Category: Ultra

Thunder Run 24 2018 Race Report – Team of 5 ladies: The Bat Girls

by Fiona Bradley

Thunder Run 2017 had been my first experience of this amazing event and I’d absolutely loved it.  My team of five ladies, ‘The Bat Girls’, had had a little bad luck when one of our fastest runners, Kirsty, was unable to run after her first lap resulted in her having to spend a night in hospital!  Down to four, Amy, Angela, Victoria and I, ran as hard as we could before the horrific weather caused us to stop during the night, meaning we dropped to 6th place (a small price to pay for staying in one piece)!

As a club, we register our interest in the event and are then allocated a team a couple of weeks before it happens.  I won’t lie, I had unfinished business and was desperate for a place in ‘The Bat Girls’ again so I trained hard and managed to achieve a fair few PBs in the process.  I found out I was ‘in’ as I umpired a Rounders match – the children in my team were thrilled as they knew how much it meant to me!

So, the countdown began!  Multiple runs in a day started early – sometimes 5.30am(!!) so that Indira could squeeze in an early run before his long shift at the hospital.  This also worked well with our heatwave.  I struggled to make club runs but there are always friends up for running pretty much any time of the day or night!  Interestingly, none of the runners who spent a few vital weeks training with / dodging my lively dog, Betsy, fell over during TR24 – perfect ‘obstacle training’!

As my nine year old, Maia, was joining me this year (she’s far more practical than I am) we’d decided to camp out on the Friday night so, kindly chauffeured by Jonny and Ema, we arrived to a packed-out campsite with the entertainers well into the swing of things!  Great teamwork had occured as usual.  Huge thanks to Caroline, Matt, Jonny and anyone else who had arrived in the early hours to reserve our very special plot.  The Erection Team also did a fine job – although I did hear that it took three men (namely  JC, Mick and David) to pitch the tent that Maia puts up single-handedly… Great job, thank you!

It was lovely experiencing the inter-club social on the Friday – not least because a new ‘old boy’ band was born: Lee Jones, Drew, Churts, Mick and Bernie were the vocalists accompanying our legendary guitarist, David.  But if I hear ‘500 Miles’ one more time….

The night was unbelievably cold.  After hardly sleeping for weeks due to over-heating, I had stupidly travelled thinking we’d feel the same under canvas.  Seeing John Danahay’s blue-tinged skin proved it wasn’t just me who was freezing!  I finally gave in just before 4am when I searched for warmer layers, firmly regretting staying over as I’d been too cold to sleep!  The morning came and we knew we were in for a hot one when we could hear fellow campers discussing forgetting their suncream.  The clean, fresh and energised runners began to arrive. Anna H was our saviour – arriving with pillows and lunch.  A lovely catch-up and I was feeling better already!

After our annual 11am team photograph, the excitement began to build and the first-lap runners began to prepare themselves.  I’d been lucky enough to witness Phil winning the solo title last year and seeing him back for more inspired me to want to do well – surely running five or six laps is easy when you compare to running 24 hours??  I think that’s the joy of TR24 – whether you’re a crazy soloist; an almost as mad pair; in a team of five or eight, everyone matters – you don’t have to be the fastest or have the most stamina, sometimes it’s just a case of allowing somebody a break or breaking through your own barriers.  We just need to get out there and enjoy being a part of it!

I genuinely can’t imagine how Phil, Mark ad Jayne felt as they set off on that very first lap of their 24-hour run.  It very much shows that mental strength is equally (if not more) important than physical strength.  Our pairs, Indira and Martin; Laura and Trish; Aggi and Paul; Jonny and Drew had drawn straws and the (un)fortunate one had set off to begin their mammoth task too!  We non-runners (for then at least) assembled near to the start and witnessed the countdown before the hundreds of runners raced past – a sea of club vests, fancy dress, bare chests and even a bishop formed part of the crowd!

My team had received their running order courtesy of Captain Amy: Michelle, Amy, Jo, me and then Pip.  Michelle had stormed to a flying start and we were well on our mission for a podium place!  Waiting to run allowed me the privileged position of watching the outstanding support of our club offered to EVERYONE.  The cheering was incessant; encouragement second to none and, as for Grahame, ‘the weird cheerleader man’ in his dress – priceless!  Michelle had thought of everything and the red pom-poms were like energy gels to the flagging runners.

As my time to run approached, it was clear that we were doing incredibly well.  I adopted my usual technique of not thinking about my run in order to avoid anxiety.  Instead, I looked around me at each and every person – all putting themselves out of their comfort zone in some way.  Earlier in the year, I had worked on ‘motivational running quptes’ with my class and one sprung to mind: ‘If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you’.  With that in mind, I trekked down to the start.

I secretly love the waiting pen.  You meet all kinds of people, each with their own tale to tell.  The anticipation builds and there’s nothing quite like spotting your team-mate, orange band in hand, ready for the hand-over.  Jo ran in (looking amazing and effortless as usual) and it was my job to keep The Bat Girls flying.  I set off sprinting before reminding myself there was quite a way to go and the sharp right-turn naturally slowed me down.  I’d remembered snippets of the course: the winding narrow paths in the woods; the steady climb up the field; the welcome half-way drinks station and the subsequent climb; the circuit of the lake – I’m not sure if our soloists would agree but I could never tire (metaphorically as opposed to literally!!) of this course.  The colours, different terrains and beautiful scenes mean that the 6 miles pass quickly every time.  

It was great to see other clubs / teams putting their effort into supporting everyone too – I loved the ‘Boss Duck corner’ (even holding a Strava segment for all of 20 minutes!); the ‘Bubbles Disco’ and the general encouragement / compliments.  Nothing, however, matches the feeling of coming home to see The Bat Cave.  Turning the corner past Trentham RC, seeing the sea of red was like a boost of energy being injected into you – no matter how much your legs / lungs / head hurt, you’d summon up every ounce of effort to show your thanks to your team by running your heart out.  I felt great coming past our camp and, after the short uphill just past it, love nothing more than letting my legs go crazy down the uneven hill and then, as Bill calls it, ‘running off the hill’ continuing my sprint right in to the finish before confidently handing the band over to Pip, in the knowledge she is an absolute machine!

I had my ritual after each lap: breathe(!); drink a few cups of water; check the results so far and then head back to ensure Michelle knew she had 40ish minutes before she was to run again.  This arrangement worked well for our team and ‘transitions’ ran like clockwork.  The consistency of my team’s times was fantastic – even as I slowed, they seemed to speed up to compensate!  I ran my laps at 2.20pm, 6.20pm, 10.20pm, 2.50am, 7.20am and then…  The second placed team were a lap behind us after a number of hours but even when the screen told us we were two laps ahead, we wanted to make sure we weren’t caught out.  I started Lap 5 knowing that I might possibly have to run again but after several hours sleep, I felt reasonably refreshed – and our lead position spurred me on; I couldn’t let The Bat Girls down!  Finishing Lap 5, I was met by our grinning captain, Amy, who gave me a huge hug and said: “That’s it – you’re done!”  I was taken aback as I’d been doing the Maths during my  run (a common time-passer for me) and I’d realised that if I finished by 8.15am, then each of my team were to run a 50 minute 10k, I’d be off out again at 11.45am, so half-relieved, half- puzzled, I asked: “Really??” to which Amy replied: “Well, you might be…”  I could do nothing but laugh!

Our next few laps were tough.  Pip was feeling the strain of running 30 miles and her hip began to ache; Michelle’s feet were in tatters (I have so far been spared the sight but Tim insisted they were bad!) and poor Jo had struggled to eat / drink more than water for 24 hours and unbelievably ran her 6th lap completely empty.  The vision of her pale figure being supported by her husband (and our team manager), Dean, really touched us all and the emotions started to flow.  Only Amy, our tough leader, seemed to be okay but who knows what she was really thinking… Her experience in running showed as her mental strength appeared untouched.

As I sat watching the tiring runners coming past, faces lighting up as they heard cheers and saw the pom-poms, I found myself overcome with every emotion I could think of!  I was so grateful to everyone for their consideration; proud of everyone for their perseverance; elated at our performances yet worried for those friends who were battling exhaustion.  Heading down to meet Aggi after her final lap was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Knowing how hard she has worked and the battles she has encountered made her achievement all the more special.  I thought I’d hid my tears well but an eagle-eyed Shaun had spotted me and, as always, offered his support and encouragement.  Being part of The Bats, and running in general, has given me so many life-long friends – the people I turn to when I’m feeling low / anxious / worried as well as happy / elated / proud.  They have brought me through tough times and celebrated with me during the great times.  TR24 was definitely a highlight in my running life so far.

Anyway, back to my saga!  So, I sat around, milking the pity from everyone as a potential 6th lap loomed… It appeared that we had won by two laps but dared we risk stopping in case there had been an error?  It was time to man-up and hopefully seal the deal with one last lap.  As I set off, my greatest concern was missing the presentation, so although everyone was telling me to just walk, my FOMO (Michelle’s favourite phrase: Fear of Missing Out!) caused me to run as fast as my tiring legs (and throbbing toes) would allow.  Coming into the Bats’ area, I was met by Jo, Amy and Pip, who (flip-flops galore) ran in with me towards the finish.  Joined by Michelle, we Bat Girls crossed the line as one – 29 laps in the bag and we were the TR24 2018 Team of 5 Ladies Champions!

The presentation was fantastic.  Within the eight categories, Bats took five podium places and other local teams took quite a few too!  But the thing with Thunder Run, it’s not about winning a Dry Robe big enough for an entire team(!) or a trophy for the mantle piece, it’s about the cameraderie, the laughter, the friendship and support; each and every one of us should be proud and happy to have ‘made the difference’ in our own achievements and in the TR24 experience of so many people.  Keep up the great work, team!

Weird circumstances – did some ultras last year to show London Marathon that I didn’t need it after a load of unsuccessful ballot entries, then got GFA for London and UTMB entry for 2016.

Did ok at London but struggled to comfortably change training gear afterwards. Chamonix fantastic town in full carnival mode for the UTMB week – few nice days with family relaxing in heat and enjoyed supporting some of the finishers, knowing that a lot of tough races were taking place – then the work started 6pm 26th. The start was the most emotive I’ve seen – check out Vangelis : Conquest of Paradise (UTMB theme) – people were stood on the start line crying. Police on rooftops and single peace dancer before the start reminded us that France was still in state of emergency – then we were off. 

Lovely gentle ups and down to Les Houches, then carouselled up past the ski-lifts, reminding us that we were there to do some climbing. The views were and remained breath-taking. I’d been worried about carrying walking poles (which actually fitted fine into my vest) but very quickly it became clear that they would be out the whole time… Was running too fast especially on downhill then got to St Gervais, where got an idea of the magnitude of the event – there were hundreds of runners and supporters at essentially the first checkpoint and the only event to challenge LDWA catering. I sampled my first of the famous noodle soup here and would have knocked back litres of the stuff by the end. The other bit was recognising that as a mere mortal, a lot of this event would be walking-pole trekking up-hill as opposed to a conventional running event.

I normally worry about two things on ultras – directions (never going to be an issue in this race) and company (not a big talker normally but the miles and hills disappear as you jabber on about anything). Language clearly an issue at UTMB, but didn’t get sustained chat which was a challenge.

Notre-Dame de la Gorge stone fires and Les Contamines gave superb scenery and support, feeding stations and steep ascent. The difficult first night included the summits of Bonhomme, Calcaires and la Seigna, but I felt ok. The dark skies star views were fantastic. First hallucinations began – seeing marshalls where they weren’t, others were worse – some shouting at anyone who would listen for no reason at all! Lots of high mountains up and down including in T-shirts and shorts across snow-fields which was superb. Fantastic view over lakes into dawn from mountains framed by clouds. Steep descent into Italian Courmayeur smashed feet up ready for drop-bags. The run out of town –ahead of schedule – was hot and steep but was impressed by the way Italians were treated like superstars by the locals.

The rest of Italy was just hard – 30 degrees at least. I had become fixated upon getting ahead of the cut-off times and ran too hard down two mountains (the beginnings of over-doing it), which set me up for a slow-cooking up Col de Ferret: able to see in the hot daylight just how steep and far we had to go. Became absolute convert to drinking lots from streams – more on that later. Too many people seemed to be giving up on the Ferret, walking head-down back down the hill and crushing when you think how far people travel to take part. I had been pushing hard for a long time by this point and when tried running downhill found had proper good quad-pain. Sat at check-point and for the first time felt vulnerable around completing, but also began to get confused about check-point times. Had been over-caffeinating and taking too much liquid and sugar; and was at this point that I decided to add brufen to the mix. The quads eased and a good downhill got me to into La Fouly with greater margin. Also now had irritating thirst that couldn’t shift and (wish I took photos) quality bloodshot eyes! A good feed then took off for the Swiss-leg, past the chocolate box chalets and drops from paths that you didn’t want to dwell on.

This would be the hardest leg for me. About an hour into it although absolutely clear that I needed to be moving forward, I got the ‘detached’ feeling and lost sight of my next objective. The nutrition/heat/foot care/tiredness combination was checking me out. I focused and followed some French guys for about five miles until I moved ahead into a superb second evening electrical storm and cooling rain. I hadn’t reached the bottom yet but watched others simply lie/fall down and sleep! I staggered up to Champex-Lac where a huge aid station was located. It was a sensory overload. Hadn’t eaten for ages and become worried if able to drink as had been drinking so much. A very kind volunteer steered me towards the medics who did some tests (all ok) and wanted me to sleep for 20 mins to help in their assessment. Sleep? I had timescales to meet! I can’t sleep on command, but was on a sticky wicket – important that I get checked out, but I was in the worst place to present as flaky, as a headshake would have put me out in Switzerland in the middle of the night! Tests were all ok and was able to convince a really nice set of people that although hadn’t slept was fit to continue. Necked some food and drink and got out quick but with a new objective, forget the time – finish…

The rest of the night would be two of the last three last hills. Loads of relentless climbing, hot again and best described as when you’ve had one more than you should have but are trying to act normal. The second hill felt like the first – I was convinced that I’d seen that fir-cone or tree before… I had some conversations – some lucid – others not-so: I spoke to a guy called Dave at one point who was getting married next year in Hawaii and was thinking how to sell doing an ultra whilst there to his wife-to-be… he ran ahead a bit and I continued talking to him. After a while, the Spaniard who was clearly not Dave, gave up correcting me and we shot the breeze about whatever until we went our separate ways…
The final significant checkpoint was at Vallorcine. The bit I didn’t appreciate at the time was my need to change foot-care for these events – my descent to the food-station was woefully slow but my feet were on fire. I’ve thought before how do some people run 100 in the same socks and shoes and I’m ready to change both after 30. I left the CP very focused upon time – I had nine hours to finish (do-able) but I had to be at the top of La Tete aux Vents quicker (but not as quick as I thought) to avoid an earlier cut-off. The ascent was my opportunity and I pounded-up the last mountain, sparking a comedy race within a race where I think people thought I was going for places whereas in fact I was giving myself breathing space on the descent. Went most of way up with lovely guy called Craig (I’m sure but forgive me if mistaken) who was there for third time having lost his mother whilst taking part in last years’ event and was on course for a PB this year.
It would have taken a minute to have taken a picture from the Col prior to the big run-in but I was too focused on getting done.
Any other time the downhill would have been an enjoyable sprint – I shuffled for about two and a half hours, steering the odd runner away from the edge as they staggered down more than half asleep, until I hit road and could actually jog again. Did that, got a huge gilet as a reward (no medals at UTMB), my can of Kronenbourg and shuffled off to recovery… job done.
Afterwards – couldn’t move the day after, then legs/muscles came back quite quickly, blisters were a problem and perversely right rotator-cuff pull meant two days not using right arm! Day two was stomach cramps heralding four days diarrhoea got me a little weak and under 12-stone for first time since kid! Loved the spring water – challenge them when they tell you it’s ‘potable’!

Was privilege to be able to run for Lucas’ Legacy charity and am humbled and grateful to those who have pledged. Most are in now, but something in the region of £1300 has been donated – thanks and well done.
It’s a week since the finish, across the last few days I never wanted to run again at all, but am apparently eligible to be able to apply for next year. Not sure how reads, but if you want to run like you are running on the roof of the world, with the very best of views with runners from every corner of the globe, the pleasure is very much worth the pain. The PTL appears the actual toughest (290km), but the festival includes also the OCC (55km), CCC (101km) and TDS (119km) – have a look and review your bucket-list, cheers.

Kathryn’s Thunder Run report

Before I begin, I have to say that I’ve written many run reports, but I’ve never been quite so daunted about writing one as I am about this. Perhaps it is in keeping with the magnitude of the race itself?! In true ultra running style, you might need to grab yourself a cup of strong black coffee and a few biscuits before you start reading as I fear I might go on for some time…

Preparation for the task of running for 24 hours began in September last year, when I decided for some strange reason that it would be a good idea. After running my first ultra in March 2015, I was well and truly bitten by the ultra bug and wanted to do more and more – to see how far I could go. It seemed like everyone I knew was still talking about the Thunder Run and planning to enter the 2016 event, so when entries opened in October, I was in there like a rat up a drainpipe! It felt like I had forever to train, but I knew that it would come around quickly, so I needed to decide upon my target and race strategy. More on that later!

So, what do you do to prepare yourself to run for 24 hours? A lot of running is the answer, but only part of it: there are other things to consider. I knew that I wouldn’t be the fastest solo female on the course by a long way – my 10K PB on a flat road course is 56 minutes – but what I lack in speed I make up for in determination (for that read stubbornness/refusal to give up – ‘death before DNF’ is one of my mantras!!), a very high pain threshold and the ability to go without sleep. With these three weapons in my arsenal, I focused on gaining as much strength and endurance as possible over the next nine months. A typical training week would involve some of the following, sometimes all:

1. At least three double run days, with the first of those runs usually pushing a heavy two-year-old in a pushchair up hills and off road at an easy pace. I did a few triple days too.

2. Back-to-back long runs at a very easy pace to get used to running on tired legs.

3. If I wasn’t planning a back-to-back weekend, I would do two long runs a week, usually 15-18 on a Wednesday when Giovanna was in nursery and a longer one at the weekend.

4. Lots of hills. Roger ‘The Mountain Goat’ Taylor was enlisted in planning the hilliest routes he could think of. The day we did Redhill Lane, Beech Caves, Hanchurch and the Monument I might have thought bad thoughts and said a few bad words.

5. Running most days. I rarely take rest days – I find I get very twitchy and would prefer to just to do a slow two mile jog than have complete rest. Not conventional I guess but works for me.

6. Speed work! Tempo runs of up to 50 minutes (this hurts. A lot!) and long intervals are my ‘favourites’.

As well as all of this, I planned in key events as training runs. These included the Sunrise to Sunset (8 hours of 0.81 mile laps) in December, to see how I managed with laps, Dukeries 40 in May, the Mourne Mountain Ultra in June and the Potteries Marathon in July. Roger and I also did the route of the Six Dales from Hartington in the Peaks (26 miles).

All of this running and generally being quite busy burns a lot of energy, so I tried to plan good meals and snacks to keep me going. I eat a mostly plant-based diet (loads of fruit, veg, salad, nuts, seeds, pulses, tofu and slow release carbs like porridge and wholemeal pasta) but occasionally eat fish. I do have a terrible addiction to dark chocolate though!

Mental preparation was also going to be key, and I developed a few techniques to help me to stay positive and/or zone out when the going got tough. One of them is to laugh at things around me that might be a bit random or silly. On the day, this turned out to be people who farted or burped on their way past me! Another is to sing to myself. When it’s really bad I count to ten in as many languages as I can. I also think about my sister, who has a rare genetic disorder and is totally immobile. So when I think I’m hurting, I think about her and how she can’t run a step – never has been able to – and I soon get going again, usually with tears in my eyes. Some of you may have noticed I wrote her name on my arm to remind me. People often ask why I put myself through the pain of running such a long way and my standard response is ‘because I can’.

So, race day dawned and I was pretty nervous, but also excited about completing the task in hand. I knew I would have brilliant support, both out on the course and back at the temporary Bat Cave, but little did I know just how incredible this support would be. It all began with our lift to the start from Tom – this really meant a lot as I knew I would be in no fit state to drive home! We arrived on site at around 9:40, which gave me plenty of time for multiple toilet visits, much faffing about with kit (thanks to Victoria for the vest that actually fits!) and some time to collect my thoughts. I had decided in advance that my aim was going to be at least ten laps but hopefully more like twelve. This would get me somewhere near the top ten. After studying results from previous years, I discovered that the winner had typically achieved 16 laps, with a podium finisher usually completing 15. I am pretty certain that I have this in me one day, and especially now I have experienced the race and know what not to do! More on that later.

High noon soon came around and I made my way down to the start area with Roger, who gave me a goodbye and good luck hug and kiss. It felt a bit like I was going out on an epic expedition even though I knew I would see him in about an hour and twenty minutes! I started at the back and settled into a very steady pace. I have no idea what that actually was because I took the decision not to wear a watch – mainly to stop myself from obsessing about being too fast or too slow, but also because the battery life on my Suunto is naff. New watch hint!

The aim on the first lap was to get to know the course and settle my nerves. Mission accomplished as I got back to the Bat Cave in about 78 minutes. A quick stop for a Pepsi and a hug ensued, and I carried on to complete my first lap in 84 minutes. Just what I had planned. On lap two I still didn’t really feel like I was into my running and I realised, if I didn’t know already, that the heat was going to be a massive issue. I took three cups of water at the 15K mark and felt slightly better so on lap 3 I opted to carry a bottle of water, something I don’t normally do. I have a race belt but I wanted to carry as little as possible around me because of how sweaty I was getting! Despite the extra water, I felt a little nauseous and had headache, so at the end of lap 3 I had a longer stop for paracetamol, crisps, the first of many strong black coffees and my magic concoction of one electrolyte tablet and one Berocca in a bottle of water to take with me. This made a huge difference and by lap 5 I was really enjoying my running. The oppressive heat was also starting to die down, which made a huge difference. Lap 6 was done in failing light. I just about managed to get away without a head torch, but knew that lap 7 would be the first of the dark ones.

Donning my head torch that looks like I’m going down the mine (it is that massive!), I set off for lap 7, which was probably my favourite lap up to this point. I love night running, even if I do sometimes get a little spooked, but the course was so busy I never felt alone. I made it a game to spot the black beetles on the floor of the woodland sections – there must have been hundreds. Speaking of insects, it was also quite nice not to have flies in my eyes or worse, in my mouth. The Bat Cave was starting to get quieter by this point as people took well deserved rests, but the stalwarts Brian, Bernie and JC were always awake, it seemed! I don’t know whether they appreciated my inane chatter throughout the night but they did a good job of making it seem like it was amusing. Bernie also continued to provide me with very strong coffee, which definitely helped (although he has since told me that they ran out of coffee on lap one and I was in fact drinking Fence Guard. This would quite possibly explain why, at 3am, I apparently looked like a bush baby as my pupils were so dilated they had disappeared into my dark eyes!). Onto lap 8, and it became much darker. Not because it was night, but because my head torch was running out of battery. Needless to say, I slowed down because I couldn’t see much and I was concerned about staying on my feet. This was one of the mistakes that cost me an extra lap – one that I won’t be making again. Lap 8 also saw me start to suffer very badly with chafing in a rather delicate area, from about 75km onwards. At this point, I decided to have a longer break at the end of the lap so I could find my handheld torch and get my chafing sorted! Thankfully Victoria was awake so I didn’t disturb her when I went in the tent to get my inhaler, paracetamol and Savlon. Much hilarity ensued when Roger woke up to a conversation he would probably rather not have heard – basically that his first aid skills were required between my bottom cheeks! Under normal circumstances I might have been embarrassed by his shouts from the tent of “Oh God that’s awful! It looks like a baboon’s ass!” but I had just run 80k so didn’t much care ? Set off for lap 9 with a slightly less sore bum and was feeling pretty good as I knew that sunrise would come by the end of this one.

As dawn came round, I felt a new surge of energy and enthusiasm, and started to feel confident that I would run for the whole 24 hours without a break for sleep. Lap 10 was also a lot of fun, and as I finished I treated myself to breakfast of honey nut cornflakes. Left for lap 11 feeling good, but I hadn’t seen Roger for a while as he had either been asleep or running when I came back, and my irrational pathetic brain took over from about 101-104km. I couldn’t seem to get going, I didn’t really give a stuff and although I knew I would carry on, I couldn’t be arsed, to put it bluntly! Just before I reached the water station on what I have come to know as the ‘lap of doom’, our very own captain of vice, Paul, must have seen I was struggling as he gave me a big hug on his way past. That gave me the boost that I needed and I started to get moving a bit more quickly again. Had a bit of a cry at the end of that lap when I did actually see Roger, but JC and Ben encouraged me to keep going. So, after a big hug, I set off for what I knew was going to be my final lap. I also knew that at any time after the 1km mark, Roger was going to come flying past, which also kept me going. What is even more impressive is that he still managed a 42 minute lap with a quick hug stop ? Past the water station for the final time, I summoned up one last push to take me over the ridge at 8km (my favourite bit of the course) and down the hill the other side. By this point I was in floods of tears (tears of joy and relief!) underneath my sunglasses, but I did manage to stop crying by the time I got to the grassy straight for the very last time. I felt like running royalty as I was welcomed by cheers and Bats lining the bank with party poppers, and that gave me a massive boost as I headed towards the finish. Throughout the whole race, I was truly blown away by the time that people took to get me through. I felt like a queen every time I ran along the grassy straight back to base camp, as I was welcomed by cheers, offers of food, drink and a chair (sometimes two to put my feet up!). I have no idea where it came from but I don’t think Roger was expecting to run in to the end with me at 8 minute pace!! Crossed the line and heard the joyful chorus of beeps that signalled the end of this and every lap, but this time I stopped. Time stood still for a second, or at least it felt like it did, as the enormity of what I had done began to sink in. I had achieved my twelve lap aim and finished 11th lady. Not quite top ten, but I will be back next time to rectify that!

“You don’t need to be fast. But you had better be fearless.”

It isn’t often that I do races more than once (especially long ones – I like a bit of variety!), but after doing this extremely well organised, friendly and scenic route last year, I said I’d be back. Starting just outside Sherwood Forest, the route is on relatively easy woodland trails before it passes through the stunning backdrop of Cresswell Crags at Mile 23. It then crosses Clumber Park, before passing through farmland and looping back to pass the Thoresby Estate and returning to Sherwood Forest. With my solo Thunder Run training well underway, this race formed an ideal opportunity to get some decent miles in the legs on beautiful woodland trails.

The day started at the somewhat ungodly hour of 4:30. Had a quick bowl of porridge and honey with a cup of tea before setting off on the 90 minute journey to Nottinghamshire. Had a five minute snooze in the car (it’s ok, Roger was driving – thanks Roger!!) and felt quite refreshed upon arriving at race HQ. Ate my second breakfast of Wow butter (like peanut butter but not peanuts) and jam sandwiches and did the customary multiple loo visits before the race briefing at 7:10. We were informed about how well marked the course was (I remembered this from last year), how there was a new finish (course extended to be 41 miles) and the importance of making the cut off at the last checkpoint (34 miles) by 4pm. There was one little surprise that we weren’t told about though – more on that in a bit!

Moving outside to the start area, I was feeling a little nervous and apprehensive, as my last long race (Wrexham Marathon) saw my first ever DNF. I tried to put that out of my mind and concentrate on the task ahead as we set off. There is a 30 mile race running at the same time, so I tried not to take too much notice of those going off at a quicker pace. My plan was to run at about ten minute miles, walk and eat/drink up the hills and not stop for too long at checkpoints. I settled into my pace fairly quickly, until all of a sudden everyone ahead appeared to stop. I thought there might have been a narrow stile causing a bottleneck – however, it soon became apparent that there was significant flooding that required us to wade through water over our knees for a good hundred metres. It was actually quite refreshing on the legs but I was concerned about getting wet feet so early on. I needn’t have worried though – within a few miles my feet were nice and dry and I had settled into a comfortable rhythm.

Coming into the first checkpoint at 7 miles, I grabbed a quick black coffee, some squash and a handful of salted peanuts and Hula Hoops. This was to be the theme of the day – grab salty snacks and leave as quickly as possible! The next checkpoint wasn’t until 17 miles, but I had plenty of food and water in the lucky race belt borrowed from Roger so all was well. Well, until Mile 13 – unlucky for some, and it certainly was for me! I tripped rather unceremoniously and fell hard onto my knees and hands. I lay there, quite stunned, for a few seconds and then told myself I was ok and I had to keep running. I could see that my right knee was bleeding quite heavily but it wasn’t too painful to run on. The worst thing was my hands as I had taken quite a chunk out of one of them. I gave everything a quick once over with an alcowipe whilst jogging and still felt strong going into Checkpoint 2. More squash, some cola and more peanuts and Hula Hoops saw me through the halfway mark way under my target of 4:30. I finished in 9:39 last year but really wanted a sub 9 hour finish today. The next checkpoint came along quite quickly, at Mile 23. I knew then that there was a big gap (11 miles) until the next one, so I made sure I had full water bottles before making my way through the farmland section. Miles 20-25 were my slowest so far, but I found a new spring in my step after a much needed pee at Mile 26 ? Felt strong going through 30 miles and confident that I was going to finish in a cracking time. A somewhat irritating factor at this point was that my watch decided to add miles for me (done at 5 second pace!!). There’s nothing more annoying or confusing for an exhausted ultra runner who doesn’t know EXACTLY how far they’ve gone! Coming into the final checkpoint I was starting to feel really quite sick and a bit dehydrated, so I had some caffeine and electrolytes and felt almost instantly better. Quick stop here for yet more Hula Hoops (bad salt cravings!) and then off to complete the final seven miles. This seemed to go on forever and my legs were feeling quite tired now – not helped by the sore knees. I knew that the finish was different this year so I wasn’t sure how far I had to go once I’d gone past where the course had changed, so I was beyond relieved to see a marshal telling me that it was only 400m to go! Got around the corner and I could see the finish, and the most welcome sight of Roger running towards me ? He took a few nice finishing pictures of me grinning like an idiot as usual, then we went back into race HQ to get my medal (engraved with my name, which I thought was a nice touch), race vest and veggie soup. Felt a bit emotional as I realised that I had smashed last year’s time (even on the longer course) and gone way under my 9 hour goal, in a time of 8 hours and 43 minutes. I’ll be back next year to see if I can go under 8 hours!