Last weekend I met some really inspiring people and am now
feeling motivated to get going with the 2013 trail running season... We were up early on Saturday morning and
round Birmingham by 8am – we resisted the temptation to join the queue for the
X-Factor auditions that were being advertised on local radio and instead headed
off into Shropshire. As we neared our
destination the roads became narrower, windier, flanked by banks of snow and less-well
signposted. So we were pleased when a
mix of navigation and luck led us to our destination – the youth hostel at Ratlinghope. It was with some nervous excitement that I
walked up to the door where I was greeted by Simon in his Torq t-shirt.
Back in January, I spotted an advertisement for the Torq
Trail Running Team in Trail Running magazine.
They were looking for non-elite trail runners to be part of their new
team – this sounded like a seriously exciting opportunity. And so I’d filled in the application form
with a lot of hope but being realistic that there would be thousands of other applicants
and so nothing was likely to come of it.
But in March I received an email letting me know I’d made it through to
the next stage. So here I was to spend
the weekend with 50 other hopefuls.
I had a brilliant weekend.
I met so many cool people and my one regret is that we didn’t have a
whole week together – I only managed to speak to a fraction of the people there
and I’d have loved to get to know everyone and learn their trail running
story. Everyone there had achieved
things that many wouldn’t think possible.
I left wanting to get to know all of these inspirational people a little
better and knowing that many of them would become close friends if they lived
down the road. So I’m really excited
that one thing that will definitely come out of this whole experience is an
online community of new friends – we’ve already been scheming training sessions
and planning to meet up at races later in the summer.
As well as getting to know each other there were a couple of
interactive talks – with Ben from Torq about nutrition and Stuart Mills about
the psychological side of running. These
were really thought provoking and sparked some good debate. The one which I’m sure will keep bubbling on
is the fact that you can’t control the urge for a pork pie (or something
equally distant from a carefully constructed energy bar) when you’re 75 miles
into a 100 miler. We’ve left Ben with this
challenge so maybe we’ll see a bacon butty flavoured energy gel hitting the
shelves next year...
We also headed out for a couple of runs while we were there –
the youth hostel is nestled in the shadows of the Long Mynd and I was really
excited to get out and explore. Saturday’s
run started with a long steep uphill into a massive headwind. And at this stage everyone was champing at
the bit and anxious to prove themselves.
In all the excitement, I was surprised to find myself running up a hill
I would only ever consider walking at any other time – maybe it was that some
of Stu’s advice about pushing your limits was sinking into my subconscious?! Eventually we were right up in the cloud and
lost sight of the runners in front.
There was a slightly worrying moment when we realised we were lost up a
hill in the wind and drizzle with no map or phone! But luckily our internal compasses did their
job and we found the group again in time to head home through the snow. We may have only been out for an hour but by
the time we got back to the youth hostel my legs and shoes were dark with mud
and from the look of us all there was no arguing that we were here cos of a
love of trail running.
On Sunday we had the opportunity for a longer run and so we
headed up onto the Long Mynd. There was
no cloud on top this time and we were greeted by some fantastic views. It was such a stunning area and one I’ll
definitely be heading back to for a holiday.
The sort of countryside that only comes when you also have quad-busting
hills to run. And all of this was a
fantastic chance for some more chatting.
I love getting to know people while I’m running – it’s so natural and
unforced and I find conversation tends to flow in all sorts of directions even
when you’ve only known someone for a few minutes.
So I’ve come home feeling really grateful to Julie, Simon,
Stu and all the guys at Torq for a brilliant weekend. And feeling lucky that I was able to be a
part of it.
I’m also excited about the rest of the year and beyond –
with various seeds planted in terms of races I might want to do in future. But for now this is what the next 6 months or
so looks like...
- 12 May – Marlborough Downs Challenge – 50km
- 25 & 26 May – run round the Isle of Wight – 70 miles
- 15 June – Welsh Ultra – 100km
- 20 July – three reps of Trionium’s Midsummer Munroe course – 40 miles
- 17 August – the RAT Plague – 100km
The second and fourth aren’t official events but they’re
such significant points in my training programme that I think it’s worth
sticking them in here anyway! So here’s
to 2013....
Here are some photos from the weekend - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.472908256113772.1073741826.406953896042542&type=1
