Global relay and pacing a 100 miler

My friend Matt entered the Centurion Running Autumn 100 mile event this October. I was pleased for him, but had no interest in running such a long way myself. When he asked me to crew for him and pace the last leg however, I was honoured and excited to experience it.

The run is four 25 mile out and back sections with the base in Goring, near Reading. The first and last sections are flat(ish) with the middle two taking everyone along the Ridgeway. The elevation total is 5000 feet. He would start with 250 others at 8:30am on the Saturday and there was a 28 hour cut off. He hoped to complete it in under 24 hours.

Matt kindly booked a hotel for me nearby. I would have to follow the dot tracker to know his progress and at what time I needed to get to the base to meet him. We estimated between midnight and 2am. I managed a short snooze on the Saturday night, but spent most of my time keeping track of his of his dot on the map and sending encouragements his way.

Earlier in the day I had knocked out a half marathon to tire the legs out a little. I knew that if I was fresh it would be hard to run at a helpfully slow pace. I had joined the One Run Global Relay at Tower Bridge. The event was taking place over 24 hours with people running for one hour in their time zone. With each country starting at 9am local time this meant there was a continuous run for the whole day. An app allowed us to hand over a virtual baton from a person in the time zone before us, and then again when we finished.

Around 60 people turned out and we ran along the south side of the Thames before crossing the London Millennium Footbridge to St Pauls and then back along the north side. 

Anyway back to the 100 mile event. Matt made a fantastic start and bashed out the first 25 miles in 4h 35m. The second more hilly section was completed in 5h 46m. It looked as though he would be in to Goring again around midnight, maybe a little later. I managed to doze for an hour or so from 9pm but set an alarm for midnight just in case. I didn't need it.

The third section was predictably slower - 6h 56m- but he was still keeping up an impressive pace. I arrived at 2am and he arrived about five minutes later looking shattered. I sat him down and refilled his water bottles, and picked up some peanut butter and jam sandwiches for him. Once sat down he was in good spirits and very lucid. Fuelled and ready to go he struggled to stand but was keen to head off.

It was a tough first mile stretching out Matt's tired muscles and we walked for most of it. However, once he began to run he soon established a good pace.. It was dark and we were wearing head torches. A think fog blanketed the River Thames to our left and the trail we ran along. Visibility was poor, millions of sparkly water droplets rushing past as we kept our eyes on the roots and stones beneath our feet to avoid tripping. The long, wet grass soaked my feet and the cold air chilled my hands. Reflective markers trailed from ghostly tree branches and showed us the way.

Apart from walking up a couple of steep climbs we managed to run and chat all the way to Whitchurch-on-Thames. A toll bridge crosses the Thames at this point. The original wooden bridge was constructed in 1792. There has been a bridge here ever since. An iron one replaced the wooden one in 1902. The current one is a replica of that constructed in 2013-14. We reached the first checkpoint at Pangbourne. 

I couldn't believe how well Matt was doing, both mentally and physically. My job was easy, simply bimbling along next to him making sure he was eating and drinking and felt ok.

At the checkpoint Matt took on more food and I refilled his water bottles. It had been a shorter section. We now had a long 12km one to get through and then we would be turning and heading to the finish. This time we continued along the Thames Path to Mapledurham. There was nothing to see but we could hear the geese, swans, frogs and owls calling in the night. The path diverted inland to Purley-on-Thames before crossing the railway to re-join the river at the Roebuck Hotel. Unfortunately we missed the turning and added 500m to our route by visiting Tilehurst Station and quickly retracing our steps.

We were rarely alone on the trail. Front runners passed from time to time, their white headlamps in the distance glowing through the gloaming, approaching and passing with a wave or grunt. They were almost finished. I hoped Matt would still be ok when we reached that point in a few hours.

At this point we had yet to be overtaken by anyone and had caught a few others who were reduced to walking pace. I hadn't needed to offer any encouragement to Matt as he was completely self-motivated, pushing on hoping to finish in under 24 hours.

The section was really dragging and Matt's mood dipped for the first time. It was definitely longer than marked and the checkpoint seemed to never appear. An aerial illuminated purple was a distraction, as was the sound of the weir. Eventually we saw the lights of the checkpoint around the bend. It had been Matt's longest period of time between checkpoints - 2hrs. 

It was 5:20am when we left with 13 miles to go. To finish within the 24 hours Matt would need to be in Goring by 8:30. On a normal day 13 miles in three hours would be a breeze, but we both agreed in Matt's current state it was unlikely. He was guaranteed to finish within the cut off but our efforts really needed to be on just finishing. This lifted the pressure on him. He was struggling now and although still jogging from time to time we were walking much more. A good pace, but still a walk.

We passed by the bridges, swans, gates and buildings that we had seen earlier. This time the lights coming towards us were people behind us. You could see the tiredness on their faces but also the same determination and resilience that Matt was showing.

Slowly the sky began to lighten and we could remove the head torches. The mist remained and enveloped the fields and trees. It was beautiful. I'm not sure how much Matt could take it all in though. He was now focussing on just putting one foot in front of the other. We reminded ourselves of the fact that pain never lasts forever. Also that pain is temporary, but memories are forever. It was tough. He was sucking in air and in a lot of pain. He was tired having not slept for 36 hours too. I was stiff from running so slowly and cold despite wearing four layers. I made sure to keep my own minor complaints to myself!

Eventually the final checkpoint appeared at the end of a field of cows lowing. 2hrs 20 mins this time. It was pure survival mode now. We walked the way we had come over four hours earlier but now in the light. 

Closer, closer. The miles seemed to take days to pass but Matt kept going. I was so proud of him and willed him to get to the end. When we saw the base in Goring both of us shed tears. It was an emotional moment. He had finished in under 25 hours. Incredible for his first ever 100 miles and the longest run he had done by over 20 miles.

I must add that the organisation of the event, the professionalism and kindness of the volunteers and the support from participants, crew and the public was amazing.

It was a privilege to have shared in his accomplishment. I still don't want to run that far myself but the camaraderie, spirit and atmosphere was wonderful and I must sign up for an ultra event soon.