The Saltmarsh 75 - Day Two

So we left me about to settle down for the night at the end of Day One. I had a cardboard sleeping mat, no pillow, someone snoring in a nearby tent and the car park light shining into my tent - it may not surprise you to hear I did not sleep well. In reality the light and the snoring were dealt with with some earplugs and my buff over my eyes/ears - but I really need to work out how I'm going to improvise a pillow on the MdS as it appears I'm not able to get comfortable without one and the whole sleeping bag/mat issue is far from resolved. However the thing that really seemed to be keeping me awake was that, bizarrely having just run nearly 40 miles, I wasn't tired!

Anyway after a couple of hours sleep and plenty of rest(ish) I got up to my delicious breakfast of 200 grams of gluten free granola and reconstituted skimmed milk. It was OK and will probably do well for the MdS but 200 grams is quite a lot and best eaten over a period of time or it does become a bit of a challenge. I finished breakfast, put my running kit back on, packed everything up and eagerly awaited the start of Day Two.

The most noticeable thing about Day Two was that there seemed to be a lot fewer people than on Day One, especially as runners and walkers (in my case it was getting hard to tell the difference) were starting together. I believe only 53 of the 100 individual entrants started Day Two. I might have misunderstood that (I was tired) but there certainly seemed to be less of us.

 I had used my sleep deprived night wisely and had formulated a strategy to try and get me through Day Two. The first stage was 3 miles so the plan was to jog that slowly to get my legs moving and then adopt a 2 mile run/0.25 mile walk strategy, reducing the running progressively depending on how I felt once I was moving. The first stage was made a lot easier as I spent some of it chatting to a couple of fellow runners one of whom is also a fellow 2014 MdS entrant, so stage 7 went to plan and my legs didn't feel quite as bad as I feared - however given that I feared I wouldn't be able to stand up on the second day this wasn't saying much.

Stage 8 was for me probably the hardest stage of the day, The grass, whilst not very long, was soaked in dew and I was concerned that my wet feet might start to blister. As a result I can only apologise to my friends that came to Maldon to support me for not appearing very pleased to see them - I was, it was just that all energy was being used up just to keep moving! fortunately the next stage was on firmer and drier ground and I found, if not a new lease of life, then at least a second wind - even if it was the only stage on which I went (slightly) the wrong way.

Stage 10 inevitably followed stage 9, by now the sun was out, the course was dry and I was feeling tired but reasonably confident I would finish before dark (probably). Stage 10 involved running past what seemed to be the longest caravan park in the world but which I suspect in reality was quite short - it was just I was moving very slowly by now. I think it was on this stage one of the organisers took my photo. She then caught me up on her bike and rode alongside me chatting for a while which was nice, until I think she realised it wasn't really possible to cycle as slowly as I was running and headed off to the next checkpoint.

Checkpoint 10 had flat coke and crisps available - a testament to the responsiveness of the organisers as I understand this was a last minute addition in response to requests for said items the day before. I drank plenty of the coke but one thing I was finding very hard (apart from running) was eating while running so I passed on the crisps and the lovely home-made cakes at all the other checkpoints. This is something I need to sort out for the MdS, I need to find something I can eat while running - although after Day One I might be trying boiled sweets.

Finally I was at Tollesbury and the last checkpoint before the finish. It was also the point at which some more of my friends came to support and so I tried to be a bit more sociable this time. By now I didn't care if I had to walk, stagger or crawl to the finish, nothing was keeping me from getting that medal! Not everyone shared my enthusiasm apparently as one competitor dropped out at this point to go and pick his dog up from the kennels...

The last stage was mainly a long loop around a deserted marshland. Very scenic and an entirely appropriate ending for a run through such beautiful terrain. Once again the locals didn't disappoint and a large 'WELL DONE!' banner was in someone's front garden, along with the family who cheered and applauded as I ran into Salcott. A fantastic gesture which set me up for, if not a sprint finish, a strong run along the final couple of hundred metres to much applause and congratulations from the organisers, volunteers, those that had finished before me and of course Sharon - who had had to out-sprint me up the road to take a picture of me crossing the finish line.

I guess the question I have to answer is 'did you get what you wanted from it?' The answer is a resounding yes and so much more. For the MdS I know I need more pace discipline, to sort out sleeping and, while the food was OK  I'll need more variation. From the event, yes I can run 76.35 miles over two days, blister free and I can now call myself an ultra runner. The really important stuff though is that I met some fantastic people and made some new friends - I also received great support from my old friends and of course Sharon who pulled me through to the end of so many stages.

The last words however I will save for the organisers and the volunteers - I don't know how you did it, or even why, but I am so glad you did and it will be one of the great memories I will be taking to the desert with me - thank you.

The Saltmarsh 75 - Day One

The step up from marathon to multi-day ultra-marathon is quite significant and it's probably a good idea to go via a few one day events. however if someone organises a 2 day 75 miler on your doorstep it would be rude to refuse.

So this was how I came to be picking up my race number for the first Saltmarsh 75 on Saturday morning. The first things I noticed at registration was a) most people there appeared to be younger than me and b) I appeared to have a lot more kit than anyone else. The age thing I'm getting used to and from the kit perspective I had intentionally took the pack I was intending to use on the MdS complete with stereo front water bottles. I did also have a front pack which I'm not taking on the MdS. The only reason it came this time was because a) it gave me somewhere to put my camera but mainly b) because I'd bought it. This was not a unique reason for doing something as it turned out, one of my fellow competitors was camping simply because he had bought a tent and not used it before.

I was also far from unique in having never run further than 26.2 miles before, which surprised me slightly but was also quite reassuring, maybe I wasn't taking quite such a big leap as I thought. Anyway registered and with a number pinned to my front pack - I was ready to race! One briefing and a short ride in a minibus later and we are at the start - this efficient and fuss-free aspect of the organisation would continue throughout the weekend and undoubtedly contributed hugely to the enjoyment of both myself and my fellow competitors.

Pretty much spot on 10 'o'clock the hooter sounded and we were off. As is usual with my racing I had really got it wrong right from the start. Starting quite near the front meant I was tempted to try and stick close to the lead bunch, which meant checkpoint 1 disappeared in a blur and Sharon barely beat me to checkpoint 2 in the car - although to be fair most of her time was spent trying to find somewhere to park - something she would spend a lot of the day doing. Anyway roughly one third of Day One complete and I'm far too far ahead of my schedule and am about to find out why this is a bad thing...

Stage 3 was 13.6 miles around the Dengie Marshes. Fortunately a local running club had volunteered to man a water station half way along as I was getting through a fair bit of water. I was also beginning to pay the price for my fast start and was starting to stop and walk... and stop and walk... and walk.... There is no shame in walking during an ultra, I'm expecting to do quite a lot of it on the MdS. However its important to have a plan or you end up doing what I was doing and not really getting anywhere. I had been passed by a group that had adopted a 12 minute run/3 minute walk strategy from the start. As I find working out and remembering times whilst running challenging I decided to adopt a run 1 mile/walk 0.25 mile strategy. This at least allowed me to get back to making forward progress. The end of the stage was fairly remote so my 'support crew' (Sharon) wasn't meeting me there but I was just relieved to have made it and completed two thirds of the day's mileage.

Between variations on my run/walk strategy and huge encouragement from Sharon at the end of each stage I completed the final 3 stages without major incident. Highlight of the day came on stage 5 (I think) where a little girl was handing out boiled sweets to runners as they passed her. Never underestimate the wisdom of little girls, a boiled sweet was the last thing I would have thought of eating at that point but actually was exactly what I wanted.

Much to my relief I finally reached the finish at Steeple Village Hall in a fairly reasonable time but knowing I had asked far too much of my body, especially given that I had to do it all again the next day. As a result I 'cheated' on my MdS strategy and took up the offer of a massage. I sat in the hall and chatted to a veteran of 2 previous MdSs as well as one of my fellow campers (the man with the new tent). The general camaraderie and support at the finish of Day One was amazing and certainly helped me face the fact Day Two was still to come.  Ultra-runners may be mad but they are a nice mad!

As I was trying out MdS ideas I had foregone the idea of a delicious home cooked pub meal in favour of Peperami and energy bars, although I did go into the pub for a pint of lemonade in order to be sociable. The organisers had put up our tents for us so it at least had that much in common with the MdS and I decided to settle down for the night. Would I regret forgetting my Thermarest and so having to sleep the night on the cardboard-like 'sleeping mat' that formed the back pad of my rucksack?.....