Round the Isle of Wight Ultra Day 2

Sunday 22nd June - 32 miles

The next morning we were up early again. The start times were all an hour earlier to ensure that people were finished in time to get home. After another filling breakfast we received the day’s briefing and then headed off on the home leg back to Cowes. Somehow during my preparation I forgot to apply Vaseline. This would come back to haunt me at the end of the day.

The weather was no different to the first day with pure sunshine in a cloudless sky. The only difference was that it was even hotter but still there was no wind.

I was surprised just how fresh I felt given that the day before I had jogged and walked 40 miles. My muscles were a little stiff and sore but jogging wasn’t a problem. Again we set ourselves an 11 minute pace to begin with as we tracked across the flat tops of the cliffs.

The track was slightly rutted with raised edges on either side. Spiky bushes lined the path and it was while attempting to avoid one of these that I clipped the edge and went over. The fall was a dramatic wake up call as I realised that my legs and my mind were still tired. Thankfully I didn’t sustain any serious injuries other than scratches to my hands and leg and a case of wounded pride.

The second day promised to be easier not just because the route was shorter but due to the fact that it was flatter too. We would encounter the worst of the hills at the beginning as we headed towards The Needles on the south-west tip of the island.

We climbed Tennyson Down towards the Tennyson monument taking advantage of the opportunity to walk for a while. It was then a short distance to the Battery where we reached the first checkpoint.

As soon as we stopped I became very dizzy and felt nauseous. I sat down in the shade away from the blistering sun. The concern of the marshals only made me feel worse but I was determined that I would finish. I knew that if I had to return home having only managed half the island I would have to come back and do it again and I didn’t want to go through that first day all over again.

We carried on and as I started jogging again I began to feel better. At this point I had a gel to boost my energy and immediately felt stronger. We were urged to stop and take time to look back at the stunning view of the natural wonder that is the Needles, the white chalk teeth jutting out into the sea, but we were too frazzled and gave it a cursory glance before moving on.

Most of day two was run in silence. Gone was the banter, cheery greetings and idle chatter. Instead it was head down and focus on just putting one foot in front of the other. By this stage I was not enjoying it at all, rather I was enduring the pain with only the end goal in mind.

We reached Yarmouth and the second check point. The third one was supposed to be 10 miles away but due to the heat the organisers had added an extra station at five miles. I’m so glad they did. Those five miles seemed like a marathon in themselves. The terrain was now hardened mud, tree roots and rocks as we traipsed our way through woods and the route wound back on itself to go round the Newtown River and its tributaries.

We crossed countless fields and had to stop for ten minutes at one point as a group of us couldn’t figure out which path to take. One man turned left and ran on but we remained convinced the correct way was straight on. It turned out that we were right, I felt for the chap that had gone off on his own but I wasn’t going to go looking for him.

Finally we arrived at Shalfleet and the extra check point. This was tough. I again started to feel sick and light headed as half a dozen of us sheltered from the sun’s rays beneath the shade of a tree. The temperature was by now in the high twenties and we were completely exposed. I had my cap on but my neck was uncovered. People were talking about giving up and for the first time I was ready to call it a day. It took all my resilience and encouraging words from Richard and the marshals to persuade me to go on.

At this point we started to encounter stiles. Not just a couple of them but dozens of the things. On the first day we passed through numerous kissing gates which weren’t a problem but after 60 miles stiles become a serious obstacle. Just getting my leg over the top was a challenge and this slowed our pace considerably.

This was the lowest point of my whole race when I began to really suffer mentally. The only way I can describe it is that I felt like I was in trauma. Everything in me wanted to stop and I began promising myself never to do anything like that ever again. I began to question the whole idea of running as fun or healthy and my own sanity for entering such a race in the first place. My emotions were all over the place and I felt like crying. It was just complete fatigue and exhaustion.

At one point we were jogging on a flat stretch of road and Richard began to pull away. I considered slowing and walking as I had no way of keeping up. Negative thoughts began to crowd in and I felt myself spiraling down when I noticed two goldfinches on a wire above the road. Now the goldfinch is my favourite bird and this was just what I needed. It felt like God’s way of telling me that he was with me and would get me through. I took their song as an encouragement to press on and resumed jogging.  

We picked up another entrant just as we approached the final checkpoint at Thorness bay holiday village. By this time we knew that we would complete the race. With just four miles to go there was no turning back.

The route took us along the beach and up another steep set of stairs. It was then a few miles along windy lanes to Gurnard and on into West Cowes. At this stage we saw an elderly couple having a Sunday stroll ahead of us. After a few minutes we realised that although we were jogging we still weren’t catching them up. By this stage we were able to laugh at this knowing that there was only one mile to the finish and the end of our ordeal.

We were soon on the seafront again and then a sign pointed us back uphill for the last time. Another set of steps and we recognised the road leading to the school. By this point we were again walking but as soon as people came into view we attempted a jog. The relief as I crossed the line was immense. When the medal was placed around my neck I began to well up as all the emotion came to the surface.

We had finished the 72 miles in 16 hours and 59 minutes, a respectable 30^th and 31^st out of the 84 that started. Thirty people had pulled out during the weekend mainly due to the heat. My legs were tired and I had terrible chafing from where I had forgotten to apply Vaseline – never again! – but I had made it round the island.

On the ferry home we wore our bright green t-shirts with pride. We came, saw and conquered all that the Isle of Wight and the weather could throw at us.

One of my reasons for attempting back to back ultras was to see how far I could push my body. I now knew that I have reached my limit. My body, mind and emotions had all been pushed to the edge.

I've already been asked if I would do it again and the answer is still no. While I am delighted with the achievement I couldn't say that I enjoyed the experience.

Extreme Energy put on a great event. They were organised, helpful, friendly and supportive throughout. The Isle of Wight was wonderful, the people friendly and the views stunning. My co-jogger Richard helped me get round and the other entrants made it a wonderful experience.

But for me jogging should be about enjoyment and I want to get back to that again. I'll still run the odd marathon, half marathon and OCR event and during the summer I am committed to breaking my Parkrun PB. However the times I look forward to the most are when I put on my trainers and go out for a jog with no goal in mind, just jogging for pleasure, without my Garmin, exploring the highways and byways of Northampton or whatever area I am in at the time.