UTBA 53K .....THE 'IMPOSSIBLE' RACE REPORT.

Nearly 12 months of beautiful weather...........but not today. I went to bed on what felt like a warm summers evening and awoke to a tropical rainstorm! At 4 am I felt like going back to sleep instead of venturing out into this deluge. This was going to be many things but  'fun' was not high on the list.

Getting ready to go

       Right, I thought, change your state, take a deep breath and make a decision...........I was going to embrace today and make it happen no matter what........and with that I was up and out of bed.
       Arriving at the start were 250 rather sad and damp looking figures..... and we hadn't even started!

Going up the first climb

  The gun went off at 7 am and up into the storm covered mountains we went. If this sounds crazy, try doing it because its completely insane. I felt quite sluggish for about and hour which is not good when climbing a mountain in the rain. At this point I thought 'How am I going to do this ?' Its just so hard but I just kept moving, eating gels, electrolytes, S-caps, Cliff blocks. Mentally, its exhausting because on this technical terrain of rocks, roots, loose stones, one slip and thats it, especially on a steep descent.
       For  some bizarre reason here I was doing a French ultra and yet I was surrounded all day by Italians ! Go figure. They never stopped talking (not to me of course, as me no parle Italiano), no Brits , no Yanks, and so it was just me alone with my thoughts. This made it a very long day as in these wet mountains there were no spectators. All I could think about were the logistics of staying on my feet, keeping dry and remaining focused.
      To be honest I'd felt better on my training runs but maybe it was all those carbs and associate water retention.........or maybe I'm just slow. The fact that I knew the course was both good and bad. Good, in that I could prepare and plan when to run fast or slow down, therefore enabling me to control my energy resources and refueling strategy; but bad in that I knew how far and how difficult it was.

Le Pic De L'ours on a sunny day (not today)

    Physically I had trained hard to deal with the mountains so I knew I had the stamina but after many hours your leg muscles begin to tire and ache. As with all races you always get the unexpected. This time a fall on the first climb, pulled my left hamstring, I managed to run it off but later on that pain would return. Half way up the second climb, the Pic de L'ours, (Bears Peak) I slipped again as the ground on the side of the hill just gave way and my right leg was suddenly 3 feet lower than my left.....a little scary. I was now 2 hours into the race and miraculously the rain had stopped which was great because now we were in the mist........couldn't see much but thats okay.
      I kept passing and then being overtaken by the same group of Italians......this went on for hours. I think the problem for me in these ultra's is that I'm so worried about the distance and the time it will take that it leaves me feeling quite negative and unable to 'enjoy' the experience fully. Maybe this is normal but in this race with the terrain being so difficult you have to concentrate the whole time and its mentally exhausting.....in fact its true what they say about Ultra's, its all mental. For those who have never done one its quite hard to explain. At 2 or 3 hours, you still have maybe 8 hours still to go of the same relentless feelings......it takes a lot of discipline and focus.
       After descending into a beautiful canyon, the 'mal infernet' I jogged along quite happily, which is strange because the name means 'pest ridden' and during the middle ages they used to throw all the pest ridden people into the canyon! (not a pleasant thought). Anyway, moving on I shortly began the long slow climb up the third mountain, the Cap Roux and just before the lightly stocked aid station a man shouted out 'Bonjour Monsieur Jeremy'. Fame in the middle of nowhere!....well actually it was my local doctor who, smiling broadly, seemed geuinely pleased to see me.....either that or pleased to see me alive, not sure which, but he was the leader of the medical team in this part of the course and as we shook hands he kept saying 'Bravo, bravo, allez, allez' (go, go)'. This perked up my spirits as I had not spoken to a soul in 4 hours and I thought well if my doctor thinks I look all right then onwards and upwards.

The sun comes out on the Cap Roux

       The last part of this climb is up a scree field and its torturous. After an hour, when I finally reached the top, relief turned into panic as my knee virtually collapsed underneath me with a sharp shooting pain. This had never happened before and at the most inaccessable part of the course, (the 4 zones of danger). I then had to descend a really steep rocky path thinking 'Is this game over?' Every step hurt and I felt I needed a nice smooth path to try and walk it off....I didn't get one so I just kept going and  very, very slowly the pain eased. ( How come these things never happen in training?). Helen my physio would later explain that after all that use of the knee joint in one direction it suddenly switched to the complete opposite and that caused the joint to strain and stretch (or something like that).
       I was so relieved when it eased up that I kept moving okay and then suddenly the clouds lifted and sunshine bathed the coastline, it was a dramatic and beautiful sight and slowly it got warmer. As we descended it got very warm and so I reached for my hat........that wasn't there. Unbelievable, I hadn't needed it all day and now I'd lost it. When the rain lifts in France it can get very hot, very quickly and I knew this and had prepared for it but, shit happens.
      Finally at 6 hours I reached the sea shore and another aid stop and then, in my wisdom, decided to go on an extra one kilometre diversion. The course must have been shortened and I'd missed the turning (fatigue, heat exhaustion, stupidity), eventually I got back on track and 10 people who were behind me were now in front. I was very angry with myself as I'd turned a 52 k ultra into a 53k...Idiot.

....and down the other side.

Les Grosses Grue, the trail up......

     Another up and down and then a 2000 feet climb back into the mountains. Just at the base of the climb there is a small turn (at about the 40k marathon distance) and many times in training I'd pondered what it must feel like to be 7 hours into an ultra with a huge climb ahead, well now I knew...........bloody terrible! But, relentless forward progress is the name of the game ( with full credit to Bryon Powell of iRunFar.com) and up I went with the sun beating down on me. An  hour and a half later  and the final climb of the day, Les Grosses Grue, was nearly at an end. The last bit is nearly vertical ( thank God for my poles) and as an Italian and I reached the top  we nodded a sort of 'well done' to each other. The view was spectacular and I relaxed a little now with only 8 k's to go.
   This was the best bit of the course, a lovely open down hill track. I looked across the valley to where we had begun nearly 9 hours before, I couldn't believe I had come this far. I'm pleased to say that I had no quad or calf problems at all and so I could still run, it was just slow due to overall fatigue. One more small climb and then 5 k's down to the sea and soon, at just under 10 hours, the finish came into view.

    Sue was there and I burst into tears.(Of course).

Impossible ?

    Many years ago I had seen a picture of runners at the top of the third  mountain (Le Cap Roux) and I had said to my friend Jamie, 'Whats that?'......he replied, 'Its a race, an ultra'........'A what?' I said, 'I know those mountains, people can't run that, its impossible.'
    7 years later and at 57 years of  age I'd just done it............and I still think its impossible.



      
   

NERVOUS

Well here we are; all those miles of difficult climbs and scary descents. Training is done.
I've been tapering all this week with just the odd gentle jog here and there plus a few walks. I reduced my mileage by about 25% per week over the past 3 weeks to give my body a rest although until this week I  kept the elevation fairly consistent, averaging about 8000 feet per week in combined runs. I wanted my legs to get used to the climbing more than the distance......hope its the right choice. As  Seneca said -

        " It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult."

      It seems there are some varied opinions on what the actual elevation is but its much closer to 10,000 feet of climb than I had origonally thought. To put this into perspective, the hardest 50k in the USA is the Speedgoat 50 and thats 12000 feet, so its going to be tough whatever it is. The weather forecast keeps changing but unusually for here it might be raining which presents me with some new challenges, still, it might be cooler so thats a positive.
    At the last count there were 250 runners signed up for the race and 15 (or 6%) were my age or older, so as you can see its definitely a sport for the younger generation.....but I guess we all new that anyway.
    I've spent most of this week developing our new website ''Modelplan Active' to try and keep my mind of the race but its not easy when I can see the mountains every day. I  started increasing my carb intake a few days ago. I'm still not totally convinced about carb loading; studies have shown that it improves performance and helps prevent hypoglycemia but the quantities, type, oxidisation, all seem varied depending on the individual  but I suppose its better to do it than not. The same goes for tapering, most runners taper, and the main reason that I can see, is that when you pull back dramatically on training your fitness degrades by only 1 or 2% whereas your fatigued muscles benefit a lot more from the reduced strain. I could quote countless studies but its not an exact science and therefore very difficult to prove. To me its just common sense to rest a little before a putting your body through a huge physical challenge........(I know there has been years and mountains of research on these two issues and I don't want to appear glib but its just my personal opinion.)
          Just received a new map of the course, not that its changed, its just that at the 27k point they've split it into 4 marked zones, the reasons being that 1) Its dangerous and technically very difficult and 2)Its hard for the medical services to get to you if you have a problem, so there's a special number to ring to tell them which zone you are in. Fun isn't it ?
     And, after collecting my number today I learnt that all they have at the Aid stations are water and soft drinks ! In all the other races I've done there has been some food but this race is completely self sufficient. There are no 'drop bags' and no support teams ( which means Sue can just chill out all day). The other variable is that I will have to carry all my food for the day and this of course creates a few logistical problems when it comes to hot soup and muffins.......guess I'll have to get creative. I'll let you know how that goes because I haven't figured it out yet.......no Californian ultra cafe's on the UTBA.
      I am now getting the usual 'phantom pains' which I try to ignore otherwise I'll go nuts. I'm convinced I'm getting a cold, despite the fact I haven't  had one in years. For the past 3 nights I have slept in a blacked out room whilst wearing ear plugs. I've been in bed by 10:00 pm and practiced arising early to prepare myself for race day. Now to my Californian friends this is nothing unusual however my European friends think I'm crazy, especially when I told them that on the eve of the race it will be 9:30pm! I here comments like 'get a life', 'your obsessed', 'Thats just weird', etc,etc........My response is; 'You think this is strange, try running up mountains for 10 hours'. Looks of utter bewilderment flash across their faces....
        The nerves are starting to creep in now but all my gels, food (cold soup and muffins), drinks and clothes are prepared, so the goal is simply to  have a good night's sleep.........and then just get up and do it.

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COUNTDOWN

     The Ultra Trail des Balcons D'azur (UTBA) as its title suggests is a series of trails that run along the mountains of the Esterel overlooking the Cote d'azur and the bay of Cannes. It is of course stunningly beautiful, the volcanic red rocks tower over the ocean and provide an incredible backdrop to the Meditteranean. In the middle of summer there will be thousands of tourists along a tiny strip of coastline and yet if you venture only 500 yards inland it is a haven of peace and tranquility. Gosh, it sounds like I work for the Riviera tourist office, anyway you get the picture.
       Over the last few weeks I've just run hills, mountains and canyons, its been relentless and quite waring. If I'm on a track and I see a particular tough climb ahead then up I go. Its not an easy decision as I'd much prefer to head down to the sea but I know if I keep doing it then it will help get me through the race. In the gym I would do mountain climbs, squats, renegade rows, split squats etc etc but over the past 5 weeks I have done virtually no gym work or cross training of any kind. My reasoning is that having built up my muscle strength I now want to get the feel of the actual terrain and elevation as well as the demands of many hours on my feet. I guess having done a lot of cross training and crossfit type work a few months ago I'm now covering all my bases. Its a combination of Tim Ferriss new school thinking and old fashioned endurance (time on feet) training.  I'll either end up with the best of both........or the opposite. Its an interesting experiment because if I hadn't developed my quads then this run would never have been possible as I would have trashed them very early on. Still, I'll found out in 10 days time.

     Despite my complaints about the terrain it is still 'better' to run on trails rather than roads. Karl Meltzer, who has won more 100 milers than anybody else says that he always feels more tired and takes longer to recover after a flatter event with lots of roads, as opposed to mountain running. The stresses are  more 'evened out' than on a road run.
       I have been focusing on how fortunate I am to be able to do this in such a wonderful place as generally the course is dry, the climate perfect, and the race well organised. They tell me that to have good local knowledge is a big advantage and I know the course backwards, literally, so I know what to expect; I have no excuses. From my house I can be at the start line in 10 minutes, so even though its my biggest ever physical test at least it's on my training ground.  I will probably never have a better opportunity to do something so epic. My mental preparation has to be 100% to get me through the day as this is going to hurt but nevertheless I am grateful for the chance to be able to attempt such a challenge; I am determined to do it. The race director of the Leadville 100 miler  once said to the runners before the start -

    ' You are better than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can'.

 I need to keep this in my head as I climb up mountain No 4 in 2 weeks time.....and speaking of which, I did a 3.5 hour run yesterday and climbed all the way from sea level to the top of it. It was hard but doable, only problem is in the actual race I will be doing that same climb after having already run for 6.5 hours! The mental and physical calculations of this are starting to send me crazy. This will be my 5th ultra in my very first year of endurance running so  I may need to have a bit of a rest afterwards and let my body recover...and my brain......and I think Sue could do with a rest as well. Maybe we should go on holiday to Silverton, Colorado in the USA, in mid July....that should take my mind off ultra's.......ooops!
 Hint; Google - Hardrock 100 :)

THERE WAS A TIME........THERE WAS A PLACE

      Its strange to think that 12 months ago I didn't know what Ultra endurance running was. If you had said Western States or Hardrock or asked me who Killian, Geoff, Dakota, Scott or a plethora of other names were I would have looked at you with a blank expression. Its bizarre in that we go though life living in our own little worlds blissfully unaware of so many of life's experiences. How many other people, events, passions, achievements, may exist that we know nothing of ? At 56 years of age I could not have imagined that I could have run several ultra marathons let alone climb tens of thousands of feet in the process.
     The hours of training, a brand new education on nutrition, the highs and lows of physical endurance have all contributed to quite a unique year. I read of men and women who have been doing this all their lives and whose feats of physical endurance are quite astonishing. They normalise it of course. To run 100 miles for 30 hours or more, whilst climbing the height of Everest (Hardrock) is to them just what they do. I have no idea how hard this must be; my little 50 or 60 k efforts only give me a small glimpse of what they must go through to achieve their goal. I am full of admiration, for they not only complete these distances but they race each other at the same time. In my last 50k the winners were practically sprinting the whole way and the top guys do this for 100 miles and through the night.

Half way up Climb No1

Half way up Climb No 2

       The biggest single physical challenge of my entire life takes place in a little under 3 weeks time. The distance, height, horrendous terrain, weather, etc all make for a truly daunting prospect. I am not only nervous I am utterly terrified. If, or should I say when, I complete this goal I will undoubtedly take stock of how far I've come in such a short time and a period of reflection may be in order.
    When you are in the middle of one of these things and the mental fatigue kicks in, its quite  an odd place to be. To keep going when you want to stop is pretty tough to get through and on my last 36k training run another emotion began to reveal itself.......loneliness. I am pretty happy with my own company so this was a very odd feeling. Normally I am focused on the run itself as well as the sounds, sights and smells of the incredible beauty surrounding me; this was a very weird feeling and not something I'd come across before. I have done quite a few big training runs of late and perhaps this was the cumulative effect. Its been said that ultra runners have to look within for support and motivation because there are very few spectators offering any encouragement and besides most of the training is on your own anyway . Some runners take music with them (I take nothing) and sometimes you can just drift off but normally I'm focused on every step. I hope this feeling was a one off  because along with pain, exhaustion and  mental fatigue I don't need another problem. If I sound a bit fed up it may be because I have been training intensely on hills and mountains since the 'Way to Cool 50' and these things can take their toll. I am concerned because, by my estimates, this race could be nearly 10 hours. That is a long time to be running up and down loose, hard volcanic terrain.

View to the top of Climb No 3 in the distance

A normal path!

       Now novices and 'normal' people will no doubt agree with me but for the tough 100 mile guys they will probably think I am  being pathetic. C'est la vie. During my last run  I passed a family out walking who had seen me hours before whilst they were having a picnic. They asked me if I had been running all this time and why? I think the guy's wife nearly had heart failure when I told her I'd started at 9:30 that morning......it was now 3:00 in the afternoon.
       To put this race into perspective my last ultra was 50 k and took me 7 hours and I believe I could have done it a bit quicker because in comparison to this race it was a lot flatter with long smooth paths. This is 52 k and about 7 Empire State buildings in elevation gain......but though daunting, that is not the problem.....the problem is the surface. In some of the pictures you can see the rock and stones but its like that nearly the whole way and after many hours your entire body gets 'beaten up'. This terrain plus the height could easily add another 3 hours to my time. I'm not sure if its good or bad that I know this area so well because I am acutely aware of the task.......I know some runners prefer not to know and like to run on virgin tracks and they may have a point. Alexander asked me if my last big 36k run had been fun......well I think you know the answer. I'll keep training and I will do this race and then we shall see. Ultra running is a combination of the mental, physical, emotional and the spiritual Apparently one of the goals of this type of hard core training is to toughen you up both mentally and physically........hope it works.
      After running over 6 hours in training two days ago I felt fine and then yesterday I bent over to pick up a letter and 'pulled' my lower back. Ridiculous. Anyway I decided the only way to deal with the problem was to do one hour of hill repeats......that fixed it. Well I don't know if it fixed it but I certainly couldn't feel the pain anymore!...........I think it got lost in all the other ones :)
 
     

REACH THE HIGHER GROUND

The third ascent out of 4 at the 30k mark

I fear this up and coming  race is going to be a real examination of my capabilities . I can see the far peak from my terrace and everyday I think that's the third ascent out of four, I must be crazy. I  did a big long training run a few days ago, 36 kilometres and climbed nearly 7000 feet of solid rock, loose shale and stone in 6.5 hours....and it was hot....and, I nearly trod on a snake, a black Viper..... now this is really getting serious! When I got back Sue asked, 'Is all this worth it ?' Well the simple answer is 'No', especially after a 6.5 hour bone shaking 'painfest'.
       In the morning I felt a little better, luckily ultra runners have terrible memories and so most of the exhaustion and mental fatigue had gone. In the real race I would still have another 16 k's to go plus another 1500 + feet of climb! This UTBA is going to be a nightmare 9 hours plus, methinks. Hopefully this and other tough mountain training runs will help but with 4 weeks to go, who knows ? I must be careful not to 'burn out' and overdo it or it really will be extremely hard......maybe thats why they call it 'Endurance running'.
      I've just been reading some of the blogs of Dakota Jones, a young elite runner, and I'm happy to say he goes through the same pain and mental torment that I do......What a relief, I was beginning to think it was just me.
     On these long runs I am often asked, 'what do you think about?'...well to be honest I'm just thinking of the next aid stop or the next hill,  my quads, salt balance, energy levels etc......or where's the next bit of shade? Sometimes, if I'm lucky I can drift off, but most of the time its a real 'in the moment thing' and I am totally absorbed by the task. This can be quite a strain mentally as well as physically because you know what you have to do. I can't kid myself that its easy because it isn't. Many ultra runners talk about 'flow' where you are moving effortlessly mile after mile, I would love to experience this as it must really help but so far I've not been that fortunate. What I do is break the race down into segments and as I finish one and start another I feel a sense of moving forward. I try not to think about all the big climbs to come because I could just become despondent and negative. As I've mentioned many times before its the negative thoughts in ultra running that will stop you, not the physical pain.
       'Why am I doing this to myself ?' is a question that keeps popping into my head, and at 8 hours into a race, with a huge mountain climb ahead and no sight of the finish, its sometimes difficult to find an answer. But thats the challenge; to overcome the mental, physical and emotional barriers in order to reach your goal.......A physychiatrist would have a field day if he cared to run along with us all....then again he'd probably quickly work out we were nuts, light up a cigarette and chill out on a rock in the sunshine.....
    But life is full of suprises and you never know, he may just sit on the rock where Mr Viper lives!

The UTBA in a storm

       Because this race is all about hill and mountain running then that is obviously what I have to train on. About 90% of this 52 K is either up or down and there is very little running on the flat. The good news is that the muscles are contracting in a variety of ways depending on the terrain and this can help in avoiding fatigue.....that's if you do it right.......if you do it wrong, the lactic acid builds up and then you are in real trouble. The key to hill running is to control your effort not your speed and the more balanced and constant the better. This can only be learnt with practice. Also some of these mountains are so tricky that poles can be a help but then thats something else to carry so its a difficult decision whether to use them or not. I prefer not to but in this race I may have to as last year I noticed about 40% of runners carried them. I only really use poles on near vertical ascents and so they are only needed for short periods and the rest of the time you  just carrying them.....which is a pain. I guess I need to keep practicing.
         We had a big storm here yesterday and somehow I found myself up in the mountains right in the middle of it and with no rain proof gear........which was slightly worrying.....in the end though I quite enjoyed it.....a kind of alone in the elements thing. (Very Alan Bates in 'Far from the Madding Crowd'). I even got a picture and video  just before it all turned nasty!
  Finally, on a sadder note, Micah True (Caballo Blanco) who was made famous in the cult ultra running book 'Born to Run' died a few days ago doing what he loved. An inspiration to many.

  

BACK TO THE FUTURE>>>>ONE YEAR ON.

One of the secrets to achieving any goal is to set up another one straight after completing one. So with this in mind I signed up for the 52 K Ultra Trail des Balcon D'azur or UTBA. This is the event that started all this madness one year ago,( except last time I only did the 20 k race). Although this is only slightly longer than the Way to Cool 50, its a whole different ball game. Quite simply it is nearly 8000 feet (2400metres) of elevation gain and is horrendous.....as you can see from the profile map below:-

The Ultra Trail des Balcons D'azur

Not only are there 4 huge climbs but they are incredibly steep and I know, because this is my training ground. I've run this course many times BUT with one major difference, I would do maybe a quarter of this for a training run and possibly half for a Long Run.....but to do it ALL in one go is unthinkable! plus its much worse than it looks because its what they call 'technical' ie rocky, shale, stone, gravel and very slippy when wet.
    Hopefully I'm over my injuries because I've only got less than 4 weeks to get ready! Now I know its too soon after the WTC and my endocrine system may not be very happy with the prospect but its my one year anniversary of Ultra running, so what can I do? I have to give it a shot. However this time I am going to be realistic. I reckon that even on a good day this could take 9 to 10 hours as it's a brutal course and I have to face the prospect that I might not make it......but you know. 'You have to do the thing you cannot do'.
    I just did a quick 10 k practice run on the course last week and climbed 2000 feet on solid rock the whole way up and then did a fast quad crushing nearly vertical descent all the way back down again. Today I feel like I've been hit by a truck, it really is a big test for someone of my limited experience. This is the race I mentioned in my blog a long time ago when I had commented to Jamie 'But people don't actually run up that do they, I know those mountains , thats ridiculous'.
     Not sure if I'm of sound mind on this one. This is where the reality of the actual terrain is much worse than the profile map above....and thats saying something. This race is two thirds the elevation of Karl Meltzers Speedgoat 50, the toughest 50 k in the America, so it will be interesting......or maybe just one big 'painfest'.      
       So the short training window I have for this is just hills and mountains, up and down, non stop. If my quads (and calves) are going to survive this one they better be toughened up a lot, otherwise its going to be a very long day. The lovely soft undulating trails of the 'Way to Cool 50' now seem rather inviting in comparison but to be fair thats a different type of race and they all offer unique and varied challenges. Again for this one there are half the number of Aid stations so you have to be much more self sufficient plus there will be at most 200 runners and they will be spread out along the 52k course so you're very much on your own. Nobody is going to be shouting 'looking good' or 'looking strong' and for two reasons :- 1) Its France and the most you'll get is 'Bon courage' and 2) There's virtually no support in these mountains apart from the local Forest / Medical staff, two goats and a wild boar.
     Already the WTC is a distance memory.

      

THE ANALYSIS OF COOL

   Arrived back home a few days ago feeling suprisingly NOT tired. 12000 miles plus the race all in a weekend....I think I need to slow down a bit.
     It was a great experience and now when people talk about the big races in America....I've done one. The Way to Cool 50k is traditionally known as the season opener in the U.S. so I guess I am now, officially, up and running. I was lucky in some respects in that the course was very dry and it was a lovely soft surface not like the rocks that I normally run on.
     My stats for the race were a mixed bag:- I did it in 7 hours and 5 mins (ie 7 k per hour) which was okay. I don't know if my first 30 k was too fast (10k per hour) and whether that affected my quads or not. Should I have paced myself better? I don't know. If I'd kept that pace up it would have been 5 hours but with the big climbs in the second part of the race that was never going to happen, but I do feel if my quads had held up longer then I could have done it much quicker. 704 people started the race and I came 605 th and in my age range (50-59) there were 151 runners and I came in at 120. There were 23 people who were 57 years old and I came 9th in this group. (The last person in the race came in at 8 hours and 47 mins !)  And of the 704, an amazing 278 were girls which is highly unusual  for me because in France you hardly ever see girls running ultra's and certainly not this many. They were also very good; I once read the reason for this is that they can take the pain because of  their experience of childbirth.....so there you go. As I have said before I was not tired in any way, it was just the pain in my legs. From now until the next race most of my training will be all hill work so as to strengthen my quads
    The weather was perfect and the support and organisation, superb. The enthusiasm the Americans bring to these things is incredible, its very impressive even though its a bit odd to a Brit like me. I guess we are quite reserved as a nation but as I was the only international runner I thought it only right to join in with the general 'Let's rock' kind of attitude.
     Another thrill for me was meeting Gordy Ainsleigh; Who he? I hear you ask. Well, this is the guy who in 1974 pretty much invented modern day ultra running. Basically he was in a 100 mile horse race, 'The Tevis Cup', and just before the start his horse fell lame and so he decided to run the 100 mile course instead........and thats how it all began. And he ran the WTC 50 this year....and I beat him. Okay, to be fair he is 67 years old!
     Now to put things into perspective the guy who won, Gary Gellin,  did it in 3 hours and 27 minutes which is 14 k per hour (twice my speed). No, I can't get my head around it either. Imagine sprinting at the fastest speed you can go and then doing that speed non stop for 50 kilometres whilst climbing 6000 feet.........Not a lot to say really is there?
     During the week I went to see Helen so she could check me out. She gave my quads a bit of slightly painful physio but it did the trick and so I did a 12k cycle and a Tabata sprint the next day before attending Steve's funeral on Friday in England.
    Its fair to say that when I got back I was both mentally, physically and emotionally shattered. It had been a long week in every sense.
    On Sunday I decided to venture out and see how I was recovering. I did a one hour, 8 k run whilst climbing 1700 feet and all felt good apart from the odd twinge here and there. It can take anything from 2 to 4 weeks for your endocrine system to recover so I'll take it easy and have every other day off and/or mix it with some cross training.
    A girl on the plane asked me how much weight I'd lost during my run; when I told her that I didn't lose any and didn't expect to, she was shocked. I must repeat this mantra at least a few times per week but for those who don't know :- You have to do targeted exercise to burn fat and develop lean muscle mass but the best way to lose weight is in your eating choices. Again, its not how much you eat but what you eat.
     Having returned from America and England I am staggered by how FAT some people are. Sometimes it felt like I was walking through a dream haze unseen as I observed the food choices that people were making on a minute by minute basis. I know I'm on my soapbox here but it really isn't that difficult, it just takes a bit of discipline and a bit of knowledge. I probably eat 2 to 3 times what I used to and NO, I DON'T BURN IT OFF WHILST RUNNING, its just healthy, good, tasty, nutritious food.........plus the odd croissant, which I think I can get away with, ( as long as I open up my Glut-4 receptors)
    No doubt I'll get a few angry emails saying the usual, 'Its easy for you because blah, blah, blah.' Oh well, whatever. I posted two video's from the race . If you can't view them here, then you can watch them on the right hand side of the page along with other vids. Toodleoo...

WAY TO COOL 50K....RACE REPORT

    As you know my race preparation for the WTC was far from perfect but  personal tragedies, injuries, lack of training and more are all part of life but when my flight got delayed 5 hours I began thinking I wasn't supposed to get here and when I arrived at the hotel at 10 pm (which was 7 am to me), and they had no record of my booking even though I had all the confirmations, I thought this is getting ridiculous. I then had two of the noiseist nights I've ever experienced in a hotel resulting in me getting up on the morning of the race at 4:30 am!.............And now that I have all my excuses out of the way, I shall begin.

AT THE START

      I got to the race an hour before the start thinking I was a bit early, only to discover that it was packed. I had to park about a mile away and then overheard two runners talking. ' Hey Dave don't just hate these late starts'.... Crikey! with this kind of attitude watch out China, the US ain't gonna lie down that easily. Ten minutes before the start I spotted quite a few famous ultra runners including Tim Twietemeyer who has run the Western States 100 mile race 25 times in under 24 hours and won it outright 5 times. Its a bit like going for a tennis match tournament at your local club only to find that Roger Federer is playing in the Doubles.
       It seemed like a long time ago that I'd won a place in the lottery to be here today and soon enough the gun went off......at least I'd made it to the start and unusually for me I got all emotional here, instead of at the end. I was constantly checking my calves and wondering all the time if would they hold out. I had taped them earlier as Helen the Super Physio had showed me but now we would see.
       The pace was fast, as I knew it would be and then after a mile we hit a small river which normally you have to wade through at waist height but thankfully it had been a very dry winter and there was a sort of man made bridge which most of us took. No point getting your feet wet this early if you can avoid it as wet feet means blisters. There were over 700 of us, which makes it  by far the biggest 50 k race in the world, and every single person was positive, motivated and up for it. For me this was a bizarre experience as every time I passed someone or vice versa they'd shout  'great job, you're looking good !' Yanks, you gotta love them. If you said that in a race in England they'd think you were being sarcastic and having a laugh, still, you can't fault their enthusiasm........and it works because I started doing it.....'Great, go for it', I shouted. If Steve, God rest his soul, had heard me do this he would have had me shot at dawn for being a complete dickhead.
    We bombed along and I made the first aid station which was at 12 k, in 1 hour -12 minutes, which is 10 k per hour and much too quick for  a race of 50 k......well, it is for me. I was greeted by a very enthusiastic man dressed as a banana who directed me to......... the banana's! I have never experienced so much encouragement by so many people. 'Looking good , you're going great, looking strong.......'

THE AMERICAN RIVER

    We then began the long descent into the American River valley.... and all I could think was; if its this steep and long going down, then it must be the same coming back up.......sounds fun, as the Californians would say. I was quite worried about my calves because it was this kind of descent that could 'pull' the muscle but I survived and as we crossed a road down to the banks of the river we were met by a cacophony of encouragement with whistles, cow bells and horns. I filled up my bottles at the next aid stop and kept moving. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was just awsome (I know, he's only been there 48 hours and he's forgotten how to speak English), I felt good and suspected this would be the best part of the race because I was running well with no pain. We followed the river on an undulating track and I heard some one say 'Hey at this pace we'll do it in under 6 hours' to which his friend sagely replied ' Nope, the first half is easy, the second half isn't'..........wise words, if not a little disconcerting.
      I reached the 27 k aid stop in 2 hours and 50 minutes, again fast for me........unfortunately the wheels were about to fall off, I just didn't know it yet. Soon we began the climb out of the valley and joined up with part of the actual Western States course. This gave me a lump in my throat as to even run part of this famous 100 mile course was a big thrill as I imagined all the elite athletes who had trod these steps ( Of course they would have trod them a little quicker than me). A climb of 1500 feet would not usually be big deal  but suddenly things began to hurt, imperceptive at first but after 10 minutes my quads started aching. I came up to a flat bit which I should have run easily but my legs didn't want to. I'd gone from 27 k feeling good to 30 k feeling not so good, this happens and you push on and eat your gels and drink your fluids and hope it passes.........it doesn't, it just gets slowly worse and as I climbed the pain increased. I kept being passed by people saying I was 'looking good'. I thought if I was looking so bloody marvellous then why are you able to pass me ?.....as you can see this well intentioned phrase was beginning to get a little irritating.
      I was annoyed at myself as I knew the problem. I had built up the strength in my calves and quads and was in great shape physically but I hadn't done the miles on the hills in training due to my 6 calf strains.........and this was the price I had to pay. It took me 1 hour -10 minutes to travel 7 kilometres and climb 1500 feet. My pace had dropped from nearly 10 k per hour to nearer 6 k per hour.....and it was hurting. By the time I arrived at the next aid station I was very grateful for the encouragement and support. It was like arriving at an oasis with music, food and wine.....(sorry Steve, I meant soup). We all shared a brief chat and a smile and the asked how far to the next station. '4.8 miles, okay'. Thats about 8 k and it was as if we were all venturing out into the wilderness alone before reaching the next  sanctuary. Its weird because I felt 'lifted' and able to carry on.....and thats how the phsycology of aid stations work, its not just about the food and water.

WARNING

       However after 20 minutes I was alone again and negative thoughts  and questions arose, 'How was I going to make it at this speed and in this much pain?' I then passed the spot where runner, Barbara Schoener, was attacked and sadly killed by a mountain lion in 1994. Now thats what I call motivation, excuse the pun...... but I shot off like a mountain lion. Its amazing how you can find energy when you think you've nothing left. It now became quite warm and the views across the valley were spectacular and though I appreciated how lucky I was to be here it was still very hard.
     As this is Ultra running Californian style they have another unique addition. Just before a major climb they have little inspirational quotes to keep you going like.... 'You must do the thing you cannot do'. Its all terribly West Coast.........I love it. Luckily I knew about the negative thoughts having done this a few times and so this positive motivation really helps.
    Although I was suffering some people merrily skipped past me chatting away to each other about such mundane things like getting a new bathroom fitted or the next school parents  meeting. Bizarre.
    After another hour we reached the ridiculously steep Goat Hill. This is more of a climb than a run, though a young guy next to me said he saw Killian Jornet run up these hills in last years WS100 and he wasn't even sweating!  This kid asked if was doing this race as a training run for an even bigger event. I was flattered that he should even think such a thing (considering the state I was in), but vanity can be quite helpful sometimes, as I proceeded to lead us all  the way up the hill. At the top was another aid station serving the most delicious soup along with sandwiches, energy gels, ready mixed hydration drinks,fruit, savouries, S-caps; a veritable Ultra cafe. You have to hand it to the Yanks they sure know how to organise an endurance event.

THE  FINISH

      By now I  had already run well over a full marathon distance so it was just a question of keeping moving or as runners say, relentless forward progress, and still the comments kept coming, 'You're gonna make this..... you got this......Wow, looking good....lets do this'. I have never heard a runner in France or Enland ever speak like this to another runner; they'd think you were a nutter.
     Another 10 k's and then finally one more climb to go and I knew I would make it because the going down was harder than the going up (its an aching quad thing).
    As we crested the hill I couldn't see the finish line......but I could hear it. Its a great feeling as you run along and the crowd are 'high fiveing' you all the way in and, in the midst of all this wooping and 'great job' comments I heard a womans voice shout, 'great socks', I have no idea why but it rather amused me.
     3 months had passed since I began my quest to find the Way to Cool.  6000 miles in the air and a hard 50 kilometres on the ground.......and 7 hours and 5minutes later, I'd found it.

STEVE

A very good friend of mine, Steve, died this week. He was at the opposite end of the health scale in terms of being fit. He knew it and I'm not sure if he cared. It was his choice to live an unhealthy life and at 51 he sadly suffered the consequences of this decision. Nothing I or friends or family said made any difference. In some respects he wasted a good part of his life (due to alchohol) but in his prime he was full of life and fun.
      I mention it here because we all make decisions every minute of the day that affect our lives. I choose to run and be healthy but I am always mindful that this gives no guarantees.......it just increases the percentages of having an active healthier life. I also make no judgements as we all have a choice, even in the most harrowing circumstances that we may find ourselves.
    It of course puts my race on Saturday into some kind of perspective. He thought I was nuts to do this but always saw the funny side. 'While you are running through the woods', he would say, 'I'll be chatting to the girls at the Aid Stations' and he would and very happy he would have been. So there is no right or wrong on how we live our lives  just as long as we don't hurt anyone.
  I will run my race and think of Steve laughing at my craziness and when I feel pain or reach a low ebb I will think of him saying  with a big smile, 'I would stop now if I were you'. I'll shrug and carry on and he'll walk off with a girl in one hand and a drink in the other..........into the sunset.

IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO.......

  ......be sure not to wear flowers in your hair; especially if you're running an ultra, better to wear compression socks on your feet! Just about to leave for sunny California, again, and with a few days to go and I'm a nervous wreck. 'Why do I do this?' I remember saying to a fellow ultra runner, 'I must be mad' and he nonchalantly replied 'Well of course you're mad, this is not something sane people do', and that just about says it all. The last two weeks of my rather odd taper (in that I didn't really taper), were a combination of nervous 10-15 k tempo runs and cross training wherein I panicked everytime I felt a small twitch in my leg. My physio, Helen, continually worked on my calves and assured me all was well. I  refused to believe her, convincing myself that I was about to fall apart at any moment. This is normal behaviour with everyone before a big race but in my case as a result of my injuries, I felt fully justified in my hysteria.

Cool, California (Small town, Big Race)

      But here I am with a few days to go and I am still in one piece (so maybe she was right) however I've got to get through the 50 k race first, so we will have to wait and see.
      I fly to San Francisco and then drive up to Auburn which is close to the town of Cool. Auburn is the 'Endurance capital of the world' with more ultra events here than anywhere else and 'The Way to Cool 50k' race is one of them and though not as high as my previous ultra's it still has over 6,100 feet of elevation gain. However the main problem, from what I've read, is the mud....well it is to me because I hate mud, it sticks to your feet and its like hauling lead and you slip and your feet get stuck and.....well you get the picture. I can imagine all the ultra runners reading this thinking, he doesn't like mud.....jeez, get over it. Hopefully it will be a bright sunny day and the course will be more forgiving, who knows? Its also the most popular 50k in the world so I've been incredibly fortunate to get in and will therefore make the most of it. I am now into full planning mode with maps to work out possible times, trail conditions, climbs and descents as well as preparing my gels, drinks, food and clothes options. Although planning is very important you have also got to think on your feet and adapt as you go because there are always suprises......and they are very seldom pleasant.
       I just really want to get on with. My goal is to do it in under 7 hours but a lot will depend on any recurring calf problem and/or any other mishap. I feel I'm babbling on now so I have included a quote from an established ultra runner to explain how I am feeling.

The American River near Cool, CA.

    ' Know that you will have pain. Know that it won't be comfortable. Know that you will want to quit. Know that you will get tired. Know that you will get injured. Know that you will get confused. Know that you will meet physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual challenges that you have never even dreamed existed. And know that the true challenge lies in overcoming your innermost fears.'

      Crikey! .....(my sister said it sounds so bad she would prefer to stick hot needles in her eyes) but all the runners go through the same thing, veteran or novice, it really is very hard but thats the challenge. On the flip side its a privelege just to be able to run through such beautiful forests, mountains and canyons on a sunny Saturday morning in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Cool California.