Its hard to believe that I am already halfway through my personal challenge of 12 marathons (or more) in 12 months, but here we are, event number 6!
8 potential hours of running a 3.75 mile loop, crazy hills, bit of mud.....oh and beer....what could possibly go wrong!? This is my brief but pretty accurate description of the madness that is the Beerathon!
Saxon Shore are the hosts again for today's madness and we find ourselves at Ranscombe Farm Nature Reserve......yep....I didn't know where that was either. Its here (click me) in case you wanted to know. I should probably have done a little more research before doing this one as it was a little bit of a surprise to find most of the loop on the NORTH DOWNS!!
I have a special place in my heart for the North Downs as my very first ultra was on it, the North Downs Way 50 mile. The best way I can describe the North Downs is that it is as beautiful as it is brutal.
OK so doing some research beforehand wouldn't in all honesty have made it any easier but I guess its perhaps a different mental approach? Who knows? Any who, on with the story!
The ever present Mummysaurus picked me up and we headed off, chatting away in the car about today's plans. Though the challenge was 8 hours, I was focusing on a marathon today and was in hope of doing it in under 5 of those hours. We joked about this perhaps being a little ambitious what with the hills, the mud and well.....the beer....don`t forget the beer!
We arrived at the Nature reserve and drove up the extremely steep driveway to the event parking area......glad it was`nt raining or the little car we were in would have really struggled!!
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| View from the top of the hill into the car park |
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| My kind of aid station! |
The challenge today was a 3.75 mile loop that begins with a beer, this is however not compulsory, its all just for a bit of a laugh. You must finish your beverage, be that what it may, before you start the next lap. The main rule really being....well....ill take artist licence on this.....don`t be a dick. Don`t get absolutely clown shoed (yep just made that up) and risk not being able to run here anymore. With this in mind, you don`t actually have to drink at all. I had the silly idea of giving it a go and actually try to drink a beer on every lap, the caveat being that I would stop if it started to really mess up my running.
"RUNNERS GRAB YOUR BEERS!"
Traviss called us all to the start with our bottles/cans/cups of chosen beverages and gave us the countdown -
3...2...1...CHUG!!
I started my watch and then tried my best to down my breakfast beer. The first half was OK, the second half....not so much. I finished my beer and walked over the starting line, trying really hard not to instantly puke all over the path!! Great start, its only 10am!!
That first loop was brutal and required a lot of concentration, it took me nearly 2 miles of it to feel anywhere near settled again! This was enough to already change today's game plan. Dial back on the beer to a sip or 2 a lap and try and eat every lap, I`m clearly going to need the energy today! I was still however quietly hopeful that I could still get close to 5 hours, even with the crazy hills.
I was going to try and describe the loop for you but I think its best at this point to bombard you with a bunch of pictures, in no particular order, that were taken by Mummysaurus as she walked around 1 lap......see you in a minute.....
Hello again!
The photos still don`t do it justice, it was ridiculously hilly and so, so beautiful. The weather conditions were close to perfect with the exception of some of the sections in the woods where the humidity jumped up, making breathing a bit hard going.
I did my best to keep the pace up, walk the really steep ups and absolutely nail the downs. I figured I would just give it as much as I had for as long as I could because I knew this loop was going to chew me up sooner or later! At the end of each lap I had a couple of sips of beer and a bit of bread pudding, I flipping love bread pudding! This may become a regular bag drop item.
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| 3 laps in - about a beer and a half in |
Another present for future me was the bruise I was going to get from the large wooden post that I accidentally rugby tackled at around 15 miles. I had obviously passed this area a few times already and each time I had, I had slipped all over the place trying to get around it. The ground around the post had been worn away and dropped away to form a very muddy, slippery kind of step. Every other lap I had hopped onto this higher bit so I could hop over the muddy hole. On this particular lap however the fates had decided that it was time for some gymnastics. I hopped on to the high bit which broke off under my right foot causing it to shoot sideways and kick my left foot clean out from underneath me and I landed, armpit first on to the top of the wooden post.
"Ouch" was one word that I used (I shall leave you to guess the others) as I picked myself up and had a quick check that I hadn`t actually done anything silly. It kind of shook me for a little while but I tried to stay positive and just keep moving. You see I`m not really used to falling over. I`ve been running "properly" since 2012 and this makes it only the third time that I have taken a tumble. I`ve had plenty of slips and trips but very, very rarely get as far as hitting the ground even though I run in sandals. The other 2 occasions I was probably asking for. The first was right at the start of an event. A guy next to me was having a bit of friendly banter over my sandals, along the lines of "good luck mate, you're gonna slip all over the place!" I gave a chuckle and was just saying "NAA! I`ve got LOADS of grip!" as we approached a wet grassy bank, my legs scooted out from under me and I proceeded to slip on my arse down the entire bank........graceful! We had a bloody good laugh about that, as did the 15 people directly behind me when it happened.
The second time I was without a doubt asking for. It was winter, freezing cold and snowing. Perfect conditions for running across a frozen horse field......in sandals. To be fair the sandals had absolutely nothing to do with it, stupidity had everything to do with it.
I headed out for a 5 miler and all was going well until I was on my way back. I had just come through a kissing gate, went to run and SLAM! I hit the ground HARD. One second I was standing, the next I was shoulder first on the ground. The ground was so hard that it knocked the wind out of me. It happened so fast there was no time to react at all. It caught me so off guard that I actually went and checked what I had slipped on. A deep, ice and snow filled, solid hoof print. Who`d have thunk it.......in a horse field........in the winter........*facepalm*
Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, running around silly hills and drinking beer.....
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| Action shot from one of the photographers on the day |
It was tough going but I was moving well and feeling pretty good, well until the inevitable. The punishing hills caught up with me somewhere between 18 and 19 miles. It was like someone had just pulled the plug out. My legs where absolutely trashed they were starting to twitch and tingle, walking fast was even starting to become a problem. I kept telling myself to just finish this lap and then I`ll take a quick break before the last lap.
I shuffled along and was caught up by Natalie. We had a great chat about ultra running and nutrition, it was a much welcomed distraction at the perfect time and really kept me moving, all be it slowly. She stuck with me for the rest of the lap, I wished her the best of luck and headed over to Mummysaurus. She took one look at me and said "would you like a chair?" I think my reply was along the lines of "oh hell yes!"
As I was standing by the aid station I figured I should take this moment to stuff my face. I ate ALL the things. Cake was mixed with crisps, mixed with nuts, mixed with more cake. If it wasn't nailed down, I was eating it.
I added a few more crisps and cake to my soft cup (yup totally not whats its for) grabbed a Guinness and shuffled over to the chair. So there I was, snuggled in my DryRobe, sitting in a chair in the sunshine, stuffing my face with cake and sipping Guinness with 1 lap left to complete a marathon. I could have stayed there all day but settled for about 20 minutes. The crazy thing was that without this break I was actually on for a sub 4:30!! The reality was that I needed the 20 minutes or it was going to be nearer 6.
With every sip and nibble I could feel the life coming back into my legs. Maybe I`ve been going about marathons in the wrong way?! Maybe this was how it was meant to be done?! It felt a heck of a lot more fun now I was full of cake and Guinness!
Enough lounging, I`ve got another lap to do!
I bounded (I didn't but it adds more drama) out of the chair, thanked Mummysaurus and headed out on my final lap, feeling the polar opposite of how I finished the last one.
I tried to enjoy myself as much as I could over that last lap, limiting my walking time and trying to run every downhill. Everything still hurt but I took comfort in the fact that I was nearly done, almost embracing the pain as an acknowledgement of a hard days work.
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| Great shot from one of the photographers on the day |
I crossed the finish 5 hours, 13 minutes and 14 seconds after that first beer, tired, battered but most of all, glad to be done! So glad in fact that I nearly forgot to pick up my medal!
Thanks for reading folks I hope you enjoyed it!
HUGE thanks as always to Mummysaurus for her unwavering support and a big thank you and well done to Natalie who went on to complete just over 50km! Top job!
Massive thank you as always to Traviss, Rachel and all at Saxon Shore for another great event!
6 of 12 done! Next up is the Roald Dahl Challenge....goodness....next week!
Till next time folks!
Love and high 5`s
Cardiosaurus
