I blame the salesman, all I
wanted was a pair of trainers to help me start running and lose the excess
weight. At the time I was working full time, going to Uni at night, and my eldest
daughter Bella was about to be born, the last thing on my mind entering a race.
This was around 2007, and the salesman was Ryan Spencer. Ryan started telling
me about his ultra-running and I was blown away when I heard he’d completed the
Grand Union Canal race (GUCR). What? 145
miles? Is that even possible?
Anyway, it wasn’t until 2008 that
I completed my first 10k race and I fell in love with the sport. I have followed
the Grand Union Canal race ever since, and two years ago I was brave enough to
have my first go. Unfortunately, a tummy bug hit our house, affecting all of us
and it didn’t allow me to complete the GUCR. I ran to 20 miles, then walked and
vomited until 50 miles, and then decided that it wouldn’t be safe to carry on.
Last year I was back at GUCR as a volunteer, and in 2018 I was lucky enough to
get a place again and have the chance to complete what I had started two years
ago.
New season…
It is been an exciting new year
for me and my girls. I got a new job in Cornwall and life was about to turn
upside down. My last race in September 2017 was the Self
Transcendence 24hr Track Race, and then October was my end-of-season break,
with training resuming in November with
endless trips to Penzance to find somewhere for us to live. I started my job in
the New Year and without somewhere suitable for us to live I rented a little
AirBnB house in Hayle and then commuted almost every weekend back to Bedfordshire
to see my family. I made the most of life as a ‘single man’ on Mon-Fri and ran
lots in the evenings.
By the end of March we exchanged
on a new property in Newlyn and I was reunited with my family. Work was now a
mere 2 miles away and my frequency and mileage increased with running to and
from work and by adding little ‘detours’ every day. My new running routes are
simply stunning and it is always a pleasure to put my running shoes on. I’m
totally in love with Cornwall, if you couldn’t tell!
Suddenly race day had arrived, I
felt fit and strong without any injuries and ready to start this beast.
The Race…
It is race morning, I said
goodbye to Grumpy Uncle Martin at the hotel and walked to the race start, half
a mile away in Gas Street, Birmingham. Then we were off, about 100 of us, most
of the first 30 miles were uneventful, with the weather perfect, cool and
overcast. I chatted to my friend Iain
quite a bit and made it to 30 miles in 4h57 which was perfect. I mentioned to
Iain how much I didn’t enjoy the first 30 miles of any race as I liked the
drama and emotions you go through in the later stages. There would be plenty of
drama in the many hours to come…I wish I’d kept my mouth shut.
 |
| Feeling great arriving at CP2 around 22 miles. |
We carried on towards The Heart
of England checkpoint at mile 53 together and on the approach Steve left me
behind as I had started walking too much. By the time I arrived at the CP,
Steve had already left. I didn’t feel great; I had some orange squash, a couple
of plums, a mandarin and soaked my hat in cold water. I left and I walked and
walked for miles, feeling sorry for myself and wishing my luck would turn soon;
that is ultra-running for you, full of highs and lows. Every time I started to
run the simple action of my t-shirt rubbing on my stomach would cause me huge
discomfort and my legs turned to jelly. After 6 or 7 miles of that I forced
myself to be sick, it did help a bit but I didn’t feel like eating anything, I
simply took little sips of water mixed with salt sticks.
 |
| The afternoon sun was starting to take its toll. |
Eventually I heard a familiar
voice and it was my ultra-runner friend Emily who had caught up with me. I was
really pleased to see her and I just wished I could feel better. I explained my
problems and she offered me Ginger Beer to help me settle my stomach. A few
years back, my mum had passed away a few days before a big race and Emily was
great at picking up my mojo to finish that race. Here she was to save me again.
The ginger beer worked a treat and I got a little more energy, then she
encouraged me to run a little and it worked. Amen to Emily! I owe you a beer or
two!!
We continued together to Stoke
Bruerne and with the end of the afternoon the temperature dropped. Emily was making
a stop to meet her crew and I decide to sit down in the curry house by the
canal to have a Coke with lots of ice.
Once I left I met my friends Danielle and Alan, who travelled from
Leighton Buzzard to cheer me on, and guess what, they had some ginger beer and
a chicken wrap for me! The ultra-running Gods were now on my side! I caught up
with Emily again and we ran together with her buddy runner to the checkpoint at
mile 70. Mark Haynes was volunteering there and I got a lovely man hug and he
made me a lovely sugary cup of tea and I had that with my chicken wrap.
It was a lovely evening and I began
to feel stronger and stronger. I was eating the miles now into Wolverton and
Milton Keynes and I looking forward to see my buddy runner Martin whom I left
in the hotel in Birmingham that morning. I’m not sure Martin was so pleased
though, as he was probably wondering what was taking so long to get to him. On
my way to the next aid station a lovely man on a barge kindly offered the most
delicious peach, and then Mich Hardie who was crewing for Russ supplied me with
Coke. After a really good spell all the way through Milton Keynes I started to
fade a bit. By then my friends Colin, Amy and Anna from Leighton Buzzard were
waiting at the canal to cheer me on, it was lovely to see them and get some
well needed hugs. Now it was pitch black and with my headtorch on I made it to
the Bletchley aid station, 84 miles in. Glyn was working there; he made me some
pasta and a lovely cup of tea and encouraged me with pep talk. Martin had been
waiting for me for hours but didn’t seem too grumpy. As we left towards
Leighton Buzzard we could see the storm which was about to hit us. We marched
towards the Three Locks where my friends Eve and Chris had been waiting with
flat Coke, then my guitar teacher Jeff appeared out of nowhere to also cheer me
on. You really can’t underestimate the powers of a hug and smile during an
ultra. Thanks guys!!! As we left them it
started raining, which very quickly turned into an electrical storm. I put my waterproof
jacket on and as we passed Leighton Buzzard my friend Dave was waiting for us
under a bridge. Dave wished us luck and asked us to be careful. What a storm
that was, constant lightning turned night into day, and the rain turned the
towpath into a river, we might as well have jumped in the canal for a swim. To
be honest the lightning was scaring the shit out me, I was very worried that I
would be hit by one. The rain however felt divine, as I pressed my drenched
waterproof jacket all over my body, it provided a welcoming relief from the
previous afternoon’s sunshine.
 |
| With Colin Bradley in Milton Keynes. |
The storm continued and my legs
were again on fire. I ran strong all the way to Tring for the 100-mile
checkpoint. I arrived there in good spirits in roughly 21h30; Mark Haynes was
there again and made me more sugary tea whilst the legendary race director Dick
offered me some beans with cheese. The beans went down a treat and Martin and I
were soon on our way to London with 45 miles to go. Our next checkpoint at 120
miles, came with the promise of bacon sandwiches waiting for us there.
 |
| 100 miles done 45 to go. |
As we ran it got light quickly, my
jacket dried, my headtorch was put away and we kept marching on, with Martin
making sure I didn’t walk for too long. We crossed the M25, which is a
milestone into this race, meaning that you are now into Greater London and
going through Watford. Ryan (the bastard who sold me my first pair of trainers
and told me about GUCR back in 2007) was waiting for me with his partner Tanya.
They had perfect sticks of watermelon for us that just melted in my mouth. I
thanked them and mentioned that my running along canals career was over.
Eventually Martin and I arrived at the checkpoint and they had the much
anticipated bacon sandwiches!! Unfortunately I could not manage to eat the bread;
it would simply not go down my throat. So I ate the bacon and asked for some
more beans with cheese. I could see
Martin’s annoyance at me taking too long, but I had to make sure I ate
something more substantial. At the CP we had caught up with Paul Ali, who was busy
cutting bits off his blistered feet.
 |
| Watermelon sticks were out of this world! |
We left and it got hotter and
hotter….we ran, we walked, we ran, and we walked, but we kept putting one foot
in front of the other. I have to admit that Martin encouraged me to run a lot
more than I really wanted to. We arrived at the last checkpoint at 133 miles and
all I could stomach was some Coke and a mandarin, Duncan was working there and he
wished us luck for the final 12 miles. The heat was intense now but I ran more
than I expected and time went past quickly with my emotions running high.
With only half a mile to the
finish, I spotted a runner in the distance and told Martin let’s catch him and
he simply said go for it, you’re the one racing. I upped my pace and went for
that last kick, as I got closer I realised it was Steve Snow whom I had shared
a few miles with the day before. I felt a bit bad but Steve will forgive me I’m
sure, I’m competitive and this was a race after all! Little Venice was within
sight! Since hearing about this race in 2007, I had finally crossed the finish
line in 33h10min and in 12th place. Keith Godden put a medal around
my neck and congratulated me on my finish.
 |
| Job done! |
Steve arrived a minute later with
Martin just behind him.
Didn’t that first beer tasted
amazing after four weeks of no drinking, in fact the first pint didn’t even
touch the sides, I enjoyed the second one more and by the third beer I was
falling asleep!
Super thanks to all the
volunteers and the race director for your time and an immaculate event. Thanks to
all my friends that made the effort to come out to say hello on the course throughout
the weekend. Thanks to Iain and Steve for the great company. Super thanks to
Emily for rescuing me from that bad patch at mile 60 and special thanks Martin
for running the last 62 miles with me, the encouragement and banter were
superb. Obviously I couldn’t do any of these races without the support and
tolerance of my wife and daughters, so a
big thank you to them for putting up with me.
Some positives from the GUCR, I didn’t
suffer from any chaffing whatsoever, which is a first, and my feet were still
in great shape after the storm at night.
The month of June is for recovery
but I’ll be resuming normal training again in July. My next race is the mighty
153-miler in Greece, the Spartathlon
where I will join my Brazilian team mates again. I really can’t wait!
But before I go…
The human body is simply amazing
and when we put our minds into doing something it is incredible what we can
achieve. But surely you would think that someone with cancer would not be able
to run 145-miles, but you would be wrong!!
This weekend, a great friend of
mine, Mark Thornberry also raced the GUCR. Mark was diagnosed just over year
ago with terminal liver cancer... Instead of wallowing, Mark has continued
running whenever he could, in between treatments and interventions. I have no
words to describe how astonishing it was to witness Mark complete the GUCR
after 40+ hours of running. What a man, I’m incredibly lucky and honoured to
call this brave man my friend; it seems that not every super hero wears a cape!
 |
| Fuck you Cancer! |
Mark is combining his love for
long distance running to help him stay alive and to also raise essential funds
for Kings College Hospital, who have been so good to him and his family. Read
Mark’s story here and dig deep for this truly worthwhile cause!
