South Downs Way 50 race report - 2014

I’m doing the South Downs Way 100 in June so doing the 50 miler seemed like a bit of a no brainer, especially since it’s on the second half of the 100 route – i.e. the bit I’ll need to do at night in a couple of months time.

Until about a month before the race, training had been going pretty consistently and I was pleased.  Learning from last year, I’d decided to focus on consistency rather than volume – from October to December I didn’t run more than 15 miles but I ran little and often.  My lower leg injury from last year hadn’t shown any signs of reoccurrence so I started to up the mileage in January.  I gradually increased mileage to the point where I was doing 50-70 miles a week.  I also did several long runs of between 23 and 30 miles – but I also had shorter weekends where I focused on speed or hills rather than just loads of volume.

Then about 5 weeks out from the South Downs Way 50 I got sick.  It wasn’t hugely surprising as work had been really busy (in a good way) and I was just completely exhausted.  Given the level of fatigue and the fact that I wake up before 6am for work every day, the chances of me recovering quickly were fairly slim.  But I gave it my best shot, cutting right back on training, sleeping as much as I possibly could and eating pretty healthily.  I also went on a course of antibiotics from about 10 days before the race.

This meant I stood on the start line of the South Downs Way 50 wondering what the day held in store...  Would I get to the top of the first hill and know that the only sensible option was a DNF?  Or would I discover that a massive taper was the way to go?  In a way it was good that Brett had decided not to race – at least I knew he’d be nearby with the car if I had to make a difficult but sensible call.  I can be very stubborn but I’ve also been doing this endurance malarkey for long enough to know when my body is telling me it’s sick rather than just tired.

Registration went smoothly and the sun even made a brief appearance as we stood on the start line.  As with most ultras I’ve done it was a fairly low key start though the support as we headed off (straight uphill) was great.  Everyone else was running so I started at a gently trot deciding that this was the way to test whether I was better or not.  Brett was a few hundred metres up the hill and I passed him with a smile on my face – I was still running and was feeling pretty good.

In fact I kept on running and surprised myself by running most of that first hill.  I wondered whether I was going to pay for it later.  But I also remembered some advice from Stuart Mills about running at a pace that feels good at the time rather than mentally constraining yourself with pacing strategies – you might achieve more than you’d thought you were capable of and surprise yourself.  I felt comfortable and wasn’t pushing it too hard so I kept running.

I’d recce-ed a bit of the course beforehand but most of it was unfamiliar – I was seeing this race as a recce for the 100.  I was surprised by how hilly it was – where my usual playground in the North Downs has short sharp hills, the South Downs had big long drags several of which were quite runnable or at least required a run-walk strategy.  The course was also fairly relentless requiring fairly consistent work throughout – it would be easy to go off the boil mentally and lose a lot of time but walking a mile long hill that should really be run / partially run.  There were some decent descents too and I made a mental note that this would have been a good place to train for the Transalpine.  My right knee started to feel tender towards the end of the day – it’s recovered fine but is something to bear in mind for when I’m running twice as far as it could be a definite weakness.

Loads of people had told me about how exposed the South Downs Way is but I’d been pretty lucky on the few times I’d been there, especially a recce from Winchester to Petersfield a couple of months ago which may well have been the first day of Spring.  Saturday’s weather wasn’t so kind and I think that was a really useful lesson for me for the 100.  It was pretty warm down low but up on the top of the hills we were in the cloud and there was a cross-wind which made it really cold.  I know this is nothing compared to the race conditions last year but I’d have really benefitted from a windproof top layer and will make sure I bring along something for the night portion of the 100.  If it had been much colder I’d also have needed gloves.  The cloud also made it quite disorientating – so much for beautiful views out to sea!

The thing I enjoy about ultras is getting into the routine as the day progresses.  I got into a good rhythm early on and found myself enjoying my own company.  After a busy few months at work and home, it was great to be out in the hills with just my rucksack and my thoughts.  I chatted to a few people but was generally quite content just making progress on my own.  My mental strength throughout the race is one of things I’m most pleased with.  I didn’t have a single negative moment which was a welcome difference from the RAT last summer.

I don’t run with a watch but, when I reached the 27 mile checkpoint I asked for the time – 5 hours.  I was quite surprised.  Given I’d been ill for the last month, I’d set myself a target of 12 hours and, bar the wheels well and truly falling off, I was on target for smashing that.

At the halfway point I started drinking coke which perked me up.  The Centurion guys definitely stocked the checkpoints well – I even spotted homemade gluten free cake at one of them.  My particular favourite were the ham wraps which made a nice change from the TORQ bars and Kelloggs Elevenses bars which I was eating the rest of the time.  As per usual I didn’t hang around at the checkpoints.  I carried enough food for the whole race and just used the checkpoints to refill my water bottles and grab a handful of food to give my taste buds some variety.

At the next checkpoint I plugged myself into my MP3 player so that I could have a bit of a re-start for the final third of the race.  What with that and the diluted coke in my water bottles I definitely found a bit of a second wind.  That final third went really quickly, other than the final run through the streets of Eastbourne.  I’m really glad I’ve practised that and know how far it is before the 100 – it definitely dragged on for longer than I’d have liked!  But finally I did find myself arriving at the sports park for my finishing lap round the track.

I was incredibly chuffed to come over the finish line in a time of 9:41 – I totally surprised myself and exceeded all my expectations.  There’s definitely more work to do before 14 June but I’m feeling positive that I’m now fully recovered from my illness and ready for the next 8 weeks of training.