Inspiring runners - Melissa Venables
It’s taken me a while to write this as I don’t know how to sum up Saturday’s NDW 100 mile race!!! It is a beautiful trail to run but the hills are tough both up and down, there are steps that don’t ever end and are 2/3rd my height, lots of camber, grass and even more camber, lots of gravelly paths that trash your feet and plenty of exposed miles particularly those on chalk sections that under Saturday’s sun made the miles increasingly hard (although as well as the pain, the incredible sunset is a memory I will take away). Think my recce memories were selective as I had forgotten many of those tough sections and when they came, was silently cursing the NDW that I claim to love so much!!!
I have blisters that rival my ones from MdS, Chafing on chafing, Scratches, cuts, bruises and, legs that I really wish belonged to someone else right now...
Running 103 miles (104.56 with bonus miles) HURTS!!!
Throw in Saturday’s sun and heat and it is brutal.
I was in a vest the entire race and even at 2 am was still warm which is unheard of for me.
235 started, only 107 finished. To do any miles on that terrain in Saturday’s scorching sun is a huge achievement and for those who timed out this must have been so dissapointing. For the conditions the cut offs were tough!
103 miles is such a long way and when they are slow miles, every km seems to take forever, every step feels relentless but a relentless step closer to the finish nether the less. I had some real highs and loved many parts of the race however to say I had dark moments where I wanted to quit doesn’t really do it justice. Even when I knew early on I was leading the ladies race there were still times when I thought NO, I’m done, I’m ready to quit!
I have never seriously entertained the thought of pulling out of a race when leading and uninjured but I think the heat, the sun, the thought of drinking endless carb drinks and trying to get enough calories down with 70 odd miles still to run felt so overwhelming. It wasn’t even as though I was running badly or particularly hurting. I just couldn’t contemplate the distance and was looking for excuses to pull up!!
I had used the early flatter section in cooler temperatures to run a bit faster (still at a really comfortable slow pace - not to bank time, I don’t believe in that) as I knew when the heat, sun and hills really came, I would need to back right off which I did. When I got to the halfway CP, I was in a low place. My Achilles which had been niggling in training was giving me grief and my knees were now hurting. I was trying to stay on top of the chafing but in the sun this was really difficult due to sweating so much (I have a really high sweat rate 1.25 L /hr and even had sweat dripping from my legs. At one point I thought it was raining but it was actually my own sweat flicking up ( sorry). maybe that’s why nobody wanted to run with me and I ran most of the miles alone!!!
I always say in ultras you have to run your own race and if it is good enough on the day you will get results - you can’t worry about what your competition is doing as you can only run your best race. So why is it that being told I had a 36 minute lead really messed with my head. My “rational” brain would have told me great you’re in the lead but remember you’re not half way yet so anything can happen, just keep running and fuelling sensibly and if it’s good enough you’ll hold your position. My “I’m hurting and am not even halfway” brain however just allowed this to muster as negative Information!!
Being told that Paul Fernandez had flown through (although actually it wasn't even Paul) looking good gave me that drive to push on though, thoughts of letting people down also forced me back out the door plus, getting back to the car would have been far more complicated (although far less painful) than running to the end and besides Paul had the car key !!. Bizarrely I think that was one of my lowest points so for those who I was grumpy to (Cat Simpson and Alison Walker) I am very sorry. It was lovely to see your smiley faces!! I remember Cat smiling and asking how I was doing and me grumpily muttering this is really hard! Alison enthusiastically telling me you’re doing great, you’re first lady and before trotting on, me responding with “but I don’t have much of a lead”. Not sure what I was expecting just really couldn’t think rationally!
So as I headed away from that CP door and the smiling faces of all those amazing volunteers and those who had come out to support, I reminded myself that in my recces I had really enjoyed the second half and as I had run the sections I didn’t like already, the next 50 should be far more enjoyable! Ha think my memory was definitely selective as actually in the second half there are some really unkind sections with plenty of uneven exposed camber and fields which are my pet hate anyway but in the hottest part of the day were horrible.
It’s a long way to the next CP and it seemed to take forever! I was on my own for much of the race and as I was struggling up one grass hill a lovely fellow runner looking very fresh and spritely who I had bumped into and shared words with several times (sorry I don’t know your name) gently reminded me there was some shade coming up and just to keep moving forward - his calm words were most welcome although by the time I hit the next CP I had also hit an even lower low than at the previous one.
I remember telling someone’s crew never to run 100 miles, that it sucked and the organisers were mean for putting the CP off course at the bottom of a hill (slight incline) that you then had to run back up!! Normally I run through cps smiling and chatting not complaining so I knew mentally I was in a bad place !!
But as we all know, a big part of ultra running is about tenacity and not allowing your mind to be beaten!! And, those low moments do go if you are prepared to ride them out. Sure I was hurting physically but when you have run 60 miles on really hard terrain in blazing sun, of course you are going to hurt. You have to get your head round that and force yourself on before that little voice convinces you to quit!!
One thing that I was told before the race by my coach was if you are feeling low, you probably are low on fuel - he was so right!!! I had meticulously planned my fuelling / hydration strategy as this is always my nemesis!! I find it difficult to eat so knew if I planned the minimum I needed to take on and made myself do it, hopefully I would stay on top of it. I managed that up to about 60 miles but suspect it still wasn’t enough as I always seemed to be lagging behind - would feel low, eat / drink something then feel good again!!
From 60 miles on, my carefully planned fuelling / hydration strategy went out the window anyway. I couldn’t face any more carb drinks and just wanted water!!! At times my brain wouldn’t work and I couldn’t think straight which was a combination of tiredness and glucose depletion (mostly the latter).
Had to wing it and ended up just doing what I had to do to fuel the miles, stay hydrated and keep it down! Coke, water, salt tablets, bananas and jelly babies seemed to do the trick although there was a hairy moment of dry heaving in the dark, in the bushes at the top of a hill, really hoping it would stay down and no one would see - it’s amazing how much better a dry heave can make you feel (sorry again).
From about 75 miles my mental state was reasonably ok, probably better than my physical one. I knew I just had to tough out the physical pain and grind each mile out. I knew I would finish and in a decent position.
Every CP I was trying to work out how much time I had over second lady but it was tricky and I couldn’t really get any definite answers - with staggered starts and live tracking it meant they could only tell me when she had left her last CP and once I hit a new CP my last one would disappear. As I had lost track of my own times and didn’t know how far behind I had actually started, it was impossible to compare.
My target “A” time of sub 20 hours had disappeared long ago - the conditions weren’t right for it and with self service CPs due to covid, time spent in aid stations took longer than normal (trying to open drinks sachets after gelling your hands is pretty impossible!!).
As I headed through those final CPs I knew my lead was extending although by how much I was still unsure. It was dark and I kept reminding myself the ladies behind had further to run in the dark than me so I was at an advantage. I was also working my way up the overall field which convinced me that unless something went terribly wrong my lead was safe.
CPs were my focus as they meant I was getting closer. Seeing Paul at a few of the final ones definitely lifted me and I know him seeing me made him pull his finger out as there is no way he will ever let me beat him in a race!! What happened to good old fashioned ladies first ?
I had accrued extra mileage from a little mishap very early on (the one small bit I hadn’t recced) and a section in the dark where there hadn’t been any tape for a while and suddenly couldn’t see the headtorch of the guy running behind me so was worried I had missed a turning. I made the decision to run back and check as if I was wrong I didn’t want to carry on too far. Turns out I was still on course but was relieved to know that rather than annoyed for running the unnecessary extra. Accruing extra mileage does however mean that when you are desperately crawling to the next cp and finish, you have to add the extra on to know when you will get there. I knew how far it was in between each so worked off that and to my absolute delight / relief two of them came sooner than I expected although the flipping finish didn’t .
There are some big climbs after the 82 mile CP and unfortunately I had forgotten how many!! Once they are out the way though much of the remainder is runnable....
But, I was hurting ....
I so desperately wanted to take my race vest off but didn’t dare as I knew my chafing was horrendous!!
I also so wanted to walk!!!
BUT more than anything, I so wanted to finish AND walking takes longer!!
My lead was safe but my desire to finish and finish in the targeted “B” time of sub 22 hours became the driving force. The target was doable if I didn’t walk / limited when I walked. I had visions of the final stretch after the last CP when I knew the last 3 miles were road so definitely kind miles (although I have to honestly say they felt long and seemed to go on forever).
I have never been so delighted or relieved to see an athletics track in my life and running the last 400m round it to the finish was bliss. No lumps or bumps, pebbles or roots to contend with, just 400m and the promise of the finishing archway!!
This was my first “100” miler and it didn’t fail to challenge me both physically, mentally and emotionally. Finishing time was 21.42.49, sixth overall and 1st lady and although my “A” target was not possible, I worked hard to get my “B” target and am delighted with this.
Well done to Paul who d
espite struggling with the heat,
really not liking these longer distances and having been adamant he couldn’t
finish, finished in fourth place. Also to Liz Draper and Eileen Naughton who
had a tough day out there but covered an amazing amount of the course.
Centurion Running did an amazing job of putting on a covid safe race with social distancing, self service checkpoints and staggered starts - clearly lots of extra thought and organisation had gone into keeping runners, volunteers and staff safe so thanks goes to them for enabling us to have an actual race. Thanks to Stuart March photography for the top photo.
I don’t know if I had the perfect race. I guess not too much went wrong but there are changes I would make next time. I think each race is a learning curve and I have definitely learnt that 100 plus miles hurts and is a very long, long way!!!!
So........whilst this race is likely to cost me both big toenails, I am now the proud owner of this beautiful centurion trophy and yep I definitely worked hard for it both in training and on race day.
