Chasing a Dragon!!
The Prep!
The seed was sown for entering 2022 Dragons Back Race after
completing Cape Wrath Ultra in August 2021. Naively, I entered without really
reading the small print and the detail and it was probably early 2022 before I
started looking into the stages properly. It was clear it was going to be long
days, with big elevation and particularly at the start of the week some technical
ground. And then on day one there was also the infamous Crib Goch – I am not good
with heights so Crib Goch was causing some concern and worry!!
I decided that if I was going to be serious about completing
then I should maybe try and put a bit more structure round my training, so I
contacted Jack Scott who I had crewed for on his FKT for the Southern Upland
Way and we worked up a plan!
For last couple of years I have mixed running with strength and
flexibility work – I am never going to be the most flexible but the strength
and flexibility has certainly improved my running and reduced my injuries, and
it gives you a break from running.
The last couple of years I had managed to maintain a decent number of races or challenges and on the face of it, it looked like I had a reasonable 2022 with the main ultra races as follows –
Falkirk Ultra 33miles – 4:43:24, 8th
place (1st V50)
WHW Fling 53miles – 10:39:36, 68th
(7th V50)
WHW Race 95miles – 22:30:47, 43rd
(7th V50)
WHW Devil 42 miles – 8:19:51, 87th
(14th V50)
The reality was a bit different – at end Feb I got covid and
although it was relatively mild, I did need to back off for a few weeks.
Throughout the year I was find training really tough and struggling with
sessions I would usually enjoy and this led to me starting to dread some of the
training sessions. And although it was great that Jack was providing a
structure I did feel a bit of pressure. A couple of times we agreed to back off
and reduce training to just to try and re set. Usual doubts were going through
the mind – am I over training, under training, just being lazy, not trying hard
enough etc etc and it was a tough period.
Eventually I was in seeing nurse about a mole which had
appeared on the side of my face and I mentioned the tiredness / fatigue. Just
after Cape Wrath in 2021 I had gone to donate blood and they almost never took
me as my haemoglobin count was low, so I had got it checked out. The nurse saw it
was over 6 months since my last test, so agreed to re test but it came back normal, so a GP appointment
was arranged. My GP is also on my strava and it was a just few days before the WHW
Devil race, so I did feel a bit of a fraud, laying it on thick about tiredness
/ fatigue knowing full well I was racing at the weekend, and outwardly
presenting as fit and healthy. Fair play to Calum, he took me seriously and
arranged a range of tests and tried to work through all the possibilities.
After a rearranged blood test he phone me on 12th August to confirm
I had tested positive for Lyme disease!!
The relief was instant – I knew I had not been 100% and it
was great to finally find a reason! Treatment was 3 weeks of antibiotics which gave me 2 days
free before Dragons Back started.
I am sure this is not correct medical advice but I decided
to continue training (on basis I had been training for much of the year with Lyme disease anyway) and would
back off training if I felt I needed to, and in any case training was tapering down anyway.
I had walked the Skye Trail in April and picked up three
ticks, so I think I probably had Lyme disease since then.
Moral of this story is – give blood (you get a free blood
check), check for ticks (and if you get them keep an eye for the bullseye rash)
and trust your instincts if you are not 100%!
Within 4 or 5 days of starting treatment my resting heart
rate had dropped from about 52/53 to 44/46 which I took as a positive sign!!
So with that background, the Dragons Back plan was survival and to get a finish. I knew it was going to be long days and I knew from Cape Wrath the days I struggled were the long days where recovery time in camp was limited.
I did have the advantage that I knew the routine, knew what I needed to pack and how to get organised to be efficient in camp.
As preparation I had also tried to get days in the hills on more technical
terrain in Scotland and had a pretty epic weekend where I did the Ben Nevis
Ultra (bad weather route) on the Friday and then Colin Anderson kindly took me
round the Salomon Skyline route (bearing in mind my fear of heights, my stress
levels were elevated that day). I had also managed a pretty frantic three day
reccie in Wales where I managed to complete the end of day 1, last half of day 2
and an out and back on part of day five. The fact that I was pretty done in
after these 20’ish mile sections just reemphasised how big a challenge this was
going to be!
Kit Check
I had offered Mark Smith a lift down so it was great to catch up on the road down. Mark had done Cape Wrath with me last year and had also taken me for a run / scramble round the lost valley in Glencoe exactly a year ago as part of my preparation for the Ben Nevis Ultra, and to try and get me used to more exposed terrain!
Only downside was the M6 was shut so we had a few hours of small country roads in convoy as the time slipped away (just like an ultra!!). We finally made it down for about 3.30pm for kit check – kit check is pretty intense and nerve wracking mainly with the intense feeling that you have forgotten some vital bit of kit – for Dragons Back you are allowed a 15kg dry back, a 2.5kg drop bag and then your running kit.
Last years Dragons Back had extreme heat on day 1 and 2 and
this years Cape Wrath had very wet and wild weather, so Ourea Events had
widened the mandatory kit list to include additional hot weather and bad
weather requirements alongside the usual mandatory kit - all to add to the mandatory kit list confusion!!
We both survived the show me this item check, while you
frantically tried to remember where it was packed. I dropped my 15kg drop back
off (which was exactly 15kg!) but kept my 2.5kg bag for dropping off in the
morning.
15kg seems quite a lot but it includes all mandatory kit,
sleeping kit, spare running clothes, warm camp clothes, any creams, medicine
etc, all your hill food etc – so there is a bit of juggling with what you can and cannot take!
A quick race briefing at 6.30pm and a catch up with a few
other fellow Cape Wrath runners and we were good to go and relax ready for the
6am start!
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| Mark Smith, Glenn Christie and me! |
I do remember thinking a few times that there were lots of really strong runners and had I finally bitten off more than I could chew this time! No time time for self doubt, it was time to get on with it and run my own race!!
Day 1
Alarm set for 4.30am, but woke up bright as a button 4.15am.
First issue was the milk I had brought for my muesli had gone off, six little sachets
of milk and some water had to do instead! 2nd issue was the hotel
had kindly left two bars of chocolate and two hot chocolate in my room which I
though would make a great camp treat, but I had no weight allowance left in my
2.5kg bag. Nothing else for it, but they were tucked away in my running bag on basis
I would take them out at camp that night (I only did take them out on day 3 when they were
revealed at the morning kit check!!).
I dropped of car, then dropped off my drop bag and entered the castle – the atmosphere in the castle was amazing, runners in the middle, choir singing national anthems and spectators up on the ramparts of the castle - very atmospheric!
The hooter went and we were off – the race does not start officially till you are clear of the castle walls when you dib in at first check point and your race officially starts.
The race starts pretty gently with a climb up Mynydd y Dref
(244 m). Second issue of the day arose when I realised the GPX files had not transferred
to my watch. I had spent the last two days thinking I need to check routes are
on watch, but for whatever reason had not actually checked (amateur!!).
The system I use for navigation in these races is GPX on
watch, route downloaded on phone and then map and compass as back up. Fortunately
I had the 2021 routes downloaded and I was pretty sure day 1 route had not changed and with us all starting at same time I would have someone to follow, until later in the day.
I also had small card made up with description of each checkpoint, distance from start and the time I needed to pass through (whether recommended or mandatory) – this proved really useful as the week progressed!
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| My colour coded checkpoint card! |
For some reason as we departed, I was seriously overheating and I was glad to get up onto the high ground to get some wind and cooler air.
The hills Tal y Fan (610 m), Foel Lwyd (600 m), Drosgl (621 m), Drum (771 m), Foel-fras (944 m), Garnedd Uchaf (925 m), Foel Grach (975 m), Carnedd Llewelyn (1,064 m), Carnedd Dafydd (1,044 m), Carnedd Fach (960 m) and Pen yr Ole Wen (978 m) passed by relatively painlessly. I did try and stay with Mark and Glenn but they were going too hard and a stuck to my mantra of “run my own race!” I was feeling a bit tired on the climbs but generally made a bit of time on the downhills. Coming off Pen yr Ole Wen was a bit more of a scramble than I was expecting and poles got stashed away for the first of many times on day 1. Although it was windy it was still pretty warm and my infamous muscle cramps were starting to nip away. I was determined to stay on top of things and not let them get worse. A fellow runner gave me a home made ginger energy ball assuring me it would remove the cramp. Although very tasty the cramps persisted! Eventually made it into the support point at Llyn Ogwen where I was re united with my 2.5kg drop bag – water bottles filled, and food topped up I headed back out for the climb up Tryfan – by this time, it was warm and sunny and I was tired and the climb gets steeper and steeper. Eventually reached the summit check point and then got through the complex descent through the boulder field. Myself and another runner ended up following a walker, who only admitted at the bottom he was trying to take the hardest route down!! I am not sure there is an “easy” route of Tryfan so I was happy enough to have made it down safely. Once up Tryfan Far South Peak (831 m) I was on familiar territory as the remaining section I had done on the reccie. Next up was Glyder Fach (994 m), Castell y Gwynt (972 m) and Glyder Fawr (1,001 m), before the descent back down to Pen-y-pass. I somehow managed to get on my own and then ended up on some steep and rough ground. Once the cloud cleared a bit, I managed to skirt round and pick up the trod and took a reasonably efficient line down to Pen-y-pass. I had promised myself a sit down and get some food in me at the aid station, but I had a reprieve so filled my bottles and set off again for the dreaded Crib Goch. Unfortunately my reprieve was short lived and I sat at the trail side and tried to force some food in, before heading up Crib Goch.
There are two main parts to Crib Goch, a pretty exposed scramble up onto the ridge and then a section of about 100/150 of narrow ridge. During my reccie I had been ok with both, but the strong wind had been playing on my mind all day and the cramps were still bothering me!
Poles stashed away, jacket on as I would be moving slowly –
the scramble passed without any serious issues. I almost forgot to dib in at the
check point (at each check point we had to dib in to show we had been - each day there was anything between 10 and 20 control points) at the top and then very cautiously set of along the ridge.
Confident runners skip along the top but less confident runners step down to
the left side and use the top of the ridge as a handrail, but even then there
are a few exposed spots. Although not particularly happy or quick I made it to
the end of the ridge with a big sigh of relief. I also gave my body a bit of a
talking to for trying to cramp up when I was s**ting myself on a knife edge
ridge – it seemed to work, the cramps let up for a bit! There were still a few
scrambly bits remaining but nothing which would beat me! So on up Bwlch Coch
(858 m), Crib y Ddysgl (1,065 m), Bwlch Glâs (998 m), Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa
(1,085 m), Y Lliwedd (898 m), Y Lliwedd East Top (893 m), Lliwedd Bach (818 m)
and Gallt y Wenallt.
That ridge line is dry with no opportunity to get water so
on the way down to Gallt y Wenallt I spotted a small lochen where I thought I
would fill up. I had just passed Andy (who I had met on day 2 reccie) and
another runner. Just as I had drunk half a bottle of water, they shouted across “what’s
that in the water to the far end?” I looked up and realised to my dismay that
the two rocks were in fact two dead sheep!! Fingers and toes were crossed for
the rest of the evening but thankfully I suffered no ill effects. At Gallt y Wenallt you can look down and see
camp below but there is a pretty steep, slippy descent into camp. My left foot
was sore as if there was a blister developing but I thought I would wait until I got
into camp before sorting it, so it was a relatively slow and steady descent
into camp. (turned out it was my big toenail digging into the next toe – both were taped
up with k tape and although sore through the night – never bothered me again!)
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| Camp 1 far below! |
Day 1 was always going to be the hardest day for me with the exposed scrambles, and hard rocky ground for much of it, so I was glad to get into camp in one piece!
To succeed at these stage races you need a pretty robust
camp routine – at Cape Wrath mine was –
- Get
in and get washed
- Get
soup and chips
- Go back
and sort out kit, sleeping for night and anything else which needs done
- Get
more food
- Lie
down and sleep as much as you can
Day 2
From experience with Cape Wrath I knew the priority was to
look after myself and not get drawn into racing, but it is hard when everyone
else is. I felt I had not looked after myself very well on day 1 so I was
determined to keep on top of the eating and the cramps on day 2. Although I felt confident
enough that I did not need to start on the dot at 6am and left camp at 6.20am.
The climbs passed by reasonably quickly Cnicht (689 m),
Cnicht North Top (688 m), Moelwyn Mawr North Ridge Top (650 m) and even the out
and back to Moelwyn Mawr (770 m) never unduly bothered me. Heading down to the road
I managed to misstep over a large bolder, in the bracken and took a chunk out
of my left shin which caused a bit of pain and suffering!!
 |
| On Cnicht |
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| On Rhinog Fawr |
We were soon through Maentwrog and back onto the bit of the route I had done with Andy! I ran a section with Ian Biggles who was also in my tent – a Welsh lad who is currently living in Australia. Sadly he pulled out on day 2 and I never saw him again!
Last stage of route takes you up Rhinog Fawr (720 m), Rhinog
Fach (712 m), Y Llethr (756 m), Crib-y-rhiw (681 m) and another out and back to
Diffwys (750 m). The Rhinogs are pretty tough technical hills and just as we
were getting to the Rhinog Fach ascent the heavens opened – I don’t think I
have ever been out in such a prolonged and heavy period of rain. I finally
relented and got the jacket on (probably a bit too late as I was getting cold),
and plodded on up – similar story to day 1 and felt my climbing was quite weak
and slow! The rain did eventually relent and once up Diffwys it was pretty much
downhill or flat all the way to camp. Technical path led to forest trail, led
to forestry road and then eventually a single track road. The flat section over
Penmaenpool Bridge, along the cycle path and then into camp seemed to drag by
but I got into camp pretty happy to get through day two and felt I had
looked after myself a bit better!!
Day 2 Distance 37.99 mi, Elev Gain, 11,122 ft, Time 12:20:52, 44th stage place, 11 peaks
Day 3 plan was the same, try and stay steady and look after
myself as much as I could. We were now off the harder technical hills and onto
more rolling boggy hills which suited me fine!
Even more lazy getting out of camp today with a 6:39am
start (was an extra half hour sleeping more use than and extra half hour in camp at night - I'm still not sure off the answer to that one!) and first up were Gau Graig (684 m), Mynydd Gwerngraig (686 m), Cadair
Idris - Penygadair (893 m), Craig-las (661 m) and Craig-y-llyn (622 m) before
dropping down to the first water / check point of the day!
 |
| Coming off Cadair Idris |
Next up was Tarrenhendre (634 m), Foel y Geifr (515 m) and another out and back up Tarren y Gesail (667 m). I was feeling strong and still moving quite well but was aware of a sore right ankle – I think I had twisted it at some point in day 2.
Down through the centre of Machynlleth with the weekly
market ongoing. I resisted the temptation of nipping into the shops and got to
the drop bag point just to the other side of the village.
I was quick in and out again – topping up water and adding
some more food to my bag!
On the climb out it felt like all power had left my legs – I
kept trying to take in food but it was a pretty slow climb. Next section was
landrover tracks with a few off road sections in between which seemed to pass
by really slowly. The climb up Pumlumon Fawr (752 m) was painfully slow, but
then we were back onto single track boggy paths which I love! Some of the camp
crew had run out to support so it was great to see them all. Camp three was
visible from up high again but as usual took a while to actually arrive.
I'm pretty sure it rained lots on day 3 but I cannot actually
remember when!!
Day 3 Distance 44.29 mi, Elev Gain 12,139 ft, Time 12:00:01, 27th stage place, 12 peaks
Day 4
Day 4 was billed as the easy day, as although 42.8miles it only had 8,205ft of elevation and there was quite a bit of road!! I was getting slower and slower out of camp and only left 6:53am. The day started with a long drag out of camp in the rain which stayed on for much of the day.
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| Leaving Fagwr Fawr farm (camp 3) |
 |
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| Camddwr Bleiddiad Gorge |
I don’t actually remember much of day 4, there was quite a bit of road and forest trail and it rained a lot – again!! There was a really boggy section where I went over knee deep a few times and the final road section into camp took forever!!
Day 4 Distance 42.80 mi, Elev Gain 8,205 ft, Time 10:20:43, 22nd stage place, 3 peaks
So with an earlier finish I nipped out of camp to the local pub which was just across the river to get a couple of cans of ginger beer for the drop bag. I could not resist temptation and had a pint while sitting over looking the river. Unfortunately I sat out too long and got cold and had to get into my sleeping bag for about half an hour before I warmed up. It just shows how run down and tired you get in these races. Fortunately I picked up and managed out for dinner and was determined to get my kit organised so I was out of camp early as day 5 is a big day again!!
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| A well earned pint! |
At same time we were getting news about the queen and possible issues with the race finishing at Cardiff Castle – I tried to put this out of my mind and wait and see what was confirmed!
By this stage I was more and more aware of my right ankle / shin pain but I had not deemed it sore enough to go to medical tent, but it was starting to play on my mind as we still had 85miles to go.
Day 5
Day 5 started with a pretty long road section and I resisted temptation at the coffee shop at Llandovery and had a good catch up with Mark Smith on the climb out of the village. The rain came on just as we approached Usk Reservoir and stayed on for much of the morning!
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| Usk Dam - in the rain!! |
Then up and down we went -Fan Foel (781 m), Fan Brycheiniog - Trig Point (802 m), Fan Gyhirych (725 m), Fan Nedd (663 m), Fan Llia (632 m) and Fan Fawr (734 m) before dropping down to the road at Storey Arms. During the morning the weather had got pretty rough with wind and driving rain – I think some of the international runners were struggling with it and were fully suited up – I was getting by in my shorts with waterproof jacket on! When the rain did go off it got really warm resulting in a frustrating jacket off / on scenario.
By this stage my right ankle / shin was seriously painful
particularly on the descents – so I was now slow on the ascents, could almost run
the flats and then the descents were painful!! To add to the misery I had a
blister developing on the base off my right foot, so the blister and shin were
competing for attention!
I had promised myself a burger and a can of juice at the
burger van at Storey Arms – I was that hungry it hardly touched the sides.
The next climbs Corn Du (872 m), Pen y Fan (886 m), Cribyn
(795 m), Fan y Big (717 m), Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion (730 m) and Bwlch y Ddwyallt
(754 m) were painfully slow and I took a seat on the last one to try and get
some more food in. The next section was a beautiful, runnable and flat ridge
line – the sun was out, a big black cloud was chasing me, it was pretty wild and windy and I was verging on being cold and needing a jacket on, but I was pretty much on
my own, no fellow competitors either side – it was beautiful – the only problem was it was painful to run!!
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| A painful descent from Pen y Fan |
The descent was even worse but I did pass a fellow competitor who had resorted to going downhill backwards as his knees were so sore, so I counted myself lucky to still be moving forward. Day 5 has a little sting in the tail with a mile of pretty technical (ie slow) path at the end prior to a short road section.
It had been a long day and I was glad to get into camp – one
more day to go, but first a wash and a visit to the medical centre!
Day 5 Distance 45.22 mi, Elev Gain, 12,165ft, Time 12:58:34, 26th stage place, 12peaks
As the week had progressed my routine had changed to – get warm clothes on, get food then go and wash etc. Today was no different but I was in camp so late it was dark and I struggled to find the river to wash in (I could hear it but could not find a safe route in!)– and I had to wash as you need to present at the medical tent clean!
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| A soak in the river prior to medical tent! |
As I was leaving I was delighted to see Glenn and Lenny had
made it in with about 15mins to spare. My kit was in a mess and not ready for
the morning but there was no great rush in the morning as although a long day
there was very little elevation, so I got some food and crashed out!
Day 6
Apart from a couple of climbs Mynydd Cilfach-yr-encil (446
m) and Cefn Eglwysilan (382 m) the route was largely downhill on cycle paths,
roads and paths. It should have been a pretty quick day but running was again
pretty painful – except the lanced blister was much more comfortable – you have
to look at the positives!
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| Leaving camp for day 6 (Thanks Tammy for the photo and the support through the week!) |
On the first section I managed to make a couple of navigational errors – not very big but enough to start getting annoyed with myself.
I managed a reasonable run into the support point at Trelewis
and as usual topped up with water and food and left quickly, but then suffered
for the next few miles as my shin had not enjoyed the downhill running. At
Nelson you pass by a Co-op so I finally succumbed and went in and bought two
packs of sandwiches and two drinks. The kind young lady at checkout tried to do
me a favour and got me to buy crisps as well to get the meal deal price! I went
to pay using my phone only for it to be rejected (it had happened at the burger
van the previous day – an out of date card!). Mandatory kit is you need to carry
at least £60 in cash – only problem was it was buried deep in my bag – lets just
say I caused a bit of mayhem in the shop! So I left shop carrying two packs sandwiches,
two drinks, crisps and my poles – and my bag was already full to bursting – there was
nothing else for it but to try and devour all the food on the walk up the hill
out of Nelson. I eventually managed and then somehow managed to fit all the rubbish into
my bag to dispose at the next bin or check point about 8miles later. When I did
finally get to next check point, which was at a pub, I had forgotten all about my
rubbish – fortunately the guys at the water check point were brilliant! So the
conversation went something like this – “Got any rubbish”, “Yes I have actually
– well remembered” as I proceeded to pull rubbish out of my pockets – “You’ve been
eaten well!”
The next stage was a bit surreal as we passed along river
and canal paths as we got closer to Cardiff – disheveled runners, moving very
slowly with mandatory kit and poles intermingled with families out on a Sat
afternoon. I hate to get to a stage where I am counting down miles but this was
definitely a stage of 3 park runs to go, 2, 1.5, 1 and a bit etc – I think I
managed a jog / walk strategy – I cannot quite remember – I was tired but it
was mainly the shin pain which was making movement difficult.
Passers by would say well done and every time they said that
I would want to burst out crying which made it hard to acknowledge them –
sorry if I appeared rude. I think it was a combination of being tired and just
the memory of the enormity of the journey we had all been on and also the knowledge I still had x miles to do.
Eventually I passed a runner who had finished and asked him
if it was far – his response of “it’s just round the corner” led my to ask
whether I should start running again. The weird thing is for the first time in
two days I felt like I broke into a proper run.
I was delighted to finish but mainly it was relief that I
could stop moving and rest. Tracker and dibber removed from me after 6 days
(you get quite attached to these things!) and a quick picture with Race
Director Shane Ohly – I was free to go and lie on the grass in the sunshine!
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| 2nd last dib - thank goodness! |
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| Receiving my Dragon from Race Director Shane Ohly |
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| It's all about the Dragon!! |
The original race plan was for us to finish and camp in the castle, so we would have been able to hang around and watch everyone finish etc and have the usual camp food etc, but because of the Queens death we were either getting shipped back to camp 5 or to make our own arrangements.
The pull of a warm shower and a proper bed were too much for
me and I had booked a room in Cardiff. In hindsight it would have been easier
to spend another night in the protective bubble that the race team provide – ie you
know where your food and bed is and you don’t need to walk far or carry too much
as someone will always help you. Lets just say getting cast adrift on Cardiff
streets on a Saturday night was interesting!
Day 6 Distance 39.85 mi, Elev Gain 4,357ft, Time 10:00:13, 36th stage place, 2 peaks
The Aftermath
The next day I could hardly walk from the bed to the shower –
could I have done another day? – I’m not sure!
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| A pretty swollen right foot! |
We got the bus back up to Conwy and then Glenn decided he was too tired to drive home and booked a room – so we had a few beers and some food – a great way to decompress after a pretty intense week.
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| Having a beer in Glenn's private pub!! |
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| A beer, a dragon and a new t shirt - what more could a man want!! |
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| Where it all started Conwy castle! |
I finally made it home Monday afternoon to a mountain of very smelly kit to sort.
My right leg was now very swollen and sore, a week later it
is less swollen but still sore – who knew running 85miles on tendonitis would
make it sore for a while!!
Rest of body is tired but recovering. I always try and keep
an eye on resting heart rate – its currently 56 when it is normally 46 so
clearly some recovery and repair ongoing!
A week later I am still eating everything in sight and drinking fluids as if I have a hangover!!
On Tuesday (after 3 pretty solid days of eating) I went to
the gym and got a weight done and I had lost 2% body fat since my pre race measurements
– as I have often said to people it is not a running race, it is an eating race
– just trying to replace the calorie deficit is hard work.
I have done a photo diary of some of the route on this link - due to the rain I was pretty lazy about taking pictures over the 6 days!
Everyone asks – which is harder Cape Wrath Ultra or Dragons
Back?
I would say Dragons Back by a big % - at least 50% harder –
reasons are many and varied but include –
- No respite
in terms of distance – apart from day 1 they are all 40mile plus days
- Elevation
– climbing up is hard, coming down is harder as the week progresses
- Much
more technical terrain particularly on day 1 and 2
- Much
less time to look after yourself in camp – this is a BIGGIE!
- If
you are close to cut offs day 5 is the key
The positives for Dragons Back are –
- Really
interesting route particularly the first few days (I found last day a bit
boring – sorry!)
- The
support point and water point crews were top class – full of enthusiasm
and you always left with a laugh and a smile
- A
bit more civilisation to stock up on provisions etc
I always said I was lucky at Cape Wrath that I never had to run sore – unfortunately I did for Dragons Back, which made the last half of the week pretty tough (and slow).
The goal at the start of the week was to finish – so pretty
chuffed to finish 27th place (completion rate less than 34%)
You look back with rose tinted spectacles and think I could
have done this, I could have done that – the reality was it was about survival –
you just had to do what you needed to do to get the stage finished and get
recovered enough to get back out and do it again.
I knew it was going to be tough – it was very, very tough –
would I do it again? Probably no - Cape Wrath was “enjoyable” tough, this was
just tough all the time!!
I can’t finish a blog like this without a huge thanks to my fellow runners, the camp crew and support crews and everyone else who helped us get to the finish – the positivity and support from everyone involved is great and a huge part of the memories from this race!
Thanks to Jack Scott for all his support and guidance –
maybe we could have made it easier for both of us if I had worked out the Lyme disease issue earlier but we adapted pretty well.
Big thanks to Emma Oosterbeek who keeps me on the straight
and narrow (well as best as she can!) regarding strength and flexibility work
A big thanks to Alyson, Callum and Alexandra who put up with
all my running exploits!
Also as part of a Albion charity event we were looking to
raise some funds for a great local charity Whiteleys Retreat – if you can spare
a few pounds details are here!
Nothing at all in the diary and totally not sure what to do
next.
Certainly an extended period of rest and recovery is
planned, thereafter some time in the hills and maybe a return to some shorter
stuff for a while, road races, hill races and cross country!
I’ve felt this has been a tough year and have felt a bit of pressure to train rather than
being out to enjoy the act of running. I don't think having Lyme Disease has helped , so priority is to get back out when I am ready and enjoy
running again!!
You can contact me on twitter @ameldrum7
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