Adidas Thunder Run –
Race Report
TR24 is a 24 Hour (well 25 actually more on that later)
race, made up of as many multiples of a 10K off road circuits as you can
manage. The field, 2200+ is largely made
up of teams of 2-8 runners with at least a 100 hardy souls going solo each
year.
The tagline for this race ‘Less Track More Field’ caught my eye initially thereafter the attraction was twofold:
- It seemed a safe test of my mental and physical ability to run and finish long Ultra’s before committing to a point to point 100 mile race
- The festival of running ‘feel’ to the event was a good way to get MRS and MISS S involved in one of my running adventures
Training and
Preparation
The return to a 3-4 hour daily commute has really impacted
my overall training I have yet to settle into a routine that accommodates the:
- 50+ weekly miles
- 2 gym strength sessions
- 5 gym core sessions
I would ideally like to be following. What mileage I have achieved has lacked structure clocking too many ‘junk’ miles.
Looking at GPS data my weekly volumes have been between 35
and 40 miles for the last 8-10 weeks.
Few if any ‘long’ training runs however some good distance covered in
races Jan – Jul with 50 and 40 mile ultra and 3 marathon finishes.
In the immediate build-up to TR24 Coniston Trail Marathon, a
couple of trips to the Peak District and a 28 mile race recce provided some
longer runs however no real ‘back to backs’ were achieved, a staple of my usual
training schedule.
Logistics
One of the great elements of this race, logistics could not
be simpler, turn up with your tent, pitch it in the field adjoining the Start /
Finish straight and you are good to go. You can camp from Friday evening to
Monday morning should you wish.
I opted to set up the tent Friday PM as I pretty much pass
the venue on my route home but not to occupy until Saturday AM. Race starts
12PM Saturday.
Should I enter again I will almost certainly avoid the solo campsite its proximity to the start / finish and therefore the relay pen, meant that my support team were subjected to 24 hours of incoming to outgoing relay runner shouts, the solo camp was also positioned so that it was a thoroughfare to the start finish line with pedestrians seemingly engaged in a who can bang the portaloo door hardest competition. There were much better spots on course that were perfectly quiet overnight.
Equipment and
Nutrition
UltrAspire Handhelds x 2
Salamon XT Wings 5 (unused)
Saucony Kinvara 3
New Balance MT110’s (unused)
Nuun electrolyte tablets x 6
GU – Espresso Love Gels x 2
Hammer Perpetuem (orange vanilla and latte) x 5
Hammer Perpetuem Solida x 1.5 tubes
Cold pizza x 1
Selection of sweets and biscuits
Race
Technical briefing at 11AM with start at 12PM, sensible pen
system based on road 10k results meant that the runners from larger relay teams
there to compete were not impeded by runners adopting a more moderate pace.
I started at the back of the pens with the other solo
runners, we chatted nervously up to the countdown and set off conservatively
with a little bit of mutual back slapping.
The course was truly off road, only a tiny fraction perhaps
800m was on packed trail the rest is open fields of grass and forest track. The
course crosses the same ridge several times per lap adding an unexpected
element of climb (8500ft over my 14 laps).
The very well thought out route weaved through the camping areas at
least 4 times providing terrific support through each 10k lap. The support and
encouragement of resting relay runners and the crowd as a whole will be one of
the strongest memories of my race.
The course was tougher than I expected the grass areas were
mown but not short so the grass dragged on your shoes, the good weather in the
days before the event left the ground very hard indeed, crossing the same ridge
several times a lap added a decent amount of climb, there were lots of switch
backs particularly through the rutted, rooty, rocky forest paths. I have
already seen a pretty good shiner on a competitors blog following a one sided
fight with a tree and its root. It made for a great course and diminished some
of the mental challenge of running the same 10k loop multiple times.
Given the rock hard ground I opted for road shoes over my
preferred New Balance MT110’s on reflection perhaps the first mistake. My feet
moved around a lot in the Kinvara, lack of proprioception had me fighting the
cushioned sole and I ended up pretty foot sore in spite of the cushioning as
they have no rock plate. Whilst the
MT110’s are a firm ride in hindsight I suspect they would have been the better
pick. I developed four blisters, none serious, in matching pairs on both feet
on the inside of my big toe and instep. This was simply a result of the road
shoes not gripping the foot in the way that trail shoes do. Over the distance
developed a very sore left knee, which I would attribute to being a little out
of sorts with my shoes. I did plan to swap into the New Balance to see what
suited best, I didn’t as I found the ground so hard even through the much more
cushioned Kinvara however regret now not doing at least a few laps in the MT
110’s as I strongly suspect they would have been a better shoe for me.
My over ambitious plan was to stay out on course in groups
of 3 laps for as long as I could to minimise time for stops, simply handing off
a change of bottle with my crew each lap. Alternating between Hammer Peretuem
and Electrolyte drink to ensure I was fed and watered. Suffice to say putting
‘checkpoints’ a self-inflicted 18 miles apart was not going to be a sustainable
approach.
The first two laps of my planned group of 3 were very
enjoyable as I got to know the course and realised how much support you would
get as a solo runner (the crowd quickly worked out the low race numbers and
lack of red team snap on bracelet / batton identified soloists). Lap 3 of that
first group took a little more grit than the first two however the thought of
15 mins ‘in the chair’ and some of yesterday’s pizza kept me going.
I headed out for what I planned as my second group of 3 in
good spirits. The first lap of which went by fine the second was much tougher
and as I tired I decided that a pit stop was the sensible choice, deciding to
pit every second lap from here on.
Beware the chair! If I felt tired on the course I felt totally knackered sat in the chair it was still early in the race though and my spirits were good so headed back out, with a little trepidation at feeling so tired at just 50KM.
Soon found my feet again, the restorative power of last
night’s pizza and some salty crisps having done just the job. I continued
alternating Hammer / Electrolyte rigidly sticking to a 600ml bottle per
lap. Supplementing the Hammer with water
at the drink station just after 5KM (Hammer is a very pleasant drink but not
refreshing in the way water is). On the Electrolyte laps I was eating Hammer
solids to try and keep to matching the 300 calories per hour I read somewhere that
the body can metabolise during endurance running . Whist not unpleasant in the
mouth they are by no means a fruity ‘chew’ rather closer to flavoured chalk
tablets that need rinsing down with plenty of water.
All of this and the rigidity with which I was sticking to it
led to far too high a consumption of fluids.
This became apparent as having happily passed through 60KM during
laps 7 and 8 I felt rapidly and increasingly uncomfortable. My stomach was in
such discomfort it dominated my thoughts. My throat for some reason was raw and
sore I found swallowing anything including water extremely difficult, I
abandoned my drinking and eating ‘strategy’ here.
In a do or die moment at the end of 90KM I opted for a very
small burger, crisps and two handfuls of Haribo, this lead to what I see as the
second crucial mistake. I had planned a quick turnaround and back out to bag
100K in what would have been 13 HRS instead with stomach rather distressed
dealing with the burger, crisps and Haribo I retired to bed for an hour.
Having kept the food down, the last I was to eat, I headed
out reasonably refreshed. My crew now though were a little worried I was
therefore instructed to check in every lap.
I ran the next 4 laps without too much incident calling in
for my usual pit stop with 130km done, I drifted off to sleep whilst my wife
fetched a can of coke (another do or die stomach moment I felt) and stayed
asleep in the chair for around an hour.
Awake again at 9:45 I 'rationalised' that I was lapping at
around 1:20 a lap and was therefore only really likely to get in a 14th
lap. Decision made in my mind I stayed around chatting for another half an hour
and then headed out for my final lap a very nice gentle trot around that would
see me in a fit of vanity over performance finish close to the 24 hour cut-off
to enjoy the support of the finish line, finish time crowd.
I really enjoyed that last lap but had again made mistakes,
I didn’t need the extra half hour stop and could have lapped much quicker than
1:20 with effort leaving space for 2 more laps and a 160KM finish the rules
being you can start a final lap so long as you pass through the start finish
before 24 HRS and return inside 25 HRS.
I crossed the finish timing mat at a real crowd induced
sprint at around 11:37 AM and declared 23:37 14 laps at least 140KM with 8500ft of climb.
Why had I not gone out again when still feeling strong? In part mentally I had prepared for a 24 Hour race and just couldn’t get my mind to accept volunteering to stretch this to 25 HRS.
Further having spent the 14th lap almost euphoric at passing each section and landmark for the last time, thanking in great earnest the marshalls and supporters who had encouraged me over every lap I just didn’t find the spirit to do an extra lap which would require me to be back in 1:23 to avoid missing the 25 Hour cut-off.
Why had I not gone out again when still feeling strong? In part mentally I had prepared for a 24 Hour race and just couldn’t get my mind to accept volunteering to stretch this to 25 HRS.
Further having spent the 14th lap almost euphoric at passing each section and landmark for the last time, thanking in great earnest the marshalls and supporters who had encouraged me over every lap I just didn’t find the spirit to do an extra lap which would require me to be back in 1:23 to avoid missing the 25 Hour cut-off.
I do really regret that missed opportunity, how much sweeter
would lap 15 have been knowing I had pushed myself to stay out there!
All in though very pleased with at least 140KM (I heard lots of chatter that suggested the laps were in fact long at closer to 6.5 miles / 10.53 KM, perhaps wishful thinking as that would take my total to 91 miles).
All in though very pleased with at least 140KM (I heard lots of chatter that suggested the laps were in fact long at closer to 6.5 miles / 10.53 KM, perhaps wishful thinking as that would take my total to 91 miles).
Judged against my race aims of building confidence to enter
and finish a 100 miler and to bring my family a little closer to my main pastime,
TR24 was a fantastic success.
I think there were a couple of key learnings firstly that
mental strength needs training alongside physical strength and secondly to take
a more relaxed view to hydration and fuelling I was simply trying to be too
clever with my Perpetuem / Electrolyte strategy, had I eaten and drank what I
felt like when I felt like it instead of to a schedule I may well have done better.
Specific to the event I will pick my camping spot much more
carefully in future and make sure I make the most of the opportunity to try
different shoes to see what suits best.
Still not drinking water, just the thought of it turns my
stomach not all is lost though as wine and beer seem to be sliding down just
fine.