On Good Friday, 22 intrepid ultra-runners
began to converge on Hull for the start of the 3rd running of the
Viking Way Ultra; 147 miles in 40 hours, from Hull to Oakham.
It was great to see so many familiar faces at race HQ, Premier Inn Hull West, in the evening – Mark and Alex Cockbain, Riccardo
Giussani, Ben Davies, Jon Steele and Shirley Colquhoun, Allan Rumbles, Colin
Fitzjohn, Andy Horsley, Cliff Canavan-King. Many others I knew by reputation. After a communal dinner and with the race due
to start at 7am, we all settled down for a good night’s sleep.
Or so we thought.
We were to woken to fire alarms just after
midnight. Personally, I ignored them, although I did immediately think of the
conch shell which is blown to announce 1 hour to the start of the legendary
Berkley Marathons. The alarms sounded again and we were told to evacuate the
building. Great.
I decided that the only tactic was to
remain cheerful and see the funny side. After all Mark does call his events
“The Hard Stuff”. In fact we wondered whether he had arranged for the alarms to sound
just for a laugh! Some of asked if we could start now!
After over an hour outside in pajamas in
very chilly conditions, we were finally allowed back to our rooms. For a final
hurrah, the alarm sounded a few more times before allowing us to sleep at
around 01:30.
At 5am, my alarm sounded. I didn’t feel
like I’d slept at all. At least I’d be getting an early night that night. Oh,
that was it….I wouldn’t be getting any sleep at all.
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| Viking Way 2014 |
We sauntered down to the start and soon
enough we were off on our journey. I started very steadily, having a good chat
with Jon. Before long I found myself in a lead group with Ed Catmur, Luke
Ashton, Cliff Canavan-King and Andy
Horsley. Cliff and I nattered away, whilst the others could barely get a word
in edgeways.
Soon we were at Bilby, CP1, at 15 miles. Ed
appeared to eat his body weight. He is very fast (15:44 at NDW100) so I decided
to copy.
The next couple of legs through the
Lincolnshire Wolds are the prettiest and most interesting part of the route with a
few hills. Please bear in mind that the high point in Lincolnshire is the
imaginatively named Wolds Top at 168m so I use the word ‘hill’ in that context!
Cliff, Ed and I seemed to be running fairly
much together as we approached Tealby, CP2, at 30 miles. Luke was ahead of us
but must have gone wrong as he entered the CP just after us. He was soon through
with Cliff & I following.
Apart from pausing briefly in Donnington-on-Bain for a very therapeutic ice-lolly, we kept up a good pace through to
Fulletby, CP3, at 50 miles. Here we had access to drop bags so we had a longer
stop, changing socks and picking up gear for the night. Mark had outdone
himself this year, providing hotdogs, rice pudding (with jam to accompany) and
even cream eggs. Real Cadburys ones too, not home brand!
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| Living the dream! |
Replenished it was down through Horncastle
and then the long, flat, straight run to Woodhall Spa. Just before Woodhall
Spa, I began to feel very tired and lethargic. I knew I had been eating and
drinking well so thought it was one of ‘those phases’. Coming out of the town,
I suddenly felt very lightheaded, and strangely emotional and tearful. With the
next checkpoint only a couple of miles away, Cliff pushed on to warn them I was
struggling.
It was time to call Jenny!
Jenny and Jade were on their annual Easter
break; this time touring Ireland. Jenny was driving but Jade was amazingly
supportive and generally lovely. Our 2 girls really are wise beyond their
years. Jenny pulled over and gave me some loving advice. With my resolve
strengthened, I made my way towards Stixwold, CP4, 64 miles.
The checkpoint was manned by Drew
Sheffield and Claire Shelley and well stocked with goodies. A couple of hot
cross buns with lashing of jam seemed to work wonders, so I guess I must have
been a bit low on fuel, or perhaps it was just the sugar hit. Or perhaps it was just one of
‘those phases’.
Off I trundled towards Lincoln. On the
section towards Fiskerton I managed to go completely the wrong way. It was absolutely ridiculous to go wrong here as I live in Lincoln and know this bit like the back of my hand. Fatigue, pure and simple. Not wanting
to end up back in Bardney, and seeing headlights, I opted for the cross-country
route to the road. Lincolnshire really is very flat and featureless so although
I was fairly sure where I was, I decided to wave down a car and check that I
was actually still going in the right direction. Amazingly the first vehicle to
pass was Mark and Alex Cockbain – I was on the road to Fiskerton. Happy days.
Back on route, I made my way along the 2.5
miles of riverbank, to CP5, just before Lincoln, 81 miles. A cheery welcome
was waiting and I was soon on to Lincoln where it was great to see my son, James, who
had come out after midnight to cheer me on. This was so good of him and it really lifted my spirits.
I really do know the next section well
which is good because I can't remember much about it. I do remember the
temperature dropping markedly. However, I arrived at Wellingore, CP6, 96 miles
at 03:40. This was an almost identical time to when I had done the race in
2012, but I was in much better shape. In 2012, Mark had had to virtually force
me to continue but this year he just told me that one of his goals for the race
this year was to see me finish which meant a huge amount to me.
I was surprised to see Cliff here.
Apparently, he had come into the CP with Luke, but had been passing blood in
his urine and was in a lot of pain. He wasn’t sure if he could continue.
It was getting really cold now. Drop bags
were available for the final time before the finish so I grabbed my veteran
Montane Fireball smock and took plenty of time making sure I had everything I needed
for the rest of the race. I had packed individual mini-bags for the 2 drop-bag CPs with food, electrolytes, kit etc. This made life a lot easier. I also
changed shoes and socks. After a good feed, and another cream egg, I was ready to go.
Cliff then decided he was going to come
with me. I wasn’t sure that he should from a medical prospective but I think we
both wanted the company. I was getting quite cold so we were quickly off.
Dawn soon came which always lifts the
spirits but unfortunately, after crossing the A17, Cliff was obviously
struggling and in a lot of pain. He made the sensible decision to stop. I was
sad to leave him; he was great company and we’d been getting on really well.
I then steeled myself for the trek to the
next CP at Foston. I was getting really cold and was shivering a lot despite
base layer, t-shirt, OMM Cyber smock, Montane Fireball and OMM Kamleika, hat, 2
pairs of gloves etc. I really do feel the cold! I was also struggling
tremendously to stay awake and at one stage was seriously contemplating sitting
down for sleep. That would have been a very bad idea!
It was time to mobilise my support
structure! Had a nice chat with Jenny who told me to keep on going, and then
checked in with my Mum & Dad whom I was looking forward to seeing at the
finish.
After a brief (ish) heavy shower. I
approached Foston, CP7, 113 miles. I had dropped out here in 2012 and that
certainly was not on today’s menu. Feeling much better, I set off on the long
18 mile section to Sewstern.
I was heading south towards Oakham now, it
was getting warmer, I was feeling pretty good all things considered and I was
going to finish.
This was a REALLY long leg and seemed to go
on forever.
Going around Grantham, I popped into the
Rutland Arms on the Grantham Canal and grabbed the best available food, a
couple of pepperami’s and a Mars Bar, and filled up with water. This pub is in
a great location and is sadly missing an opportunity.
The long, long, long Sewstern Lane was rife
with cross-country and quad bikes, and nicely dug up into a veritable quagmire
in places. Not fun.
I nearly bumped into a couple of people out
for a walk who turned out to be Archie Stewart, fresh from his successful MdS,
and his daughter Sophia. It was great to see them and I met another brief heavy
shower with spirits lifted. Not for long, as I hit even worse sections of
slippery mud, easily the most unpleasant bit of the whole event. I wasn’t
having fun and I wanted to go home.
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| A graveyard for ultra-runners? Pretty much how I felt.....broken |
Eventually, I got to Sewstern, CP8, 131
miles. I was feeling really tired and suddenly the remaining 16 miles seemed a
very long way. Just before the CP I spotted my Mum and Dad with James. My Mum insisted on ‘running’ the last 200m to
the CP with me which was rather comical at the time. She then tried to help me
with my bag. I asked politely to be given a little space! Once a Mum……
It was good to see them though and they
were particularly amused by the number of chocolate rice crispy squares that I was
able to eat in one go! Why do you think I do these events?
As I got up to leave another runner
approached. It was Steve Gordon who must have been reeling me in all day. I
wasn’t particularly bothered if he caught me. I had been walking almost all of
the day and although I didn’t have much left, I knew I was going to finish. To
me these long races are events rather than races. The race is 99% against
oneself and I was winning that one.
Five minutes out of the CP, I suddenly decided
I was bothered about finishing second. I had been in 2nd all day and
I deserved to be 2nd! So I tried to run and it seemed to work so I kept
on running. At this stage, I really didn’t want to go wrong so I very much had
map in hand and was double-checking everything.
I kept on running and I
couldn’t believe how good I felt.
141 miles done. 6 miles to go.
Pausing quickly for water and a couple of
hits of cake, I ran along Rutland Water pleased that I had recce’d this bit.
A selfie after 143 miles of running felt
appropriate.
Then it was along the main road into
Oakham. It started to drizzle but I didn’t care. Mum, Dad and James were
waiting just before the final corner so I stopped quickly to thank them.
As I rounded the final corner and saw the
finish, I suddenly felt really emotional, and then it was over. I’d finished. I was happy.
147 miles, 36 hours and 9 minutes, 2nd
place.
Mark and Alex gave me my t-shirt and medal.
We’re talking serious bling here! The Mayor of Oakham was also here so I had a
photo with him too. I was a bit excited now of course and called him “Your
Excellency”. Mum insisted on an obligatory family photo.
And I went home.
And I was in time for tea (see here!)
Big thanks to Mark and Alex for all their tireless efforts over the weekend and for giving such a good vibe to the event. A real family feel. Thanks also to all those who gave freely of their time over the holiday weekend. Events like this just wouldn't happen otherwise.
Congratulations to all runners. Whether you finished or didn't, you toed the line. He who risks nothing......
Thanks
Big thanks to Mark and Alex for all their tireless efforts over the weekend and for giving such a good vibe to the event. A real family feel. Thanks also to all those who gave freely of their time over the holiday weekend. Events like this just wouldn't happen otherwise.
Congratulations to all runners. Whether you finished or didn't, you toed the line. He who risks nothing......
Thanks
