Ultra #1 of the year complete. What an absolute treat. The training couldn’t have gone much better for it, if you ignore the ankle… The sun made an appearance, and even better it thoroughly dried the trail out in the weeks before the race so there was no mud to contend with. The race had a slightly more “pro” feeling than the other ultra’s I’ve run before, with it’s qualifying criteria, the small field, and the cut-off times for the finish and the aid stations. I was feeling slightly anxious about those cut-offs heading into the race, but in the end, I had nothing to worry about. I finished much faster than I expected, and was well ahead of all the cut offs.
I had no strategy heading into the race, other than don’t go off too fast, and stay fed and hydrated. Within the first few km’s, I started talking to a chap called Rob. He kept my pace fairly consistent and provided entertaining chatter as the trail passed us by. His goal was pretty similar to mine – don’t get caught out by the cut-off and finish in less than 12-hours. We passed the hours by chatting about different races we’d both run; one that piqued my interest the most was a nuclear fallout race, where the goal is to get 40 miles as the crow flies away from Didcot power station before the nuclear fallout catches you. There is no route, you plan your own the best you can, and go! Another he’d done was a 24-hour race in a warm-up track (~500m in length) in Oslo. Having seen a video of the track since, with low ceilings and only two lanes on the track, with walls close and fluorescent lights overhead, I think he’s even more bonkers for running it than I did at the time!
The SDW50 race runs from Worthing to Eastbourne, which is the half of the South Downs I am not familiar with. As a child, and early in my adult life, Dad would take me cycling on parts of the Downs, or I would run near Clanfield and Petersfield; Butser Hill, Harting Hill, Queen Elizabeth country park, etc. The scenery is really rather beautiful, and the hills a little less aggressive than I was expecting. Though the final two hills did drag with tired legs. It was near the top of one of these final hills with around 10km to go, that Rob and I parted ways, with my legs getting a final surge of energy as the finish line drew near. It is definitely still a hilly route, don’t get me wrong. It’s about 1600m of elevation, with a similar amount of down hill, so certainly not flat! But it makes for some classic British rolling hills scenery, and with the sun out, it looked that little bit more special. Underfoot, it’s largely well-trodden paths made of dirt and clay, and the route was very well marked. That was another thing I was slightly apprehensive about as I am exceptionally good at getting myself lost. Again, I had nothing to worry about here either.
The volunteers manning the aid stations were lovely. They would immediately fill our bottles with water, electrolytes or tailwind (which I took 3 times before deciding I actually don’t like it much), and had words of encouragement and smiles on offer. The food offerings were not as vast as Threshold events, but I think that’s quite reasonable considering how many fewer runners there are on this race compared to something like Race to the Stones. There was still enough to top up the nutrition I had bought, and it was varied enough to overcome the mid-race fussy eating I seem to develop during ultras.
The last couple of km’s leave the South Downs Way and head towards the Eastbourne sports complex, with the final 300m on the track. This give the opportunity for loved ones to revel in your achievement with you. Alex had an easy day compared to his trips to support me along the Race to the Stones route, where he’s clocked up around 30-35km’s himself in previous years, running alongside me, then back to the car, then with me again… No pacing or external support is allowed at SDW50, so all he could do was pop up at a few road crossings and shout encouragement at me! Which was still very welcome, of course. At the finish line, I waited to see Rob finish and congratulate him on his achievement. We then headed off to McDonalds for some high-end sports nutrition, before going home to bed. The following day was far less painful that post-race days have been in the past. Overall, a wonderful day out and I’m feeling confident in my running after exceeding my expectations. So confident in fact, that I’ve entered a 50km run on Bornholm that takes place in little over a week…
Distinctly Average Ultra Runner 