Published: 8th January 2025
The year of team “we’re in ago-knee”, with my lovely friend Sarah, and my lovely Dad as support. The TLDR of this year was that we both had a blast, team spirits were high, the support was incredible, and we left feeling inspired.
Endure24 is a massive 24-hour running relay, basically a running festival. It takes place in both Reading and Leeds, but with many of my friends and family living in the south of the UK, I’ve only competed in the Reading event. The loop is 8km and the goal is simple: run as many laps within the 24-hour time period as possible! There are many ways to complete the race, with runners tackling it solo (more to come on that later), in pairs as we did, and teams ranging from 3 to 12 runners. The course opens at midday on Saturday and closes for starting new laps at midday on Sunday – you have until 12:59:59 to complete the last lap. We pitched up on Friday, found a spot for team “We’re in ago-knee” and team “Le(g)s Misérables”, and our support to camp, then mooched around the event village.
Saturday morning dawned mercifully cooler than the blistering heat we’d had on the Friday, and we were awoken to the sounds of an escaped Milo the beagle being returned to James’s tent after my Dad found him walking himself around camp. I dread to think how many breakfast sausages he might have stolen… Our plan during the day was to run one lap each, taking the time between to refuel and change if needed. Dad kept the kettle on the stove, and we mainly consumed mug-shot pasta and cereal bars. The event currently takes place in Wasing Park on the outskirts of Reading. The lap is supported by many enthusiastic volunteers, who keep up the good energy throughout the whole event, and the route has enough variation that it doesn’t quite get boring before the end of the event (in my opinion anyway). Coming back into camp, you’re met with music, running commentary, and many people milling around either preparing for their next lap, or waiting to welcome runners back after their laps. Sarah and I opted for an incredibly childish and freeing aeroplane-coming-into-landing approach to the change over, which put a smile on both our faces. My Dad was there at the end of almost every lap (with the exception of a couple overnight when he was snoring loud enough to be mistaken for a small lawnmower), to welcome us back and check on what we needed and how we were feeling. He was an absolute champion.
We were doing better than expected when the sun started setting, with minimal pain and five or six laps each under our belts, but when the night properly arrived, so did the drizzle, and our motivation dipped as we didn’t want to leave the tent. At around 2am, things got tough. One thing I hadn’t anticipated was how incredibly cold I would quickly get at night. Tip: bring many, many layers! And a hat. I dragged my aching, shivering body from the tent, bizarrely decided against picking up my water bottle, and headed out for a double lap with my empty running pack. Massive thanks to our friend Ellie who met me with water at the start of the second lap, after I’d had time to really wake up and realise my mistake. Actually, a second massive thanks to Ellie for keeping the “Le(g)s Misérables” team on track. Her time-keeping clip board was incredible, and she was always there with encouraging words as the next person set off. An organisational hero is a dream for a team!
I wouldn’t say we were broken when the sun came up, but our momentum had definitely slowed. A highlight in the morning sunlight was coming across Ed in the woods. Had it not been for the number pinned on Ed’s chest, he could have easily been mistaken for a man our for his morning stroll, such was the casual gait and the coat slung over one shoulder. We chatted for a while before I continued on my shuffling way. Ed was taking it easy as he’d stepped up (with about 16 hours notice and minimal training) to fill a vacant spot in the five person “Le(g)s Misérables” team. Craig, team member number five was sadly struck down by covid; we honestly thought he was playing a terrible joke when he told us, and didn’t take him seriously for a good hour.
Once the camp wakes up again on the Sunday morning, it really feels like the end is in sight, and the light seems to relieve some of the aches and pains. I declared my race finished in the late morning with 11 laps under my belt, and let Sarah crack on to bring her final lap count up to 10 laps. We were very content with our 6th place, and left the event inspired to get training for a return the following year. Unfortunately that wasn’t to be for 2023, but maybe a return to the pairs category could be on the cards for some time in the future. Camp was packed down, and we said goodbye to Wasing Park, until we met again…
Distinctly Average Ultra Runner 