Now this might seem like a strange title to most people but
these are the two things which got me through my 50 mile ultra-marathon
challenge in the Lake District last weekend! When entries opened for the
Lakeland 50 event last September I was reminded by my friend Simon to enter
quickly. It was a good job I did as entries sold out within a couple of days.
The months passed by and then suddenly July is here! In the
meantime I had decided to move house and inevitably this turned out to be last
Thursday, the day before I was due to head up to Coniston to register for the
event. Together with a really busy couple of weeks at work this didn’t add up
to the best preparation! I made the final decision that I was going at
lunchtime on Friday, heading up at 8pm to avoid the legendary northbound M6
traffic on a Friday afternoon. Unfortunately this meant that the campsite was
closed when I arrived at 1am and I spent a rather uncomfortable night in the
car, probably managing 2-3 hours’ sleep. Simon had a similar experience and
ended up parked in the same car park in the centre of Coniston. Registration
opened at 7am and we duly presented ourselves for the obligatory kit check,
weigh-in and issuing of map and road book. Soon after we were on a coach to the
start at Dalemain near Penrith, wondering what we had let ourselves in for. The
Lakeland 50 is an ‘ultra-tour of the Lake District’ starting with a four mile
loop around Dalemain before following a sweeping route which takes in
Ullswater, Haweswater, Elterwater and finally Windermere, finishing in
Coniston. Over the 50 mile course there is around 3,500m of climb across the
various mountains.
11:30am soon came and we were off – 587 runners all heading
on the same loop around the Dalemain estate with 50 miles to go. The first few
hours were hot and humid making for less than pleasant running conditions,
albeit with beautiful long-distance views across the Lake District in the clear
air and sunshine. The initial excitement at the start soon wore off and the
pace gradually slowed as the reality of what was ahead dawned on people. The
course was split into sections with six checkpoints along the way in various
locations. All had an array of tempting and necessary food and drink on offer
together with electrolyte drink, gels and other essentials. I arrived at the
first checkpoint at Howtown after a couple of hours and was pleased to see
Simon hadn’t left by the time I got there. I was feeling a little pain in my
left knee and was grateful for some painkillers which I knew he had stashed in
his pack. We had agreed that we wouldn’t run together, running our own races to
see how we were feeling with the pace and distance in the heat. By the second
checkpoint at Mardale I was feeling quite dehydrated and drank two bottles of
electrolyte before filling up my water bottle again. This was a good move as it
was still extremely hot and immediately after the checkpoint is a big climb
which was hard going. I was also starting to feel ‘on the edge’ of cramp in my
legs. This, I have learnt, is about electrolyte and sodium balance as you need
to replace that lost through sweat. Craving salt I proceeded to have a tomato
soup with three salt sachets in it - lovely, followed by a coke with salt in it
– not as bad as it sounds! This became a regular routine and by the time I
reached checkpoint 4 at Ambleside I was experimenting with two salt sachets in
a cup of coffee! Somehow my experimentation worked and although I had struggled
with the first twenty miles I felt stronger for the last thirty. Ambleside was
crowded with people lining the streets and in the pubs. It’s a great feeling
being cheered on by spectators who don’t even know you, just know what you are
attempting. I did comment to a fellow runner that I am glad I’m not famous
though as I imagine it could get a little wearing being recognised,
congratulated and cheered on ALL THE TIME! Soon after Ambleside the weather had
turned and persistent rain had started to fall. This would remain the case for
the rest of my run. It was starting to get dark as I came to the fifth checkpoint
at Chapel Stile. From a way back I could see the twinkling fairy lights and
glowing fire buckets leading the way into the relative comfort of the
checkpoint. Together with some comfy sofas and hot food this was looking like a
welcome break. As I took my food to a table who did I see? Simon! I had caught
up with him at last. ‘What are you doing here? I thought your knee had given
up’ he said, surprised to see me. 'I’m' off he said, eager to finish ahead of me
despite his ITB playing up and meaning that he was struggling badly with the
descents. With that he bolted with some parting banter about whether I would
catch him he disappeared into the gathering darkness. Forty down, ten miles to
go! Headtorch on and map in hand it was time to concentrate and make sure not
to make any silly navigational errors – so easy to do when you’re tired, even
easier in the dark and rain. Rather than my first thought of hunting him down
and whizzing past him I decided to take the sensible option and slowly jogged
the last few miles in with a group, some of whom had run the event before. With
the rain still falling and some quite tricky navigation on the last leg this
proved to be a good idea. Soon the long twisty descent into Coniston appeared
and the last few miles were done. I crossed the finish line in 13 hours 21
minutes at around 1am.
In summary, great event, great support, great aid stations. Truly a classic and I can see why it sells out in 24 hours every year. Will I be back to do the 100 mile course one day? Probably!
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| Me and Simon at the finish |
