Will run for cake
For my fifth marathon of the year I chose the superbly named Cakeathon. This run was organised by Saxons, Vikings, Normans (SVN) who do novelty races throughout the year, many of which are local to me.
This one was held at Jeskyn’s Country Park just outside Gravesend. It involved laps of a 3.28 mile course along paths, grassland and through woodland. At the end of every lap there were a selection of cakes available for consumption.
Each runner was free to do as many or as few laps as they wanted within a 6 hour time limit. My aim was to do eight laps – a full marathon distance.
It was the May bank holiday and the event started at 7:30. The weather was slightly overcast and cool when I arrived but the sun was starting to break through. We all assembled for the briefing and after a short pep talk were off.
The route took us away from the car park and down a narrow grassy hill. It was uneven underfoot and took some concentration for my feet to grow accustomed to it. By that point we were onto the stony path that winds around the park linking the car park, café, Gruffalo trail, pond and play area.
It rose up a steady but gentle slope before turning right and dipping down again. At this point there was quite a strong breeze, but it was countered by the decline. Another right turn led us up again to a Gruffalo inspired play area and then we twisted right and left to pass another children’s play area before bearing left to a small pond.
Another climb took us to a double kissing gate at the half way point. Once through it was back onto grass – a welcome relief and a short rise to the high point of the lap. The next part was my favourite and involved a downhill descent through woodland, dodging low hanging branches and knee-high thorns. There were a couple of foot high wooden planks to hurdle and then it was back onto more trail all the way to the start/finish.
We had all been given a piece of plastic with number 1-12 printed on it. After every lap we could have a hole punched to show we had completed one circuit or ring a bell to show we had finished.
At the end of the first loop I had my card punched and then took some time to drink and eat some of the delights on offer which also included my favourite salted peanuts. I always eat these as I suffer if my salt levels get too low from sweating.
I set out on lap 2 feeling fresh and nicely warmed up. By this point the field was strung out. There was no way to tell where you were placed as it wasn’t obvious if people were doing a 5K or an Ultra. This stopped me chasing a high placing. I had also decided to forget a fast time and was considering an extra loop to make it an ultra at the end.
However, I saw from my watch that I was consistently hitting 8 minute miles and I didn’t feel uncomfortable so I kept at that pace. During these first few laps I caught up with a few people and had a brief chat while we were alongside. People had come from all over, some experienced runners, others not so.
Another 3.28 miles soon ended, and it was time for another refreshment break. This pattern continued through for the third, fourth and fifth laps. I was now feeling a little tight and stretched out. My legs were full of energy, my breathing was smooth, and I was really enjoying the repetitive course. I had worried I would struggle going around and around but it was quite therapeutic and there was always something knew to observe.
At this point I told myself that I would take laps 6 and 7 easy and then go for it on the last one rather than do a bonus lap – a marathon was my goal and I would stick to that.
By now the sun was out and the temperature had risen considerably. It was a positive thing though as I don’t mind a good sweat. My pace remained consistent and on lap 8 I still had enough to push hard up the hill to the finish. As I rang the bell, I was informed that I had finished second, the same position as my race number. Strangely the winner had the number 1 on his shirt and was also called Adam….
My time was just over 3:34 but that included a 3-minute emergency loo stop on lap 2. I know because I paused my Garmin during that time which showed 3:31 at the end.
It showed me that sometimes not focussing on time or position can take the pressure off and enable me to maybe run better than if I had been stressing about pace and splits. Maybe I could have gone quicker but to be honest I don’t care. I really enjoyed the morning, met some nice people and felt absolutely fine afterwards. No pain, no stitch, no cramps. Apart from some chafing I didn’t feel like I’d run a marathon at all.
So that is marathon number 15 and 5/12 for 2019. Next up is the Clifftop Challenge on 15th June when I will be back with my fellow Bald Monkey and a few others. That will be an Ultra and probably much hotter but I will try and have the same attitude that worked so well yesterday.
