Hardmoors 60 - 2016

Pre Race

Details

The Hardmoors 60 is part of series of races along the Cleveland Way in the North York Moors, England. The guy who organise it put on a load of other ultras and marathons throughout the year.

The race is scheduled to be 60 miles but as I soon learnt that with all Hardmoors events, the mileage will vary to include a fair bit more, and some added nasty steps etc. This was closer to 63 for me!

The route starts in Guisborough and runs through lovely small villages, through busy towns, into ugly towns and finishes in Filey after running along the coast for most of the full route.

I wanted to do this for the UTMB points, and at the time it was offering 3 old points. This means over the last 2 years I have done 3 races which each give 3 old points and next years system allows "9 points accumulated over 3 races" - Using the old scale *phew*

Ultimate Trails 110km 2015

CCC 100km 2016

Hardmoors 62m 2016

Training

Coming off the back of the CCC I never did any training for this race, I just ticked along with the short easy runs to keep the legs mobile and ready for a long jolly along the English coast.

Most of the preparation seemed to go into making a nutrition plan to follow, booking accommodation, and working out a comfortable easy-going pace which would hopefully mean less recovery time after the event, also no injuries either! 
Due to the plan being more of a 'fun run' than a race I wanted to keep it pretty low key so decided not to tell many people about it.

Word of warning if you're driving down to Filey from Glasgow, don't go via Middlesborough, it takes far too long!!!!

Pre Race

We stayed in a beautiful B&B very close to the finish, it was cheap, the owners we incredibly nice to us and it meant I could wake up a little later to get the bus which takes runners to the start - The bus pick up was about a 3 minute walk from the B&B.
1h30m bus journey full of nervous runners at 5.45am!!!! - Yes there was a toilet on board.

The owners of the B&B had made up a bag for me to take for 'breakfast' this included a Jam sandwich, a ham sandwich, 2 kit kats, water, 3 different fruits! It was very generous.

The bus journey wasn't bad at all, it cost £10 on top of entry which is a good deal, the time passed quick as I spotted a guy I recognised from Ultimate Trails last year so we just chatted the whole way there.

Race pack

The bus stopped a little way from the start, and he was chatting to me a Marshall said "Please be quiet its early, don't want to wake the residents up", I smiled and no idea what the guy infront looked like but he must have laughed, she said "Stop smiling, its not funny!! The race will get cancelled!!!". I'm not sure what this was about but hey ho.

Drop bag drop off was easy and without issue, huge queue to go through the kit check and pick up a bib. After this I just sat down and ate my sandwiches waiting for the start.

The start got delayed about 20 minutes. I think the start was 8.18am, so I let Vicky know as she was meeting me at some checkpoints along the route with her friend Rae and her puppy.

The race briefing from Jon Steele was good, it seems everyone knows everyone there, a real family atmosphere at this race, it reminded me of the WHW folk. They were all fine with the outsider (me) during the race when we got chatting, and luckily knew the route!

Race Start

The Race

The first few miles climbed up about 700ft in 2 miles. I heard a few funny Yorkshire accents here complaining about the humidity and how long the climb was haha. It was actually really good underfoot on nice trails and not too muddy. The weather was pretty warm but the breeze at the top was a nice relief.

There was meant to be a checkpoint at 2 miles I think, but nothing was there - It seemed strange to have one so early into the race anyway so didn't mind because they'd be no point stopping at it.

Good signs here

About 5 miles in we were running along some fields and I looked into the woods and saw bare legs and a bare ass, eww. I turned away and just heard the awful sound that came next, jeezo!!!

After a few more miles I needed to go so hopped into the nearest bush :-)
 

Saltburn Valley Gardens - 9 miles
Excellent checkpoint, as every one of them was, very well stocked, the marshalls were literally tripping over each other to help you out, fill your water, give you food etc. Really good checkpoints throughout, loved them all!!!!

Jelly babies and Jaffa Cakes here with a cup of coke, yum!

Finally hit the seaside about 10 miles in which was a nice relief as I had been looking forward to it since the start.

There was a little section of the beach we ran along at 'Skinningrove' before climbing back up the cliffs. I had to stop as soon as I got off the beach to get all the sand out of my shoes, its starting coming in through all the rips in the sides (2nd race in this pair of shoes too).

We ran through a beautiful little village called Staithes, this would be a great place to visit when not racing and get an ice cream and just relax, lovely cobbled streets and little shops :-)

Then onto the beach, along the cliffs, up and down hundreds of uneven steps. Steps were the common theme of this race it seemed and by the end I hated every single step.

The road sections

Runswick Bay - 21 miles
This was there first checkpoint where you could pick up your Drop Bags if you had them. I did because i'm used to them from the Scottish races. Had a snickers and a Hungry Hippo from it, sat down in the back of the marshalls van and got all the sand out of my shoes again.

I was getting a little ahead of my race plan. It was easy to get carried away with the running, but I started to find running really exhaustingt. I haven't ran properly now for months, mainly focusing on hiking after injury for the CCC so my climbing/hiking legs are alright but no good at running for long periods. I slowed down, walked a bit more and reeled the pace in so the heart rate dropped. 

I liked the fact there was no time goals, no pressure for time, it was just a case of enjoying the views, enjoying the run and taking it easy!

Running along the sand here at 'Runswick Sands' was great and none of it ended up in my shoes luckily lol, the little climb up the burn was a bit technical so quite fun and a change from the bloody steps.

This was the longest section without a checkpoint at 12 miles. The time flew by as I chatted to a few people, most of them always said "Glasgow", "You don't sound like it" hahahaha. The chat was pretty good along this section and one of the local runners told me about a nice public toilet at Sandsends. I didn't need to go but used it anyway and was nice to wash my hands after they got really sticky from food!

Approaching Whitby I took a few wrong turns (this wasn't the first time either), the signage for the Cleveland Way is similar to the WHW (Posts with an icon on) but no where near as often. So the route wasn't really marked, you just followed the Acorn signs, but when passing through the towns or villages they were few and far between.

Whitby was fucking mobbed!
Imagine trying to run through it on a sunny day at 3pm, full of thousands of glaikit tourists and rambunctious children! I followed one of the Hardmoors veterans who guided me through the thousands of people, we ran most of it on the road with the cars.

The climb to the church/abbey was about 200 steps, but got into a good routine because they were all the same size so you could power up them head down 2 at a time, moving for the walkers coming down them who didn't fancy moving for you.

Whitby Abbey

I met Vicky and Rae for the first time here, this was a good morale boost.

30 miles in and I'd almost broken the back of it. I was lucking forward to getting past halfway knowing a finish was possible. I sat, ate food, drank water and just chatted to them for a while before switching from my pink hat to my blue hat. The trucker hat kept blowing off on the cliffs because it was so windy and super embarassing trying to pull it back on quickly hoping people didn't see it lol.

Suncream on, sunglasses on, and sun hat on... This only lasted about an hour until the sun went away and never came back properly again :(

Saltwick Bay - 31 miles
This checkpoint was just past Whitby, I was talking to a lot of complaining runners from miles 31 to mile 52 and got really sick of it after a while. This is where all that started when some guy was going on about how much his feet were hurting and complaining about where the checkpoint was!!! It was only about 2 minutes up the road. 

I got some more food at the checkpoint and another coke like a piggy before carrying leaving.

This next section was actually pretty good! I got lost a few times but nothing major, the main problems was the odd sign was missing on T junctions etc, but after trail and error it was fine.

I was looking forward to getting to the checkpoint at Robins Hood Bay as I'd heard from a lady at work how beautiful this place was, and it had to be better than Whitby was, and at least a little quieter!

The section here was nice, but when I passed everyone I always said "Ya'right", I thought this was a rethorical greeting, but everyone I passed and said it too ended up saying "nah I wanna quit", "My legs are done", "I'm cramping all the time"... 

A lot of this route was actually on small roads, this really tired my legs out and my knees were starting to hurt, but I never let anybody else know how I was feeling. I tried to remain positive and enjoy it was much as possible. The roads were indeed taking their toll so it was always good to get back on the trails and cliff tops etc.

I passed a bull in a field!!!!!!! That was absolutely TERRIFYING!!! It doesn't look that big here but it was massive in person.

Robins Hood Bay - 37 miles
Very well stocked checkpoint, and again I took of my shoes and got all the sand/stones out here. The town was quite nice and the crowd support here at the pub was pretty good. The problem was I was on the phone to my friend and ended up leaving the checkpoint the wrong way, after a 1/4 mile a guy front I was following said "WRONG WAY, We need to go back". I was joking saying it was his fault we took the wrong turn because I was following him and not concentrating. Luckily he knew the way, but unfortunately for me he was a moany bugger too!! He was wanting to quit and I was trying to encourage him by saying "Its less than a marathon left now, you can do them nae bother"... Not really sure why I was doing this was I was tired too, and still cheery! I left him after a few minutes and since leaving him I had no time for people who were having a hard time - Maybe pretty selfish but I didn't want to be trapped in that downward spiral.

I contemplated telling him a joke but didn't bother in the end!

"Whats a monkeys favourite cookies?"

"Chocolate chimp cookies"
Hahahahaha! - I'll use it at another ultra to someone who deserves it :)

Robin Hoods Bay to Ravenscar was only 6 miles and pretty nice, there was a lovely little place called 'Boggle Hole' a little pub and a tiny beach. Again no signs so I asked a walkers if I was still on the Cleveland Way. The race had spread out now having just over 200 runners so sometimes you were just running alone, which is fine for all the veterans who do it, but not us newbies!

Before I got to the next checkpoint I was chatting to a nice couple who had done a load of the races, 60s, 110s, 160s etc. They showed me the way on the next section which was good of them, and I kept recommending they come to Scotland for races!

The barracks along the coast?

I met up with Vicky and Rae again before the checkpoint, they were great as always, I was chatting along and gobbling up all my mini chocolate croissants (Poundland). After I left them they were going to the final checkpoint in Scarborough and I was just heading into the official checkpoint.

Ravenscar Church Hall - 41 miles
Wow this was the best checkpoint of all, the marshalls were again fighting to fill my bottles as quick as possible, they were excellent! Offering around pizza (I had a slice), I had a fair few celebrations too (Cream Egg ones), ate my hungry hippo and snickers from my drop bag, went to the toilet and spoke to a guy who was supporting his friend. I saw him later on and he was very encouraging haha.

The next section for me was the loneliest of the race, not really a low but I was getting a bit tired and bored now. The steps were taking their toll and I just wanted to get back, have a shower, have my Brew Dog and go to bed! To tide me over (tide, lol), I put on The Ginger Runner podcast and got on with that for an hour.

There was this pretty cool bush tunnel to go through, I really liked this and it reminded me from something out of Alice In Wonderland or some Disney movie.

The sky was stunning here! The sun was going down and it looked really nice, I got a few photos of it and my mood had perked up quite a lot by seeing this.
What better way to spend a day than running for all of it from sunrise to sunset in lovely weather :-)

Sun is setting

Another sunset

As the sun had gone down I held out for as long as possible before putting my head torch on, but had to when running through the woods as it was pitch black and didn't fancy falling!

Four of us came up to a fork in the road, wit
h a sign pointing both left and right and an acorn in the middle... We took the left and it worked out to be right - Thank God.

I could see the lights of Scarborough below and we very excited to get down there and see Vicky & Rae again! I spoke to a runner here as I passed him, he complained about his legs so I left him to it and carried on running. Once I hit Scarborough I was so excited but it was 3 miles to the checkpoint.... Yes, 3 miles along the front!

I was running alone for quite a long time, there was no runners in front or behind in sight. There was groups of neds kicking around on bikes sitting along the promenade, I got out my phone and called a friend to pass the time. I got fed up a
nd started walking, phoned Vicky a few times to ask her where I'm meant to be walking knowing the checkpoint was on the "Sea front".. I stuck to the sea front but it went on forever!

After about 15 minutes I hit the ugliest part of the town, it was just like Blackpool, and what you imagine Newcastle to be like on a Saturday night at 10pm, Hen and Stag dos, white trash.

The harvest moon was beautiful which made up for Scarborough being a dive on a Saturday night hehe.

Olympia!

Scarborough Sea Front - 52 miles

I was super happy to see the checkpoint marshalls High Viz and my awesome crew here waiting on me! The Marshalls once again filled up my waters for me, gave me food, and gave me directions on a new diversion because of the high tide.

Vicky and Rae also gave me food and drink - Was nice to meet Rae and will no doubt see her again for an ultra in Scotland 2017. I bid farewell to Victoria and promised to see her in around 2 hours at the finish. 2 hours and 10 miles was quite ambitious I thought but I always like a nice kick at the end.

Rae, puppy and Vicky waiting for me

She said to me "Run on and catch those runners so you aren't alone", knowing I was finding it difficult during the night and navigating the town centres.

Luckily I latched onto a Hardmoors veteran who was super friendly and didn't complain about anything, Peter! This guy knew the final 10 miles no bother, it was a breeze!

This section passed by pretty quickly, we chatted the whole way and were joined later on by a local runner (Sue) who I'd met earlier in the day! We ran together for the full final section, the final 4 miles along the Peninsula toward Filey were amazing. After about 60 miles we were all pretty anxious to get this thing finished now.

I text Vicky to let her know we'd be coming in soon, in about 1/2/3 miles - we'll see lol.

Filey Methodist Church - 62 miles (finish)

We ran down some more bloody stairs and onto the roads of Filey town centre, one final steep climb and a selfie before the finish.

I saw Vicky standing at the front of the Church in her Fling Hoody happy to see me. I greeted her and ran into the finish with the two others and we all finished together. Everybody was clapping it was really nice actually, especially because of how late it was!

Medal and T Shirt wooo!

Vicky ushered me into the church to sit down, get some food and drink, it was lovely to have a nice seat, my feet were really sore from the steps and running I had done. I ate quite a lot here, sandwiches, quiche, Victoria sponge and flapjacks before walking back to our B&B.

At the B&B I enjoyed the well earned Brew Dog and a quick shower trying not to wake up the other residents - eek.

Final thoughts:

Really enjoyed this event, happy to have finished it and got my UTMB points for a possible positive draw next year (although we're hoping its a no for now). Route was really pretty and hard work.

The highlight was seeing the beautiful moon in the sky along the cliff tops as the sun had set.

Mountain Fuel - It makes you wonder about how good this product is! If everyone was complaining about cramps and there were free samples at the start and finish as sponsors of this event. Are people even taking this, and if so why are they getting cramps? I have some samples and will test them out on longer runs.

Signage - This wasn't always that good. I did struggle a few times trying to find my way, especially in the towns I mentioned and sometimes when there were T junctions and no obvious route to take, but luckily stuck with the more experienced Hardmoors runners who knew the way.

Family atmosphere - Fantastic atmosphere at this race, would like to do more of them in future.

Marshalls/Checkpoints - The marshalls at the checkpoints were excellent, and the food/drink at them was brilliant, really well stocked and some nice treats too.

Organisation - Overall I feel the organisation of the even was pretty good, the bus to the start, the starting area and the finish were all good. My only concern was the lack of toilets at the start for the number of runners.

Points - Great to get UTMB points for the Hardmoors races.

Thank you all for reading, hope I didn't rant too much :-)

CCC 2016 - 101km - 20,000ft ascent

Tourists in Chamonix

The finish and Mont Blanc

Pre Race

Training

Training went pretty well for this race which seems to be rare occurrence this year! I took two full weeks off, then had two build up weeks before four excellent weeks! This was to get most from the short training and still have a taper so I wasn't too overcooked by race day.
The training log is in my last blog post here.

Holiday

We flew out to Chamonix on Monday morning. In future we'll be looking to fly out on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning because the nervous energy was becoming too much for me being around the buzz in town 24/7.

Race Expo

Our hotel was a 3 star overpriced dive so best not to get too into that on here!

Monday we just explored the area, went to the race expo and bought some goodies. I even changed up my race kit by getting some white compression calf sleeves, and a cap I could dip and soak in water throughout the race because my trucker hat isn’t great for holding water.

Tuesday we took the cable car up to Le Brevent at 2525m to relax, get used to the altitude and eat our favourite food of the holiday – ICE CREAM!!!! Vicky was scared of the cable car because she’s not great with heights and the thing shook so much on the way up.

I did a little run down to get the legs moving but nothing hard, just seeing how the heat was and how I dealt with the altitude - Was fine with the altitude but couldn't get used to the heat out there.

Looking down at Chamonix

Selfie at the top

Beautiful trails

Due to the ever increasing temperature an email was sent out by organisation to carry extra water for the race. This was a good idea, so I stashed an extra 500ml bottle in my pack but never ended up needing it throughout the entire race.

Race registration was pretty easy actually, I think the key point is getting there bang on opening for the race you are doing. We stood in the queue for about 20 minutes before my passport was checked and a checklist was given to me to produce some random items on the list.

At kit check you pick up your bib, get a wristband on, and get a bag with discount codes and the race T shirt – Which is fantastic quality!!

Kit checklist

Registration

After a horrendous sleepless night (of many) in our hotel the night before the race we were both pretty tired on race morning. - Just to point out a huge thanks to the elephant stomping morons upstairs who continued to cause this same issue every night.

Race Kit

Best idea ever!

I booked us both on a pretty late bus to get to the race start, the bus departed at 7.15am but it was just a walk on with no queues, great organisation! The bus went through the Mont Blanc tunnel and took around 45 minutes, after the bus I queued for the toilets at the drop off point to waste some time before the start so I wasn't nervously standing around for ages.

Journey to the start through the tunnel

When we finally got into the little town of Courmayeur, I scouted out some more toilets with a big queue, and decided it would be best to get in this queue to pass some time and get there before the start. This worked pretty well and it was fun to tell people to join the queue instead of trying to push in right in front of us. There was only THREE portoloos for the 2000 runners, sheesh!

Nervously waiting for the start

After the toilet I climbed the barrier and stood on the road, crammed in like sardines! I could see Alan over the other side of the road and Lynn on the pavement, I was with Vicky at our side and after a while they came over to join us.

Lets do this!

First wave set off at 9.00am to the spine chilling epic music – goosebumps!

It seemed like forever until the second wave set off (my wave), and I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous for a race, I wasn’t nervous about the distance, or the climbing, or the time it would take. I was starting to panic about all the "What if I don’t finish this race", "What would everyone think"! I got myself really worked up at the start and probably didn’t enjoy the first few KM through town as much as I should have because of this. :(

Me and Alan at the start - Photo by Lynn Ritchie

The Race

Italy

The race started for me at 9.17am during the second wave of runners. I set off with Alan through the super packed crowds, hearing the sound of a hundred cowbells! They sure love their cowbells over there haha. The race started to climb almost immediately and it was hard not to get sucked into a running pace here, knowing it would be best to relax into a stern walk and maintain that to save energy for later on.

Climbing up the switchbacks

A nice relaxed pace

I was chatting to Alan on the way up, we had a few speedy people eager to pass at really silly places, almost rolling their ankles running off into the shrubs just to gain a place early on. The crowds were nowhere near as bad as expected here, no real traffic jams and no time did we stop for over a minute or so during the first hour. The crowd wasn’t too bad! There was a few idiots who swung their poles back in towards your face, but stopped it when you just tapped their poles with yours.

During the first climb

The climb up to Tete de la Tronche was brutal and took the best part of 3 hours!! As soon as the route came out of the forest above Courmayeur the heat started taking its toll, it was absolutely roasting! Pretty much the story of the day from here on out.

Into the sun now

Because this was the first climb it was best to just keep a steady pace and not push too hard. Once at the top the marshals were giving out water in limited supply. Without wanting to take the piss, I just asked for them to fill up my wee cup for a mouthful.

From the top you can see the runners far below

"Please sir, I want some more"

At the top I bumped into a friend from Singapore and we took photos of each other on the top.

Next up was a nice 600m descent to Refuge Bertone where there was food and drink. This was the hardest descent for me during the race because my legs just felt like jelly. I kept scouting out places along the trail I could sit down and give my legs a rest but there was no shade so I just keep going.

First descent - Those views!!!

At Refuge Bertone I immediately took my shoes off and put Vaseline on the hot spots developing on my feet from some rubbing.

Limited shade in Refuge Bertone

After getting some TUC biscuits, some energy bar slices and a few cups of coke it was time to head out with Alan.

I fell in a damn river trying to fill my bottles, falling onto the poles I thought I’d snapped them but luckily hadn’t! Just got totally soaked, but that soon dried off in the heat.

The 'river' I fell into :P

 Pretty flat undulating section now to the next feed station Refuge Bonatti (still in Italy) – Is where I sampled the noodle broth: yummy!
And by God the views at this checkpoint were amazing!

The view from Refuge Bonatti - 22km

The noodle broth stuff

Busy checkpoint

The first proper aid station came 27km into it around the time we were crossing into Switzerland at ‘Arnouvaz’. This was a little tent which just circulated the heat! Again it was time for some noodle broth, coke and some biscuits.

A small climb to the checkpoint

Arnouvaz heat tent - 27km

Eating was never an issue, the main issue was the heat. My feet were in pretty good condition for now because of all the Vaseline, but I didn’t fancy getting them wet again if I could help it. My choice of clothing was ideal to dip my hat and buff in every single stream and trough we came across.

Switzerland

The highest climb in the race - Runners snaking up it

 Next was the highest point in the race: Grand Col Ferret at 2537m and 31km into the race! This climb wasn’t as long as the first one because the route was already pretty high up. I got into a pace with Alan as we started to climb this behemoth in the sun. The cruel thing about the climb was you could see the top of it and it looked soooooooooooooooooooo far away all the time. I did sit down twice I think during this climb haha, the highlight was a trough near the top to refill the waters and cool down. Alan caught upto me filling my water bottles and we ascended to the top together.

Sweating it out

At the top we sat for a few minutes eating some food and posing for photos :P

The highest point in the race

The descent from here was incredibly long but good fun! Halfway down there was a mini checkpoint with guys handing out water, there was also a hose to cool down in which was lovely!

La Peule - Mini checkpoint

Pretty views

Another long descent before a major timing point and aid station was La Fouly (42km). This checkpoint was great and the crowd support here was excellent, everyone was cheering the runners in. The food and drink was fantastic and I found a new love: Oranges! I must have fired through about 3 full oranges, they were really refreshing and great to quench the thirst.
Refilled the water, took some food, put plasters on my feet and then lost Alan. I waited around a while, used the womens bathroom because I think the guy had died in the males? Then I shot off trying and catch Alan on the final part of the descent before the stiff climb to Champex Lac.

Coming into our first checkpoint in Switzerland - La Fouly - 42km

I caught Alan on the descent and we climbed into Champex Lac together, it was dusk now and the villages in Switzerland were truly stunning! The support in these villages was fantastic too seeing the whole family out offering drinks to runners.

Sunset

Beautiful little Swiss village

Champex Lac was bloody huge! This is the first point where I met Vicky along the route, who acted as a support for a few of the Scottish runners who came through (Gavin, Alan and myself) along with her new friend Lynne who was supporting her husband Lachlan.

Vicky got us sorted, got the food and drink for me, had us eating food and taking in liquids. I changed my socks here because my feet were still rubbing on the outside and maybe the Vaseline had wore off.

Inside the aid station

Eating and sorting out the feet

The next section I knew was going to be tough, it was 17km with a huge climb and descent until I would get more food, drink, see Vicky again. Also it was going to be the first section in the dark and seen as we got to Champex Lac around dinner time I ate way too much!!! - Two small bowls of pasta bolognese and some soup, along with a few bites of other stuff.
I think I was just worried about the time it would take for this 17km and wanted to make sure I had enough calories in me to continue comfortably.

Leaving Champex Lac

This section was my low point during the race.

Running just made the food slosh around in my stomach so I never ate anything for about 4 hours until Trient. It dark when we left Champex Lac so we had to put on the headtorches (sorry no more photos).  It was frustrating not being able to run when leaving the town on normal terrain but could feel the food coming back up when I did.

The climb here was very memorable! No views at all, climbing through a dense forest along hundreds of switchbacks, and the top was the little water stop with a bonfire where we sat for a few minutes having a break before a nice descent into Trient - 72km.

Think this was Trient

Trient was a bomb site, there was actually 2 ways to go into the aid station: turn left and head into the ‘Abandonment’ door or carry on into the Checkpoint. Once again, I ate some pasta here, got some coke, refilled my bottles and then off again into the night climbing another big one. Vicky was again a great help in Trient seeing we were okay and making sure we got food and drink.
11km section over the 2^nd to last mountain now.

The climb up Catogne was long, hard work, dark and uneventful at the top. I think this was the climb with the little cattle grid thing you crossed then you started the descent. I remember this climb being one of endless switchbacks, going up I was constantly looking for rocks to sit on and when you found an ideal rock it was already occupied – arghh!!! When we eventually found one there was big daddy long legs running around the place ew. Alan sat with me for a while and we chatted with headtorches off in total darkness.

France

Now back in France and heading to the final proper checkpoint it was still dark and I was starting to get all panicked about not making 26 hours – My goal.

I mentioned this to Alan a few times and I think he was fine with us making 26 hours but I wasn’t having it, I got all flustered thinking about how big the final climb was and how the descent would be a killer into Chamonix. Vicky met us again here in Vallorcine (the checkpoint had a bar and everything)! I sat and ate food, Alan was looking pretty tired and I was all panicky so we must have looked a right state.

We left the checkpoint and headed for what seemed ages to a light I thought was a timing point (it wasn’t), Alan had music playing and I kept walking at a quick pace without stopping, sorry Alan but I was determined at this point. I was no longer feeling fatigued now, I had a fair bit of energy and best put it to some use now.

The final climb wasn’t actually too bad! I got right behind a French man (Romain) and had a Spaniard behind me, all 3 of us climbed up Tete aux vents like a little conga, passing loads of people. We didn’t stop once I was pretty tired near the top and the rocks looked so inviting to sit on but no!!! It was best for me to keep the legs moving during this second wind.

Near the top - Starting to get light again

We had discussed how good it would feel once we hit the top and once we got there we all high fived and congratulated each other on a tough ascent! I had also packed my poles away ready for a descent where they were to follow me down, I ran on for about 2 minutes and naw, it kept going up!! What the hell?? Then again and again, Gavin was right about the false summits here. Man it was hard work! I felt like an idiot with my poles away but had to keep them away because I was embarrassed runners would laugh at my misfortune thinking I was at the top.

Final climb done!

At the top I got scanned by the marshals and ran down at quite a good pace. I could see the final checkpoint in the distance and kept up a good pace overtaking people as safely as possible and trying not to get stabbed with poles this late on in the race.

Chairlifts near La Flegere - 93km

Approaching the checkpoint I was overcome with emotion, all the thoughts about the race came flooding back, including Vickys support, the messages of encouragement and I kept picturing the finish – So close!

I ran through the checkpoint just stopping for a sip of coke to wash down my gel.

The final 8km came in pretty quick! I text Vicky to let her know I’d be done within 50 minutes :-)

The initial downhill was so damn steep then it went onto a big jeep road for a while where you could just go all out.

Woooooooooooooo

There was this little river crossing bit and in front of me and two guys were slowly trying to tiptoe across the stones and I was like “fuuuukkkk sakeeeeee”, and just ran straight through it, nearly home now so it didn’t matter about getting the feet wet haha.

I said 'Well done' and 'Bravo' to so many runners who looked to be struggling on this final descent and most of them just kind of ignored it which was weird so I just took a gel and continued to push hard.

Chamonix was NOT getting any closer, I ran so hard on this descent it was a huge relief to finally hit the outskirts of the town and high five people. Running along the river was magical, knowing it was nearly over!

I saw a few Scottish flags in the distance and went charging over to them to see Vicky and a few of the Scottish folk there, I took the flag from John (thank you) and started running with it overhead to the finish around the final bend. Crossing the finish was kind of surreal, I’ve imagined this so much over the past year and couldn’t believe it was now done!

Final straight - Photo by Helen Munro

Done!

Loads of the Scottish guys were there to greet me with Vicky which was nice to see so many people out so early. My final time was 22:57:00 so ended up making it under 26 hours and surprisingly under 23 which I didn’t think would happen 10 minutes before that!!

After the finish I picked up the gilet, chatted to Vicky then went to see Alan come in which was a great moment too!

Spent

Time to see the feet

Got some nice ice cream then headed back for a shower. After a little rest we headed back out to see the UTMB finishers in, before spending our final evening at our friends parents Chalet in Passey (the next town).

Recovery food - Thanks to Gavin for the suggestion

Breakfast the next day

Swimming in the lake with my friends parents & Vicky

Thoughts

I said to a few people initially that I would never put in for the UTMB, there was something about how tough the 60 mile route was, I had no desire to tack on another 40 miles on top of that and do it all in 46 hours....

But something about seeing the FINAL UTMB finishers it really hit home, it was so emotional seeing them come into the finish before the cut off, after the thunder and lightning the night before.

In 2017 I am hoping to put in for UTMB – If I don’t get in that is totally fine and will try again in 2018 :-)
Already have some plans lined up for 2017 so it would suit if UTMB didn’t get drawn for me, but I will do the UTMB one day if not next year!!

The race atmosphere was excellent, the organisation was excellent, the food and drink were top notch, the villages and surrounding areas were stunning, Chamonix is very overpriced, the mountains are spectacular and made up for everything!

My kit:

Black Diamond Z poles – Life saver on the climbs, but couldn’t use them for descending because it was too cumbersome and slower for me.

Ultimate Direction Anton Pack 3.0 – Pretty good but not without its flaws. The stitching has come loose on the side zip pocket so only really useful for things like nutrition now. The pole holder ripped but luckily I had a bobble to keep them in place.

Nike shorts – Fantastic and light

Hogwarts Running Club T shirt - Gotta have some fun, it's not all serious business!

Compressport White calf sleeves – Great for reflecting the sun, protecting my legs from getting burnt.

Injinji socks/ Inov8 socks – Fantastic but did change halfway through due to rubbing.

Inov8 Race Ultra 290 – My go to shoe.

Dynafit ‘React’ Cap & Buff combo – Breathable, lightweight and great for dipping in streams to cool down.

Quest Bars – Best nutrition ever and delicious flavours that kept me happy all the time when I wasn’t in checkpoints.

Gu gels - Lovely near the end of the race - ROOT BEER!

Petzl Nao – Great headtorch lasted the full night on the medium reflective setting, and still had two thirds of a charge left after the race.

Thank you for reading this!

Final night relaxing on our friends balcony looking towards Mont Blanc