Starting at Detling Showground just outside of Maidstone this Ultra was excellently organised by Action Challenge. Clear markings, great checkpoints stocked with goodies, 50, 25 and 10km options and marquees at the start and the end in case of bad weather.
672 participants started the 50km and I was in the first of 3 waves which started at 7:30am with the rest at 30 min intervals.
After completing a 50 miler only 3 weeks before the plan was leg management from the start so I had enough left in the tank for the last 12km which was all up and downhill (and the bit I was looking forward to).
At the first CP I just needed a top up of water/electrolytes but had a sneak peak inside the school at the food options only to be surprised by the wide range of pastries on offer. Very tempted but I knew not something that would sit well during the race so I moved on and tucked into my own snacks.
By halfway I was around 30th in my wave and the legs were quite sore already from the flat running so not a good sign but I was looking forward to those mountains. I also bumped into a guy I knew from trail running in Hong Kong and ran with him reminiscing for a while which was fun. Eventually he took a 30 sec lead which stretched to over 5 mins as I got caught on the wrong side of a level crossing and I watched him run off into the distance.
After the final CP (stocked with pick n mix) it was elevation time and my legs suddenly recovered. I started moving through the field and moved up all the way to 12th with strong uphill pace and fast technical descents at some points slaloming down the muddy tracks. Lovely.
Race finished in just 5hrs 50 mins and as I tucked into the spag bol and choccy biscuits on the finish line I watched just 2 people in the next 2 waves overtaking my time so I finished 14th. Unfortunately no podiums for age categories.
Loved the race and hope to do again next year.
Paul Ketterer