North Downs Way 100 - 7, 8 August
Report by Dave Allen
I can’t quite recall the order of my thinking, but at some point not too long after entering the Hardmoors 110 I decided to enter the North Downs Way 100 as well. In for a penny, in for a pound eh? I think my general thought process was, “you’ll be ultra-ready from the 110, so why not???”. That plan went out of the window when I was left battered by the 110 with a nasty tibia injury that laid me off running for five weeks. I’d only done a small amount of training by the time we came around to the North Downs, but I’d paid my entry fee so I wasn’t going to waste it.
I travelled down to Farnham the day before and stayed in a nice Airbnb. Early alarm call on the day to get down to the start at the leisure centre for registration at 5am. I was running with no support crew or pacers so was making use of the drop bags, which I’ve never done before. This worked fine, apart from packing five times more food than I would actually get through. Still… It’s better to have it and not need it, right?
The Plan
The usual cliché goes, “my goal is just to finish the race” but in reality, I was cautiously hopeful of improving on my performance in the 110. That, in spite of the leg injury and virtually NO real training. I’ve never been the brightest bulb in the box, as many will attest. In reality, I was very fearful of the tibia problem flaring up, not to mention not being race-fit. But I did a fairly good job of pushing those doubts to the back of my mind. My last word before setting off was “Sod it, turn up, try to enjoy yourself, and if it doesn’t work out then at least you had a crack at it!”
Early Stages / Let It Rain, Let It Rain!!!
My only real semblance of a race strategy was to try to maintain five miles an hour for as long as possible. I managed 35 miles before beginning to fall off that pace. Given the godawful conditions on the day, I’ll happily take that.
Oh my lord, didn’t it rain! It was constant and relentless, not just the odd shower here and there… this was biblical “Oi! Noah! Get cracking with that Ark son!” type rainfall. There are long stretches of woodland trails on the North Downs Way, and very beautiful they are. But the paths were total quagmire carnage. Still, it was warm enough, so I decided to not put on my waterproof jacket, thinking I might be thankful of having that dry for later in the night.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
It’s funny, after being a massive Iron Maiden fan since the age of 12, the lyrics from one of their lesser known album tracks (from Somewhere in Time) would become very significant to me…
With the wind
And the rain that’s beating down on your back
Your heart’s beating loud
And goes on getting louder
And goes on even more till the sound
Is ringing in your head
With every step you tread
And every breath you take
Determination makes
You run
Never stop
Gotta win, gotta run till you drop
Keep the pace
Hold the race
Your mind is getting clearer
You’re over halfway there but the miles
Just never seem to end
As if you’re in a dream
Not getting anywhere
It seems so futile
Run, on and on
Run, on and on
The loneliness of the long distance runner
I’ve got to keep running the course
I’ve got to keep running and win at all costs
I’ve got to keep going, be strong
Must be so determined and push myself on
Run over stiles, across fields
Turn to look at who’s on your heels
Way ahead of the field
The line is getting nearer but do
You want the glory that goes
You reach the final stretch
Ideals are just a trace
You feel like throwing the race
It’s all so futile
Run, on and on
Run, on and on
The loneliness of the long distance runner
Well, things got darker at night, both literally (obvz) and figuratively. I’m not going to lie – it did get very lonely (and quite spooky) out there, so I entertained myself by listening to the aforementioned Maiden tune (among other such noise), and also by messaging with the wife and various mates on WhatsApp. A bit of friendly connection really helped to keep me moving forwards, especially the absolutely awesome support chorus from the Grundy clan! Later in the night I ran for a couple of hours with a woman called Debra, who was lovely and we kept each other going with the usual inane chatter. It also helped that she knew the route very well, because it was a little uncertain on the odd occasion through the night.
I realise now that my body hates ultra-marathons, and it spitefully punishes me for being so utterly stupid to enter them. For the second time this year, I fell to bits. Ailments of particular note include: right Achilles, left quad and both feet (trench foot and horrible mahoosive blisters). I also lost my basic motor skills, on one occasion trying to put my water flask back in my ace vest and pouring it all over myself.
Epilogue
I’m absolutely chuffed with my performance up to about mile 75, and from there, well – the wheels well and truly fell off, but I’m heartened by the fact that my head didn’t drop. I chatted with other runners through the day and I could see that they had just mentally collapsed, they were gone, whereas my finish was never in doubt, despite the fact that my body was letting me down. I was going to get there, regardless of how slow and ugly that might be!
It felt really crap being overtaken by people in the last mile as I approached the finish. I thought it was rather rude of them actually. How dare they? Imagine the nerve of it, to pass somebody at that stage, who had been ahead of them for 103 miles before that?! I think it’s poor manners. I’m kidding really (a bit)!
One thing I had not allowed for was just how much extra time you spend faffing at aid stations when you don’t have any support. Trying to make sense of your bags and having to ferret around for the one particular snack you simply must have at that precise moment in time, unpacking everything and then re-packing, when you’re disorientated and exhausted… it really does add up!
The event organisation by Centurion Running was just phenomenal. The aid stations were ridiculously well appointed, and truth be told, I could have carried a tenth of the amount of food and drink, and would have been absolutely fine. The Marshals also were incredible – I’ve never known such support and encouragement, and these folks were braving some fairly horrible elements all day long. There are many race organisers that could learn a thing or two from the Centurion guys.
Running this event unsupported was very hard, for a number of reasons, but I’m very pleased to have come through it. It is without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my running life so far. I’m told that about half of the field DNF’d, so I take a lot of comfort in getting through it. Finish time on the chip was 28:17, which truth be told I’m a little disappointed with given my original hopes, but for everything that didn’t work out quite as planned, I’ll happily take it.
I might give it a little while longer this time before entering my next ultra!
Finish time – 28:17:16
