone smashing it at Bewl, Cliffe Woods and various PRs ❤️
Bit of a long review but it was a long race.
For those that dont know I have entered RaceAcrossScotland in August , a 215 mile straight through Ultra
As I approached 6 weeks out I thought it might be prudent to start thinking about a more specific training plan. I had done a 100km last year but never run through the night.
Enter HARP24, a 5 mile trail loop, run as far as you can in 24 hours.
Target for me was 3 marathons and to work on my fuelling strategy.
The race is a mix of solo runners and teams , mainly 5-12 participants, 200 entries and lot more people
I got there at 8.30 am for a 12 start, some camped overnight . The solo area was a mix of lightweight 1 man hiking tents so i got some strange looks when i pitched my 25 yr old Cath Kitson , cowboy emblazoned tent 😂
The course was a mix of hard trail, with some wet bits and too long grass. Elevation total was 1,550 m mainly uphill out and downhill back with one steep 200m climb in the middle.
The HARP charity is for the homeless, and I met a few guys that had experienced that, some sobering thoughts as to how lives unexpectedly change through catastrophic events .
12pm start arrives, I tell myself relax enjoy running, 1st 5 mile lap 38 mins 🙄 1st marathon about 4hrs 30 . Time to see sense and take it easy…..
As i sat for my first break i looked at my messages all very encouraging, and a text from HARP with a link . Oh dear there is a live position tracker. I am 7th Solo runner, one 55 + ahead of me, the plan just changed .
By lap 5 I was 4th but the “Old Boy” was still ahead of me so i tried to maintain my too fast pace. By lap 10 he had stopped and I had two 35 + ahead of me which I was happy with.
2 marathons in, dark setting in, this was the test I came for. Quite alot of the teams stopped for the night so it was pretty lonely, apart from a halfway drink station that had bongos and a cow bell that they played the whole way up the hill 🔔
I actually enjoyed running the night, so peaceful and just focusing on one foot in front of the other.
By now I had moved into the lead but needed a proper fuel stop, the plan being at Lap 15. So lap 13 I put in a spurt to increase the distance which backfired because lap 14 was comparatively slow . I stopped at 14 ate bits of everything , pasta , pringles, peanuts , snickers and took a couple of gels with me plus my running sticks.
Lap 15 was great , fuelled, sticks to keep me moving and the start of a pink sunrise.
The enjoyment didn’t last long, it was now harder to run downhill than up and i even resorting to singing along to Adele, something noone should hear.
This was now about the grind, constantly changing my focus to distract from the pain, but the thing that wouldn’t go away was the guy in 2nd maintaining a 20 to 30 minute gap.
By lap 15 i knew I would hit 20 laps , 100miles , but could I win?
We were running pretty similar lap times and i calculated if i got to 21 laps before him i would win as neither would have time for a 22nd.
Lap 19, lead of 32 mins , surely in the bag ? Start of Lap 20 just 2 to go , but as I head out for lap 21 we cross as he is finishing his lap 20 . Gap now 13 mins 😱
100 miles in and he is going to beat me on the last lap ? He is 35 he wears barefoot running shoes, he was 2nd and 3rd last two times, has he been toying with me ?
I picked up my sticks and started sprinting (it wasnt but felt like it ) the fear of being passed , the TWH relays flooding through my head. Running scared ..
I put in a 58 min last lap , 15 mins quicker than the previous. The other guy had stopped at 20 and eventually walked to 21 😂
Absolutely thrilled with the event, met some great people all pushing for their own personal and team goals. I thought the best would be AG wins but outright was special.
The hardest part of the race , trying to pack my kit and tent up in a torrential storm , sorry Cath Kitson the tent went in the bin ..
Thanks for reading if you got this far xx
First Solo Lady – Kelly Unett 16 Laps 23.41
First Solo Male – Me 21 Laps 22.45
Best Regards, Eren