Trailwalker 07
Team FeedMe started by camping overnight in the campsite provided for participants. We had requested a 6am start to avoid being slowed down trying to pass teams with walking poles and big backpacks. We got as reasonable a night’s sleep as could be expected – for some reason all the other campers in our area wanted an early night too! It rained overnight and my Tesco tent magnified the sound in a way that made me wish I’d brought winter waterproofs, but it was dry enough by 5am when we took down the tents, Rob and Iain began packing the cars and Heather made The Best Porridge In The World.
On the start line we had a clear view of the likely winning teams. The Gurkhas had four teams entered (I think), three senior and one vets team. The Gurkhas always win and later our support crew gave us some clues as to why. Anyway, more on that in a while! There were a couple of army teams too. Not in uniform, unfortunately. Team FeedMe looked great in Foska skeleton vests and orange windproofs (an accident – I ordered red but was told, “we only do your size in mango”). After a bit of banter, the airhorn sounded and we were off. Reassuringly, the Gurkha teams set off at quite a relaxed pace. I resisted the temptation to mutter, “we can go faster than that!” and we jogged off gently.
You know it’s an Ultra when you get to the first gentle incline and half the field starts walking. That was part of our well-practised pacing strategy. Walk uphill, run the flats and the downhills. We were very careful about sticking to this tactic since our legs would have to last for 62 miles. I kept telling myself in the early stages, “10k is nothing. This is ten lots of nothing. That’s nothing,” to stay in a good state of mind. I had done this same event in 2005 and the enormity of the distance then gave me problems. Denial is a wonderful tool!
We got to checkpoint 1 (Harting Down) slightly ahead of schedule and stopped only briefly. Out support crew would be at checkpoint 2 (Hilltop Farm) almost 20km into the route. We picked up hydration packs at CP2, ate banana bread and set off again with the minimum delay. The support crew saw the Gurkhas’ pit-stop technique: the runners checked in and lay down whilst two more Gurkhas attended each runner. One changed the runner’s shoes and socks, the other fed him. Each Gurkha team had two support crew to carry their packs for them whilst they ran and they changed over too so that the “pack” Gurkhas were fresh too. No wonder the Gurkha support tents were so big!
8.3km of undulations took us to checkpoint 3 (Littleton Farm) where we barely paused before scooting off to the next checkpoint (Amberley) where we met our crew again. Lorna, Leon and Stu stopped here to change shoes and socks but my feet still felt great in my Nike Perseus. I took the opportunity to stuff my face with cheese rolls, more banana bread, sugary tea and isotonic, knowing there was a climb out of the checkpoint and we could walk for a while. Stage 5 is relatively long at just over 12km but after an initial incline it undulates gently before going downhill into the checkpoint at Washington. I was beginning to wish I had also changed shoes at CP4 but I still had just over 10km to go before the crew met us at Botolphs. In stage 6, there is about 2.5km uphill and most of the rest is gently downhill. Bliss!
At checkpoint 6 I changed my footwear, put compeeds on a few hotspots and glugged some more isotonic. Oh, and I stuffed my face again whilst a nice lady with a TV camera interviewed the rest of the team. Support crew access to checkpoint 7 (Devils Dyke) is difficult so we planned to meet the crew again at CP8. Between Botolphs and Devils Dyke there is about 3km of flat followed by a steep hill and some interesting undulations, so we made use of the flat bits and ran as much as we could. We stopped at CP7 only to pick up chocolate and swill down some squash, despite the Gurkha cooking tent that offered pasta, rice and sauce. I had a flashback to the last time I was there in 2005 – it was after midnight, I ached, I needed sleep, I felt too sick to eat but had to force down the pasta anyway, I took off my trainers and socks to confirm that both heels were blistered badly, and I still had over 30km to go. Bloody-mindedness got me through it that time! This year I felt good.
Between checkpoints 7 and 8 (Jack and Jill) it is quite hilly. We left CP7 running for about a mile then walked up a rather inconvenient hill and ran down the other side. Then it was uphill again to CP8 and the wonderful, fantastic support crew. By this time my feet were getting sore from pounding on chalk paths with loose stones ready to turn unwary ankles. One effect of fatigue is that you become less aware of balance and joint position and it gets difficult to compensate for a stone that suddenly moves under your foot. As a result, I was running carefully and walking on the steepest downhills because I sure as anything wasn’t going to get this far into an ultra to have to pull out with a sprain!
The next section was the longest at 13.8km and the crew would be at CP9 (Spring Barn Farm) Most of this section is gently undulating or downhill but we had to use some of our “time in the bank” because of fatigue and fuelling issues. We had all reached the stage of thinking, “this has been great but I just want to finish it and go home,” so we ran when we could with the person at the back (me!) setting the pace. Strangely, by this point my walking pace was, well, pants! but my running pace was OK and running felt easier on my legs than walking. At CP9 I dumped the hydration pack, ate what I could face and drank more isotonic. We only had 11km to go. I told myself, “you’d do 11k after work and not think about it, so get moving.”
Between CP9 and CP10 (Woodingdean) is only 5km but it contains a hill that under normal circumstances (i.e. not having just run 90km) would hardly register. However, it required slow, steady effort. CP10 has no support crew access and we didn’t stop. Check-in and go. Checkpoint 10 to the finish (in front of the grandstand on Brighton Racecourse) starts with a 3km gentle incline on a grassy track, which was fantastic rest (sort of…) for my legs. However, I regretted dumping my hydration pack at this point because I was getting the cold sweat of a proper hypo. Thank goodness for Stu’s Gummi Bears! I cadged a Werther’s from Lorna too and my fingers were so sausagey I had real trouble getting it out of the wrapper. After that it really is all downhill to the finish! We ran to the racecourse, had to walk a bit because the grass was so long I couldn’t lift my knees high enough to run, then ran partway around the racecourse to finish in a line, hand in hand, arms and heads held high.
Highlights for me: seeing Rob and Iain before the checkpoints and being "run in" with encouragement. Banana bread. Cheese butties. Big smiles from Tiger and Snoop. The incredibly cheerful support of the Gurkhas at every checkpoint. The finish! The pizza that the mr had waiting for me in the car at the end.
Low points: hypoglycemic wibbles, but at least I recognised them in advance and (hopefully) didn't whinge. Blisters. The second toenail on my right foot that was floating on its own blister by the finish.
This was a team of seven – I can’t emphasise enough just how important a fantastic support crew is. So Rob, Heather and Iain – if we’re going back to win it next year we’ll need you!
On the start line we had a clear view of the likely winning teams. The Gurkhas had four teams entered (I think), three senior and one vets team. The Gurkhas always win and later our support crew gave us some clues as to why. Anyway, more on that in a while! There were a couple of army teams too. Not in uniform, unfortunately. Team FeedMe looked great in Foska skeleton vests and orange windproofs (an accident – I ordered red but was told, “we only do your size in mango”). After a bit of banter, the airhorn sounded and we were off. Reassuringly, the Gurkha teams set off at quite a relaxed pace. I resisted the temptation to mutter, “we can go faster than that!” and we jogged off gently.
You know it’s an Ultra when you get to the first gentle incline and half the field starts walking. That was part of our well-practised pacing strategy. Walk uphill, run the flats and the downhills. We were very careful about sticking to this tactic since our legs would have to last for 62 miles. I kept telling myself in the early stages, “10k is nothing. This is ten lots of nothing. That’s nothing,” to stay in a good state of mind. I had done this same event in 2005 and the enormity of the distance then gave me problems. Denial is a wonderful tool!
We got to checkpoint 1 (Harting Down) slightly ahead of schedule and stopped only briefly. Out support crew would be at checkpoint 2 (Hilltop Farm) almost 20km into the route. We picked up hydration packs at CP2, ate banana bread and set off again with the minimum delay. The support crew saw the Gurkhas’ pit-stop technique: the runners checked in and lay down whilst two more Gurkhas attended each runner. One changed the runner’s shoes and socks, the other fed him. Each Gurkha team had two support crew to carry their packs for them whilst they ran and they changed over too so that the “pack” Gurkhas were fresh too. No wonder the Gurkha support tents were so big!
8.3km of undulations took us to checkpoint 3 (Littleton Farm) where we barely paused before scooting off to the next checkpoint (Amberley) where we met our crew again. Lorna, Leon and Stu stopped here to change shoes and socks but my feet still felt great in my Nike Perseus. I took the opportunity to stuff my face with cheese rolls, more banana bread, sugary tea and isotonic, knowing there was a climb out of the checkpoint and we could walk for a while. Stage 5 is relatively long at just over 12km but after an initial incline it undulates gently before going downhill into the checkpoint at Washington. I was beginning to wish I had also changed shoes at CP4 but I still had just over 10km to go before the crew met us at Botolphs. In stage 6, there is about 2.5km uphill and most of the rest is gently downhill. Bliss!
At checkpoint 6 I changed my footwear, put compeeds on a few hotspots and glugged some more isotonic. Oh, and I stuffed my face again whilst a nice lady with a TV camera interviewed the rest of the team. Support crew access to checkpoint 7 (Devils Dyke) is difficult so we planned to meet the crew again at CP8. Between Botolphs and Devils Dyke there is about 3km of flat followed by a steep hill and some interesting undulations, so we made use of the flat bits and ran as much as we could. We stopped at CP7 only to pick up chocolate and swill down some squash, despite the Gurkha cooking tent that offered pasta, rice and sauce. I had a flashback to the last time I was there in 2005 – it was after midnight, I ached, I needed sleep, I felt too sick to eat but had to force down the pasta anyway, I took off my trainers and socks to confirm that both heels were blistered badly, and I still had over 30km to go. Bloody-mindedness got me through it that time! This year I felt good.
Between checkpoints 7 and 8 (Jack and Jill) it is quite hilly. We left CP7 running for about a mile then walked up a rather inconvenient hill and ran down the other side. Then it was uphill again to CP8 and the wonderful, fantastic support crew. By this time my feet were getting sore from pounding on chalk paths with loose stones ready to turn unwary ankles. One effect of fatigue is that you become less aware of balance and joint position and it gets difficult to compensate for a stone that suddenly moves under your foot. As a result, I was running carefully and walking on the steepest downhills because I sure as anything wasn’t going to get this far into an ultra to have to pull out with a sprain!
The next section was the longest at 13.8km and the crew would be at CP9 (Spring Barn Farm) Most of this section is gently undulating or downhill but we had to use some of our “time in the bank” because of fatigue and fuelling issues. We had all reached the stage of thinking, “this has been great but I just want to finish it and go home,” so we ran when we could with the person at the back (me!) setting the pace. Strangely, by this point my walking pace was, well, pants! but my running pace was OK and running felt easier on my legs than walking. At CP9 I dumped the hydration pack, ate what I could face and drank more isotonic. We only had 11km to go. I told myself, “you’d do 11k after work and not think about it, so get moving.”
Between CP9 and CP10 (Woodingdean) is only 5km but it contains a hill that under normal circumstances (i.e. not having just run 90km) would hardly register. However, it required slow, steady effort. CP10 has no support crew access and we didn’t stop. Check-in and go. Checkpoint 10 to the finish (in front of the grandstand on Brighton Racecourse) starts with a 3km gentle incline on a grassy track, which was fantastic rest (sort of…) for my legs. However, I regretted dumping my hydration pack at this point because I was getting the cold sweat of a proper hypo. Thank goodness for Stu’s Gummi Bears! I cadged a Werther’s from Lorna too and my fingers were so sausagey I had real trouble getting it out of the wrapper. After that it really is all downhill to the finish! We ran to the racecourse, had to walk a bit because the grass was so long I couldn’t lift my knees high enough to run, then ran partway around the racecourse to finish in a line, hand in hand, arms and heads held high.
Highlights for me: seeing Rob and Iain before the checkpoints and being "run in" with encouragement. Banana bread. Cheese butties. Big smiles from Tiger and Snoop. The incredibly cheerful support of the Gurkhas at every checkpoint. The finish! The pizza that the mr had waiting for me in the car at the end.
Low points: hypoglycemic wibbles, but at least I recognised them in advance and (hopefully) didn't whinge. Blisters. The second toenail on my right foot that was floating on its own blister by the finish.
This was a team of seven – I can’t emphasise enough just how important a fantastic support crew is. So Rob, Heather and Iain – if we’re going back to win it next year we’ll need you!
posted by HeebieJeebie on
7/16/2007 02:25:00 pm
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