Early last week I went out for a
nice 4-mile walk with my wife along the Grand Union canal and local woods, I
said to her when we finished: ‘I enjoyed that, I wouldn’t mind doing more
walking in future’. Little did I know I was in for a lot more walking soon
after…
For those that have been
following my endurance adventures for a while now will know (without me
sounding arrogant) that I don’t usually have bad races. I don’t race a lot but
I am careful with my training, nutrition and the way I look after myself
generally and subsequently I have a pretty decent record of getting the best
out of myself.
The Grand Slam started in style,
smashing my 100-mile personal best at the Thames Path six weeks ago but then I
forgot to listen to own advice of not racing too much and signed up for the
Howgills marathon in the Cumbria/Yorkshire border just two weeks later, with
the intention of just plodding around and enjoying the views. To be honest that
was exactly what happened but the course had some technical parts where I
picked up a niggle where the top of my left calf connects to the knee.
I got massages, eased up on the
running, did lots of cycling and swimming and it went away but it kept playing
on my mind as the SDW100 approached. At the B&B we were staying in before
the race, my co-ultrarunner Mark Haynes and I discussed race prediction times,
strategy, the South Downs Way course, etc. Getting to the start was not a
problem, the weather forecast looked ideal and soon we were on our way without
any stress. The first few miles ticked without a hitch, nice comfortable pace,
no signs of any niggles, quick and smooth through the aid stations and
certainly enjoying the beautiful views of the South Downs.
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| One of many amazing views of the South Downs. |
By mile 25 I felt a slight
discomfort with my calf and panic quickly took over me, I tried walking for a
minute or two then running again but as the miles went by it got progressively
worse. By mile 30 I was running with a limp and the prospect of DNF-ing seemed
very real. I ran and walked to mile 35 and in that period I was still
indecisive about what to do: ‘quit at the next aid station?’, ‘ask someone for
a massage?’, ‘take some Ibuprofen?’…’Am I letting everyone down who has already
sponsored my charity’, ‘what will it do to my confidence if I quit without a
fight?’. It was not a good place to be
in mentally.
From mile 35 onwards I made my
mind up to continue walking to mile 50, then I would ring my wife in case she
was worried seeing from the tracker that I was slowing down. Once I made it to
50 miles in over 10 hours I quickly worked out that if I walked 3 miles per
hour I would have 2 hours spare to finish the race within the 30-hour limit.
Was I prepared to push my ego aside and carry on? Hell yeah! I wanted to prove
to myself that I was mentally strong, the prospect seemed daunting at the time
but I want that Grand Slam buckle badly and besides, I don’t want to be the
sort of athlete that gives up when the going gets tough.
I phoned my wife, updated my
Facebook and Twitter in case someone cared. I felt a great relief, the pressure
of doing well was no longer there and just finishing was my goal now. Walking
wasn’t painful at all then, every now and then I tried running but that didn’t
last for more than 5 seconds, I couldn’t understand what the problem was, to
lift the knee just that little bit higher to run stretched the muscle fibres
further which caused great discomfort.
Just as I was walking downhill
into mile 54 (Washington Aid Station) my buddy Mark Haynes caught up and seemed
surprised to see me, I explained the problem as we entered the village hall.
While he stopped for some hot food I quickly left the aid station and continued
with my walking.
Maybe 3 miles later Mark caught
up with me again and we walked together for a bit. I didn’t want to say
anything but I thought Mark felt a bit sorry for me and just wanted to offer me
some company. As the time went by I realised Mark could not long run either
with a problem with his foot. We were both on the same boat, lots of hours
ahead, with the dream of keeping the Grand Slam alive and both determined to
push through. It was SO great to have a familiar face with me, time went by
quicker, we talked when we felt like it, we kept each other motivated when one
another felt low, we celebrated as we made it to each aid station, we took
turns opening the endless gates, we had funny moments (like when I jumped two
feet in the air mistaking a stick as a snake in the middle of the night), and
we just kept putting one foot in front of the other despite the hardship.
It got quite cold at night, and
the kit Centurion Running demands you carry for their races was vital. I
probably wouldn’t have used the spare baselayer if had I been running but it
was fundamental as a walker. I usually have my phone off when racing (to save
the battery for emergencies) but every few hours I turned it on for a few
minutes to let my wife know I was safe. Checking messages from friends who were
up till late at night telling us to keep moving was a great motivator, special
thanks goes to @Leeny_Lou, loved your tweets, got me smiling every time I read
them.
Mark and I got through the night
in one piece, it was around mile 87 or so that it got lighter again, we knew we
had plenty of time to finish but those who have been to the eastern part of the
South Downs will know how much chalk there is and how hard the underfoot
conditions are. Mark had been struggling with his foot and I could feel
blisters on both mine, every step was painful, like a long lasting toothache,
we searched the ground for the best places to walk and any sight of grass was a
welcomed respite.
We both knew the last few miles
of the course and were counting down the big hills, the penultimate was just
after Alfriston, round mile 91, you go through a very sharp steep hill through
some trees, then once you clear this the ground hardens with lots of chalky
rocks and it goes up for what seems like an eternity (see pic), it feels a bit
demoralising when you see it but you’re rewarded with amazing views of
Alfriston behind you.
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| A little over 91 miles - Relentless forward progress! |
We made it to the last aid
station in Jevington with just over four miles to go, we quickly left the aid
station, by then our walking wasn’t so great but we knew we would make it and
nothing else mattered, we could taste the finish line (and the bacon butties).
We climbed the last big hill towards Eastbourne and we could see the
floodlights lighting up in the athletics track at the race finish. What a
relief it was to finally enter the town and leave the trails behind, I won’t
need to walk on any chalk for a while!
We tried walking a bit faster to
make it in under 26 hours but it was a bit far and we had nothing left in the
tank. I was so delighted to cross that finish line in 26h05min and keep the
Grand Slam dream going. Like Bear Grylls says: ‘Run if you can, walk if you
have to and crawl if absolutely necessary but NEVER ever give up’, glad I didn’t
have to crawl though! Obviously it’s great when things go your way but what a
great opportunity I had to experience something different, personal bests are
very cool not doubt but having to really work hard to make it to the finish was
a very humbling moment for both of us. Thanks Mark Haynes for the great
company, without a doubt you made my journey a lot easier, thanks everyone who
sent me messages of encouragement through the day and night, thanks everyone
that donated to Eaves (https://www.justgiving.com/braziliangunner/),
I really didn’t want to let you and Eaves down, thanks to my beautiful Anna and
my daughters to putting up with all my training, thanks to Graham and Harvey
who rec’ced the South Downs course with me last year and thanks to Centurion
Running for another immaculate event and of course super thanks to the hundreds
of volunteers who make this sort of events possible.
It may have been my personal
worst for 100-miles but one I will treasure for a long time. Plenty of rest and
recovery for me until the North Down 100 early in August. I can’t wait!
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| I will wear that with pride. |
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| Someone was a little tired after being up for over 30 hours! |
