Thank you Lakeland 50/100 for all the stories coming our way.

As the rain bounces off the ground outside my window I’m reflecting on what has been a race weekend of epic proportions. The Lakeland 50/100 doesn’t do things by halves and this year was no different.
My main focus was the 50 as my husband was running that, and I am so over the moon to be able to say the race was a complete success for him. After months of rehab, training, stress and worry, the stars aligned and the boy done good!! What a comeback! I’m so proud.
And I had friends running in both the 50 and the 100. It wasn’t to be for some of them, and for others, the were able to make it to Coniston and collect their finishers medal and t-shirt. And what a fantastic welcome awaits all those who make it there. It’s a joyous and hugely emotional moment for most of the runners. It’s an amazing achievement joining the Lakeland 50/100 family.

The races are tough: the terrain, the weather, the underfoot conditions and the ascent/descent, and in the 100 than incredibly tight cut-offs and lack of sleep. We all enter these races knowing, at some level, that they are going to test us. They are meant to be tough. That’s why we do them. But until race day we just don’t know how much we are going to be challenged. We just know that we want to be part of it.

So what is it about these races that draws us in? Why are we out in the wind and rain, soaked to our skin, running along rocky paths through the depths of the Lake District?

We all have our own reasons for being there. Some are seeking victory, positions, trophies and prizes- pitting  themselves against fellow athletes, battling for the glory. Others are competing against themselves, battling the inner demons that say ‘you can’t do this’ and proving to themselves that actually they can. Others are there because they love the adventure, being outside in the beautiful countryside and going on a journey. And others just love a day or days out in the Lakes with fellow ultra-runners enjoying the running and  camaraderie.

Ultra running is a funny thing. Unless you are running round a track (or short tarmac route) you are all facing slightly different versions of the same course. [Extreme example; in the Spine Challenger by the time I got to approximately 100 miles a ‘river’ had burst its banks and I waded through hip- deep flood water - those further ahead of me didn’t experience this.] And the longer it takes you to complete a race, the likelihood is that you will experience far more weather problems than those who finish in half the time. Conversely those at the front may go so fast that they run into weather issues which may have disappeared by the time later runners get to the same point.

Our races experience is affected by so many factors. We all come into the races with different levels of fitness and different levels of capability. Come race day we may have acquired a few niggly injuries or picked up a bug. Our backgrounds, home lives, work lives, stresses and strains away from running are all different. So while we all stand on the same start line, we are all starting from different places, both physically and mentally. And that’s one of the wonderful things about ultra runners, we are an eclectic bunch of people of all kinds of backgrounds and abilities but we are all heading out on a crazy and wonderful and inspiring journey together. I mean, how many of us feel like we are actually good runners? How many of us feel that we are at our peak, primed, fit, injury-free and ready to nail it? How many of us have not left a pile of stresses and worries behind, feeling pulled in every direction by life, to focus on this one single purpose of getting from A to B as fast or as enjoyably as we can? We have done what training we could, physical and mental, and we face the race. By the end  we have learn new things about ourselves, about our capabilities, and hopefully we have learned new things to try in our training for next time. Yes! Next time! You know you want to!! Or at least, you will in a week or so. Trust me.

There are 1001 different race stories from these events because we have 1001 different race experiences, but we are bonded together by sharing in the event, sharing our stories, licking our wounds and inspiring each other. And you know what, I bloody love race stories! The good, the bad, but especially the ugly! Ha ha.

Go make some stories!!!

Clyde Stride / Clyde Shuffle

Two weeks ago I entered a race. For £23 you’d be lucky to get entry into a 10k race these days, so the idea of running a 40 mile ultra for that price, and a last minute call for final entries was too much to resist. It was the perfect opportunity to test where I am fitness-wise and strength-wise (general strength but mainly an assessment of my hip/groin).
I never expected to finish if I’m honest. Having only done 5 runs of 10 miles or longer this year (Spine Challenger excepted) with 15 miles being the longest, I just wanted to see how far I could go before things started to break down. I don’t normally do races as training runs but it seemed much easier to do the sort of run I wanted by entering the race - more likely to push on a bit/ make more of an effort - and it meant I could explore a route I have never set foot on before.

I DNFed the race after 20 miles. I was physically ready to stop at about 14 miles.

So here are a few take-always from today:

I have missed the excitement of race morning.
It’s been too long since I saw my fellow Scottish ultra runners (from north of home).
Ultra marathons are great ways to meet cool people.
Most people in ultra running are totally sound.
Some people in ultra running are not so much.
It’s hot in the city.
Muscle memory only works if you’ve done the training to remind it.
Navigating and racing at the same time is very distracting and time consuming.
If you don’t know where you are going, you spend the whole time worrying you’re going the wrong way, and you breathe a huge sigh of relief each time you see a marker.
I tried a new drink. It wasn’t for me.
I tried running jelly - it’s still too much like a gel for me.
A Diet Coke and a massive burp can work wonders on a hot race day.
Fat bits can get as sore as muscle bits when you’re running a long way.
Sport Sheild is literally the best thing an ultra runner can use to stop chaffing.
I need new summer running socks - my go-to socks have a hole in!
My Montane skort, no matter how old, or how many times it’s been worn, is my most reliable piece of running clothing. It can do no wrong.
Running across the Raith Interchange was actually kind of cool.
DNFs are never an easy decision but sometimes they are the correct one.
I had been ready to call it a day at 14 miles - legs were sore and feeling used up. Not through lack of energy but through muscle breakdown/lack of training strength.
My hip/groin did better than I’d hoped.
Hard work does pay off, it just takes a lot longer than you hope for.
I’ve made a lot of progress in the past 6 months.
I still have a very long way to go.
I’m still not sure if I will go ahead with the surgery or not.
I like rain and temperatures of about 10-15 degrees.