The Wall - Race Review

Back by popular demand... Ok, not entirely true but 3 people messaged me if I was ok as I hadn't posted a blog in a while. Probably the only 3 people who read it but hey ho! I appreciate the check in.

In all honesty, I decided to take a wee break from a couple of things on the lead up to the ultra, just because the time commitment to training was crazy. The blog writing joined the guitar and piano on the sidelines while my life was taken over by double session training days and 9-hour training runs.

So, I thought I’d get back in the swing of it with a reflection on the ultra... Firstly, I did it! 70miles from Carlisle to Newcastle, and you know what?! I loved every second of it. This is the story of the lead up to it, the race itself, and serves as something I can go back and reflect upon. Therefore, if running bores the baws off you or I've told you the story, then you might want to wait for the next one. Don't worry I won't be offended.

Why I Signed Up

A quick recap on earlier blogs to why I signed up for the race. I'm a firm believer that you have to get out of your comfort zone to improve. Whether this is mentally or physically, or both in this case, it is the most effective way to grow. There is the element of external inspiration too. I don't mean I want to inspire you to run across the country but rather show you that you can if you put your mind to it. I'm not a gifted person. I got through this training block and race with a combination of luck, hard graft, great support and bucket loads of stubbornness. There is no reason you can’t do the same if you truly wanted.

The Day Before

The day before I travelled to Carlisle on my lonesome carrying what felt like my entire belongings on the train. Strangely, I didn't have a hint of nervousness. It is the first time I've gone into a race felt comfortable and, well, confident. My training was tough and had consisted of 8-10 sessions a week, regularly exceeding 50miles a week including sessions like a 9hour run and back-to-back marathons. Unless I had suffered a tragic injury or I was mauled by a feral Geordie in the Wildlands of the Toon, I knew, at worst, I could grind it out in the allotted 26hours.

Boarding the London train, I had the table seat right amongst the cockney ladies of leisure. Retirees travelling home having seen the sights of Glasgow, and now hosting a train-based Marks and Spencer's banquet and smashing back tins of G&T and prosecco. Rather more boring for me and my Costa.

The good thing about Carlisle, yes there is something good about Carlisle, is that it's tiny. A succession of ultra runners stood out a mile as they migrated towards registration. Follow the crazies!

Luckily for me, it was in my hotel. There was about a 15min queue, and I got chatting to a woman, I'd guess late 50s/early 60s who had taken part in the race a couple of times told me tales of races past. The registration was slick, full kit check and collection of my tracker and all checked into my room with an hour or so leaving me about 6hours to kill.

A wee walk to find the start, pick up some water and scope for some food. Stupidly, I hadn't booked anywhere but a restaurant managed to squeeze me in for a lonely table for 1. Clearly one of those ultra runners that stood out a mile, the staff asked if I was taken part in the race and asked a few questions. They even gave me a free dessert which was awfully nice of them. I called it a night and headed back to get my kit sorted for the following day and to watch Germany pump Scotland in the opening game of the Euros.

Race Morning

The next morning was a 5am start. Opening the curtains to see the pissing rain. Nothing major, compared to the Devil and G2E this was tropical. Armed with the mandatory kit and enough water and tatties to rival Jesus feeding the 5000, I set off for the start. In the foyer of the hotel, I got chatting to 3 runners from Blyth. The race seemed to be a wee bit of a community with runners recognising each other from previous years, which was nice. They kindly let me tag along, although the conversation turned to previous years and how 2 of the 3 had DNF'd last year. And there it was, the race nerves and the first questioning of 'what the fuck have you got yourself in for?'. Luckily this was replaced with excitement a couple of moments later when I got to the start line.

The race was away in 3 waves, I was in the 3rd. Starting towards the back, it was pretty clear for the off that some of the folks towards the back weren't going anywhere quickly.

I had a plan of running 2.75miles and walking 0.75miles for as long as I could, using the latter as time to take on food and drink. This took me past about 150-200 participants within the first 5miles or so. The race flowed through some parklands onto a few hamlet streets on the outskirts of Carlisle before hitting the roads. I was surprised about the amount of the race that was on roads. In my head it was a 50/50 road to trail. It was probably closer to 80/20 truth be told. The support was great, a shout out to the car with a fella dressed as a traffic cone blasted music for a good 5mile stint and applause by everyone I passed.

Lanercost Priory → Walltown

The rain was constant for 15miles to the first pitstop, Lanercost Priory. There was no messing about, drink bottles filled, grab a mini snicker and away again. I'm not sure why but I felt pressure to keep going. I had set myself 3 goals:

C-Goal - (the should hit goal) Just finish the race.

B-Goal - (the good to hit goal) under 20hours.

A-Goal - (the hard to hit goal) under 18hours.

And at that point I was very much on for the B-Goal possibly the A-Goal, so I just wanted to crack on. The rain had eased off, so the waterproof came off (immediately dropping it in a puddle...eejit) and off I went, 9miles to the next pitstop.

Aside from the odd hill the rest of the section was pretty easy. A couple of sections of Hadrian's wall broke up the consistent road running. That was until about a mile before the pitstop when I was hit with the first whore of a hill. Luckily it was on pavement which was half the battle and the excitement of a sock change at the next check point was enough to drag my carcass up it. A wee tap on a kid's sign which read 'tap here for fixed feet' on the way into the Walltown pitstop and I was tucking into my first drop bag.

See when your feet are soaked through for a prolonged period, and you can get a change of socks.... Oooft! magic!

Walltown → The Sill

Kit sorted, food replenished, water bottles filled, and blister checks done, I was off again. 24miles done and a quick look to see how far the next pit stop was... 6miles. Didn’t seem that far, I thought. Turns out that was because I was about to spend the next 6miles climbing what felt like Everest! Ok I'm exaggerating for effect, but it was brutal. There was around 4500ft of elevation in the race and I reckon about 65-70% of it was in those 6miles. The hills just kept going up. Even when they plateaued, the ground was uneven and difficult to run on, with a high risk of injury. I rolled my ankles a few times during the section, luckily nothing bad but it did slow me down to a walk to large sections to avoid that tragic injury I was concerned about. Broken chocolate ankles aside, this section of the race was stunning. Northumberland is up there with the Scottish Highlands where it comes to the scenery, in my humble opinion.

Eventually into the pitstop at 30miles (The Sill) My legs were destroyed. My time was ok, still on for the goals but I just felt knackered. The hills had completely done me. At that point I decided to put the time goals out my head and just get through it and so took a bit of extra time at the station. There were people starting to drop out of the race at this point. One or two injured, a few who underestimated the effort needed for 70miles and a few that were done by the weather and/or the last 6miles.

Rat Race (the company who run the event) aren't the cheapest of events but it is worth every single penny. The support alone is next level but the food and drinks they provide is out of this world. A pasta pot, banana, muffin, and cup of tea later I was restocked and ready to go. Out the pitstop and straight onto another hill... I was starting to understand the pattern here. I walked while I destroyed a mini chomp and drinking my tea and caught up with a chap called Martin. Martin informed me the last big hill was just ahead so I stuck with him and chatted away about anything and everything for about an hour. Absolutely gem of a guy.

Once at the top, I set off running. I don't know if it was the pasta, the active root, the tatties, the chomp or the combination of all, for the next 5-8miles I was flying. I had managed to claw back a chunk of time and overtook about 50people in the process. The section between The Sill and Hexham was a bit boring in comparison but the ability to run at different paces and forcing myself to slow down mixed up a bit. Hexham was the main pitstop at 44miles, but it was seen as the point where the race changes. It's mainly road and it's significantly flatter than the ground you've already covered. I had the added bonus of knowing Jen was at there, as was a welcome change of clothes.

Hexham → The Long Grind

The rain had stayed off but during the last section you could see it chasing you down in the horizon. The only way I can describe the Hexham pit stop was like the Hogwarts Banquet. All the food you could imagine. The crowds cheering on as you came into the stop. I looked to spot Jen, but the signs were a bit confusing, so she was still parking up.

This gave me time to grab my bag and tuck into a soup and pie. It's great, when you burn over 10,000 calories in a race, you can eat as much as you want! I came out the tent to see Jen. Absolutely buzzing, heading to the car to get changed and eat. I think the pace in which I covered the last section caught Jen out a bit, it definitely caught the Maughans out, who had kindly planned to surprise me at the pitstop. Just as I was gearing up to leave they pulled in. With 'just' 26miles to go, seeing everyone was a massive boost. After about 45mins in the pitstop I was away again. Full waterproofs back on.

The next section of the race, whilst flat, was tough. Probably the hardest section of the race mentally. My legs were getting tired, there were sections where there was nobody else around, fairly boring in parts and the biblical rain had kicked in. It was also the longest section of the race at 19miles. About halfway through I passed through a sort of caravan park. The people staying there had set up a tent with food and drinks. Tea, cake and declining a generous offer from a lady (probably late 60s/early 70s) to rub my sore legs, I had picked up again. Cheeky wee minx! Whoever these people were, there is a place in heaven secured for them. A small gesture but one I will always be grateful for.

This wee pick up would unfortunately be short lived. I had changed my shoes in Hexham to my old faithfuls. A very old, comfortable pair of Asics Cumulus. I say old, they were about 3months old but had clocked up around 500miles in them. Ideal for the road that I was running on but not the mile of mud I was about to hit. The rain was heavy and had already churned up a lot of the section, but I was as well have been wearing loafers.

Despite some of my best Scooby Doo running on the spot impressions, I managed to escape without hitting the floor, but it took about half an hour.

Towards the back end of the section, I had caught up with a few people which helped keep me moving. I had switched the tactic to 5mins running/90secs off but even this was a struggle. The good news was my crazy middle section, and the fact I was still running, meant I was comfortably under the 20hour B-Goal at this point and even on my way to getting sub-18. Maybe even better.

Final Pitstop → Newcastle

The rain started to subside about the 60mile, by this time I was wetter than an otter's pocket and it was starting to get dark. I hit the final pitstop just after 10pm, absolutely buzzing. 7miles to go, I could walk the rest and still hit well under the 20hour mark, and a bit of intermittent jogging would comfortably see me in before 1am. I took 5mins to check my feet over, a final heavenly switch to dry socks and a quick bite to eat. As I sat on the floor of the tent, I spoke to the guy next to me. I give him a 'well done mate. 7 miles to go. You've got this'. It turns out he didn't have it. He'd dropped out, telling me he was done. I was genuinely astonished. He had 9hours to complete 7miles and his body has just said 'nah, not today mate'. I tried to talk him round telling him I'd walk it with him, but he'd already withdrawn. I left him with a '63miles, mate. You should be proud. There's always next year'.

Headtorch on, I left the checkpoint around 10:30 and legs like heavy but a bit of a skip in them. I called Jen to put her and my pal Morny on standby for my collection. Ready to proudly to declare I would be beating my 18hour A-Goal and would be in before 1am. Expecting a 'that’s amazing, well done. I'm so proud', I was instantly brought back in my box with 'your predicted time is 12:05! Move your arse and you'll get in before midnight'.

Aye, cheers for that! That's a lot easier to do when you haven’t just RAN ACROSS THE COUNTRY! I dropped into a run for 2:30minutes walk for 30secs as I tried to claw back some time. The first time in the run I had felt a bit of time pressure. I hit the Tyne with about 2.5miles to go when my ETA dropped below midnight, I just needed to keep going. The last couple of miles were amazing. Random folks on nights out cheering you on, telling you what an amazing job you had done. I hit the millennium bridge nearly 8minutes to midnight, "sprinting" across the bridge to finish in 16hours and 53minutes (23:53 timewise) with Jen and Morny on the finish line.

Aftermath

A quick photo with my medal and it was on the important stuff... Food... Chilli and chips at the finish. I told you Rat Race were unbelievable! According to the feedback, I "looked like I been out for a morning stroll" and "don't look anywhere near as fucked as you did for Glasgow to Edinburgh"... I am taking both as huge compliments.

The smashing of the chilli and chips was followed by the car journey back to the Maughan household via Maccy Ds. Once in the house, a wee bath and it was ready for bed. I'd say sleep my I was still rattling from the copious amount of Haribo consumed throughout the day. The little sleep I had was broken with the sudden realisation that I had stupidly left my bag at the end of the race... I'm blaming the runners high, but it was simply because I'm an idiot! Thankfully Rat Race had taken it and sent it to me... See... Amazing!

Four Weeks Later — Reflections

I'm now 4 weeks post-race, this has given me a bit of time to think about things. This is what I've asked myself...

• would I do it again? Absolutely. It was one of the best and most challenging experiences I've had. I genuinely loved every second of it and it shows in the photos.

• What would I do differently next time? Not start the race carrying half a gallon of fluid! The pack was heavy, starting the race with a litre and fill up as you go. I would probably include more hill training in the plan. The middle section was tough and while it's a bit of a pain to travel to areas with more hills it would have been worth committing to doing it. Finally, I wouldn't forget my bag at the end.

• would I recommend it? Of course. It's tough, the training is really tough (and you can't just turn up!!), the distance and the weather on the day makes you question yourself, but it is worth every second. Around 20% of the participants didn't complete the race. Some of this would have been genuine injury but I think a lot would have been poor preparation either in training or being ready for the conditions. If you want to do it, then you can but fully commit.

• what's next? I've had a few weeks off post-race and I'm on a plane back from a holiday as I write this. Once I'm home, it's straight into back-to-back marathon training blocks for Valencia then Manchester. I have always wanted to do the major marathons. I've been knocked back 29times from ballots (including club and double chance entries), while I still do want to do them, I've felt my priorities shift to ultra running. There's nothing in the pipeline yet but I definitely see a 100-miler and a devil-fling-west highland way triple crown in my near future.

Thank Yous

Anyway, if you have stuck with me this long... thank you but a few other thanks I wanted to say. A lot of folks helped me out along the way, and I feel it's important to recognise their input to me finishing this race.

Thanks to the Maughans for the support (and surprise visit), food and the lodgings. KDH and Eilz for the coaching and support, you played a massive role in the