This race was to
be run over the Ridgeway path which runs diagonally across the country
from Ivinghoe Beacon in Hertfordshire and would finish in Avebury near
Marlborough, Wiltshire
‑
a total of 86 miles. There would be a few water stations along the way
(approximately every 10 miles) and the chance of some hot food at
halfway. Prior to the race we had to let the organisers know whether
we would be completing in under or over 23 hours which would decide
our start time so that everyone would get the chance to run through
the night. Oh and 9,000 feet of ascent along the way so maybe a few
hills!
So I found myself
climbing the beacon at midday on Saturday with 40 or so others to get
to the start line. About the same number had started 2 hours before us
and would be well on their way. The weather was very warm and
conditions were clear as we could see for miles around, and it was
hard to imagine the finish so far away, even though we all carried and
had studied the maps beforehand. I had met up with a couple of friends
earlier, Pat, who had helped me run ‘our’ part of the Ridgeway, and
Jim, who I had met up with on a few of these long runs.
We started on time
and everyone ran downhill except Jim and I, deliberately we were last
off the hill travelling at a very slow jog. It was strange to see all
these runners hare off down the chalky track but it was reassuring to
know that many would tire earlier than me. Any advantage of height at
the start was lost within a couple of hundred yards as we went
downhill straightaway. I had decided that I would need to conserve as
much energy at the start to save for later.
The weather now
felt very hot and it was sunny but thankfully there was plenty of
shade in most parts apart from the exposed hilltops. There was also a
headwind which actually felt refreshing in the heat. We carried on
over many hills, along ridges and through woods and splendid scenery
until we reached the first checkpoint at about 11 miles in Wendover.
We were still the last runners in the race. As we arrived at the
checkpoint there was chaos as it was situated in a narrow lane
opposite a church whilst a wedding was in progress and the bride
arrived at the same time as us.
After grabbing
some water and a Jaffa cake we wound through the middle of Wendover
and backup another steep hill. From here the tracks started to get a
bit more lumpy for a bit as we eventually ran through the grounds of
Chequers at about 15 miles. At this point Jim decided he needed to
slow a bit more so I decided to forge on ahead. I picked up the speed
a little and entered even more steep hills but found myself starting
to overtake people. I passed the checkpoint at 17 miles without
stopping and overtook several people there. This checkpoint was at the
top of a large hill in woodland near Princes Risborough and from there
it would be mainly downhill to the next. I had a surge of energy and
carried on at a steady speed and found myself passing people at
regular intervals, some of whom had been on the earlier start.
After a couple
more hills and a long descent I reached the 3rd checkpoint at about 23
miles. Again I only paused long enough to fill up my bottles with
water and to ask the timing marshal how far ahead Pat was. I was
surprised to hear he hadn't arrived at the checkpoint yet! This seemed
to motivate me a bit more and despite the heat I carried on at a
fairly steady pace.
The next 7 or 8
miles were on a rutted track which went over a couple of smaller hills
but was generally flat. The path avoided most of the bigger hills at
this point but at about 30 miles turned sharp left and over two very
steep hills. At the top of the second was the 4th checkpoint at 32
miles. I was starting to flag as it had been a hot afternoon and I was
feeling the results of my faster pace. I had overtaken many people but
was starting to tire. I accepted the large mug of tea offered at the
checkpoint and felt better. As I was about to leave I looked back down
the hill and saw Pat on his way up. After some customary abuse and
surprise that I was ahead of him I left to go ahead. He caught me up
within a mile or so and we ran on together trying to keep to a
run/walk strategy.
The next section
would be the longest of the race to the halfway point at 43 miles. The
first part was generally undulating until we turned right into Grims
Ditch which is a large earthwork which runs down to the Thames for a
few miles. This was pleasant running in the late afternoon as I
started to get tired. The terrain was generally downhill for a few
miles but very uneven, lots of tree roots, sticking out branches and
dead trees to hurdle. At one point I found myself face down in the
bushes at the side having tripped on a tree root, thankfully the
landing was soft and all that was hurt was my pride.
At the end of the
ditch the land flattened out into the Thames Valley and we followed
the course of the river for about 5 miles to the halfway checkpoint.
Pat went a head
again after a while and we were still passing runners, I found out
later that these were the lead runners from the early start. The
checkpoint was in a village hall at Goring and was a welcome sight
just as it was starting to get dark There was lots of support here and
a chance to get sorted out with our bags which had been brought here
by the organiser. I stopped here only ten minutes or so. I had enough
time to change my shirt, number and GPS, down a cup often and a Red
Bull, grab my head torch, long sleeve top and a hat, have a chat with
one or two others and leave. I declined the offer of a hot meal as I
was still hot and a bit dehydrated and needed fluids more than
anything. A lot of runners used this checkpoint as a long rest before
the second half.
Pat and I left the
halfway point together, crossed the river and started along the road
which would lead us onto the track to climb up into the Downs. It was
nearly dark and got even darker as we passed through woods and trees
but I tried to keep my torch off as long as possible. We gradually
climbed out of the valley again and onto dirt tracks which seemed to
go up for ever (several miles actually). Pat went ahead again after a
few miles and I knew I wouldn't see him till the end. I plodded on,
seemingly going up all the time but eventually the ground evened out
and started to undulate rather than climb. At about 50 miles the
course turned right to go over Compton Downs. I took my time at each
junction as my worst nightmare was getting lost, this may have cost me
a little time but at least I could go on in confidence. I was extra
careful here. I looked back and could see the lights of many head
torches strewn across the hills behind and knew that if I slowed too
much I would be overtaken my many others quite quickly.
A mile or two
later I crossed under the A34 and up onto Bury Down where the 6th
checkpoint was at about 52 miles. The track had become very wide by
now and there were tracks crossing and recrossing all over the place
which made navigation tricky and time consuming at times. Luckily the
checkpoints were easy to spot as they were sited on top of hills.
I stopped at this
checkpoint again for about 10 minutes, long enough for a chat, cup of
tea, fill my bottles and to decline a hot dog. The course carried on
over the hills, I am sure the scenery would have been lovely but all I
could see was the lights of large towns and villages. I could see
Wantage off to the right as the track wound its way over hills,
through woods, across more tracks and the odd road. As I approached
each car park or wooded area I could see cars parked, I passed several
'parties' going on late into the night and the odd supporter vehicle
waiting for their runners.
The weather was
still warm and I was still sweating heavily, even in the middle of the
night, but the wind had got up a lot and was blowing quite strongly
into my face. This was hard going but nice as it cooled me down. At
about 60 miles two other runners passed me slowly, they were running
together and pushing each other on.
The next
checkpoint was about 61 miles on Sparsholt Down and I again stopped
for a few minutes for more tea, a bottle top up and to steal a few
sweets. The marshals here were having a great time here and seemed not
to be worried about the darkening sky and high winds. I passed the two
runners again just after the checkpoint as they were resting for a few
minutes in their supporters cars. I carried on into the wind and past
more farms. I paused and checked my direction at every junction, I had
heard stories of people going blindly straight on for miles
unnecessarily because they had not checked.
After a couple
more miles the heavens opened. I stopped under a tree at the top of a
hill for a few minutes to sort myself out ‑ put on my long sleeve
jacket and hat. This proved to be quite difficult under the
circumstances. With the wind blowing, the rain sheeting down and in
total darkness apart from a small head torch I tried to get moving as
soon as possible. Soon afterwards the two runners I had passed again
at the last checkpoint overtook me again. The track now was very wide
and apart from the puddles which were growing, was quite good going ‑
either a chalky track or a grassy surface. As the rain increased, so
did the puddles. The wind made it worse as I was just undulating over
the hilltops at this point and there was little shelter apart from the
odd wooded area.
Having crossed a
few more roads and tracks I squelched my way into the 8th checkpoint
at about 69 miles, it was about 3‑3.30am. This checkpoint was set at
the top of Charlbury Hill and I felt sorry for the volunteers here.
They were right in the thick of the weather, all huddled under
umbrellas around a fire they had lit earlier. I sat down in a chair,
shivering. I then stood up again as the chair had a puddle of water on
it, not that it made much difference as I was soaked all over and
freezing cold. I managed to slurp a bit of warm tea from a plastic cup
and down a bag of crisps and stood up to go. I knew that if I hung
around too long I would not start again and I also needed to get
moving to warm up.
Back out onto the
track again for a bit and then a bit of relief as there was a mile or
so of road which took me over the M4 motorway and to the base of
Liddington Hill. The path up the hill was very narrow and one foot in
front of the other. Unfortunately by now it had developed into a very
muddy stream and in my trainers I was sliding all over the place. It
seemed to take ages to get to the top and when I got there I could not
see an obvious path, I checked the map and followed a tree line in the
general direction I needed to go. I was wading through long grass,
hoping that I was alert enough to pick up on any signs. I kept
stopping to check my direction and thankfully ended up on an obvious
track.
The course was
heavily rutted and extremely muddy, more than once I ended up to my
knees in the stuff. I could not see what I was treading in, especially
as I passed through several smelly farm yards, so eventually gave up
and waded through whatever was there but it was extremely slow going.
One competitor told me later that it took him 1/2 hour to cover one
mile through part of this section. I persevered on at a slow pace and
could not have gone any faster, the track went up and down hills which
by now were just muddy torrents although the rain was starting to ease
and the wind was not so bad on lower ground. At times I could see a
large orange light on a hill many miles away.
As I went through
this section the grey sky started to lighten as dawn approached and I
was able to switch off my head torch. The morning was very damp and
misty, the rain and wind had eased. The course wound round in a big
loop until I found myself on a short stretch of road and then a sharp
left back uphill again. There seemed to be one or two more supporters
cars around so I supposed that there were others runners not far
behind, I had not seen another competitor for 4 or 5 hours.
The climb was
about a mile or so long followed by a long stretch across grassy
fields to the next checkpoint which was bathed in the large orange
light I had seen from so far away. This was at approximately 80 miles
at the top of Barbury Hill. The rain had started again and the
marshals were huddled in their cars. They offered me food but all
theirs was soaking wet so I slurped another luke warm tea and carried
on. I was told that not too many runners had gone through yet, the
last 20 minutes before and I only had 6 miles to go. I was shivering
in the cold and started out slowly.
I jogged slowly
across the top of the hill, through Barbury Castle and carefully down
the hill the other side. From there I climbed again back up on a track
to Hackpen Hill. The going was fairly good at this point, a hard
surface but I was finding it difficult to run for long periods as I
had got two large blisters, one on each foot which had been aggravated
by the wet. This combined with my tiredness meant I was operating at a
jog/walk rate. Then the track worsened again to the deep ruts similar
to before. Fortunately I could see where I was going this time
although I probably was too cautious as I slowed again as I knew with
tired legs I could easily end up on my backside. I looked back and
could see several people around now, other runners and dog walkers in
the early morning. I couldn't tell which was which in the misty gloom
though.
At the top of
Overton Down I turned off the Ridgeway to descend the mile or two down
into Avebury. The track here was still hard going ‑ very chalky and
slippery. I made my way down as quickly as I could and the track ended
and turned into road for the last half mile or so. I could see another
runner behind catching me quickly but I had no energy to fight him off
and he passed me easily a couple of hundred yards from the end.
Once in Avebury I
turned right to go into the grounds of the National Trust centre where
there was a tent and a finish line. I was asked to cross the line
before entering the tent where there were 3 or 4 runners who had
arrived just ahead of me. The tent was running with mud and I was
shivering violently from wet and cold and sat down to try and dry and
warm up. Unfortunately there was no hot food but I managed some cold
rice pudding and a piping hot tea. I was given an engraved medal and a
handshake from the organiser for achieving 3rd place in my age
category. A few more runners came in behind me and eventually I
struggled up onto my feet, grabbed my bag and limped off to find Pat
who had been waiting for me in his van. He had come in 2 hours before
me. Jim was approximately 2 hours behind.
Overall an awesome
event, top class marshals, food and checkpoints, scenery was
magnificent during the day and the course was superb. The weather
could have been a bit kinder ‑ from one extreme to another!
170 starters, 51
finishers, 1 ended up 15th overall, 3rd over 40.
