Back in 2008 when I completed my first sprint triathlon, I thought an "ultra" was a football hooligan and had no idea what an ultra actually was or that I'd end up being an ultra runner. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, an ultra is a run which is longer than a marathon. What I would like to convey to you in this blog, is just how special the ultra community is and how in less than 10 years I have a whole "family" of ultra runners and organisers that I can call my friends. I'm in touch with these friends almost every day as we have shared a special adventure together. I also hope if you are a runner you will step up to an ultra so that you experience this wonderful community for yourself.
The inaugural Ultra Race Romania, a 250km self supported race held over 7 days in the beautiful mountains of Romania, took place 2 weeks ago and due to Covid restrictions many runners either decided not to risk travelling or we not allowed to do so. As a result there were only 13 runners. Never the less the wonderful organisers put the race on and we were treated like rock stars before, during and after the race.
This blog is not a blow by blow account of the race and even if it was it would be relatively short as I only lasted 3 days and 100km. I have ran 2 similar styled events before in the Sahara Desert (MDS) and the Grand Canyon (G2G) but following my non-stop 205 miles at Lake Tahoe I decided I was going to race this staged race. It wasn't about completion, it was about pushing my limits to see how far up the leader board I could go. I failed. Nothing in life is guaranteed but my motto has always been "we are capable of so much more" and development only happens outside your comfort zone. I was certainly pushing the limits and was in 3rd place after day 1 and day 2. Unfortunately on day 3 I had stomach problems and couldn't keep down anything I put in my mouth. If you can put fuel in your car it will grind to a halt and that's what happened.
When you are in the wilds, and judging by the fresh bear paw prints and the piles of poo I was in the wilds, you have to keep your wits about you. Even having taken the difficult decision to pull out. I notified the organisers via my GPS but had to walk out to somewhere they could get a 4x4 into collect me - that turned our to be 6 km later and that was an exceptionally tough walk / stager. Pulling out was caused by 34 degrees heat, carrying 23 kilo's (34% of my body weight) on my back and gradients of 38 degrees. This ultra will gain the reputation of being one of, if not the hardest multi stage unsupported races of that I have no doubt.
When I describe what you go through on a multi-staged race to people they look at me as if I am mad. Why would you want to put yourself through all that, no washing facilities (except for a couple of rivers), freeze dried food, sleeping in a tent which was never level and living out of your rucksack? The answer is simple but needs some explanation. It's the people and the total detox from the outside world - you are almost totally cut off, unplugged!
Most of us lead a sedentary lifestyle. I run a business but most of my time am "driving a desk" so I wouldn't call that active or exciting although I am very privileged to do what I do. There's plenty of stress that comes with the territory and stress really does shorten your life so we need an antidote and running is a great stress buster and has got many of us through the lockdown restrictions. But ultra running, this takes it to a whole new level especially when it involves being unsupported and living in tents with people you haven't met before.
Back to Ultra Race Romania. We'd been waiting for 2 years to get to Romania but had built a good relationship with the organisers; Andrea, Daniel, Edi & Beatrice before we arrived. They had gone out of their way to reassure the runners that the race would be run safely in this Covid world - it was. We met the other runners at dinner and as always are swapping stories about their adventures. Soon we're swapping tips about food, strategies about the long day and the route. Yes this is a competition but to a man and women we looked out for each other because it's in the wilderness and there are additional risks such as bears, sheep dogs (more like wolves!) and snakes if you're really unlucky! It's not like running a race around a city. The competitors don't display huge egos because this isn't a sport for posers. It's too painful and you need to really want it to go through the discomfort of a race. But the rewards are worth it.
We started as 13 strangers and within 2 days we were like a family. This made it all the harder when I pulled out. Sitting in the back of the car we drove past 3 runners who were now my friends. I lent out the window and applauded them and shouted encouragement. When they saw it was me I could see the shock in their faces and they could see the tears in mine. I could have hidden behind the tinted glass and they wouldn't have known it was me but they deserved my support for the effort they were putting in.
Back at camp I was treated by the doctor and Gina, who had dropped out on day 1, gave me a massage. Since dropping out she has stayed in the camp and was giving massages to the runners and even the volunteers. What a trooper. That couldn't have been easy as it meant she was living in the tent with the runners and then had hours of spare time to pass before she saw them again. Just an example of the special people in this race. Poor Iona saw a bear at the end of the first day and got such a fright she pulled out.
The next morning the long day (70km) started at 6am and I agreed, unbeknown to the runners, to sing them away (500 miles which I did every day) but dressed in my kilt. When I showed up the place went mental with runners and volunteers wanting a picture with me. I'd also given an interview on video and it was unbelievably hard to hold back my emotions. This race, these people had really gotten a hold of me. When the runners were gone the volunteers fed me - a fresh tomato brought me to tears and this was the first real food in over three days. Man up I was saying to myself!
I made the difficult decision to leave the camp and go stay in a hotel - I needed complete rest and good food. I felt very selfish making this decision but the organisers made all the arrangements, called some favours in to transport me more than 2 hours away. I was also told in the 3 days I'd be away that if I needed anything, the organisers father was only a phone call away.
I was taken out to dinner by Mihai who dropped out the same day as me, his wife and their friends and Gina who had by now left the camp. The kindness and hospitality that was shown was unbelievable. The organisers stayed in touch and I sent all the remaining competitors an email each day to encourage them as I was following their progress online during the race. Getting emails at night in your tent is important so I hoped they'd appreciate it, which they did.
The four DNFs were taken to the finish line for the party and a real touching gesture was that we were allowed us to present the finishing medals as our friends came across the line - more tears. The nine finishers were all LEGENDS and had come through adversity to get to the finish line. From Tommo's shoes failing him and him taping rubbish to his insoles, to Vince's "poles" that he fashioned from tree branches or Irina needing her survival sheet to stay warm in the storm - there were plenty more heroic stories but that's for another day. The winner Davide finished in an incredible 38hrs 56 mins with the last runner coming in on 69hrs and 9 mins. Unbelievable to have finished off this no matter what the time - coming through this challenge in those conditions deserves all the respect these LEGENDS should get. I'm gutted at not being there with them but as I said at the beginning, nothing in life is guaranteed and this has been an adventure of a lifetime.
Then we partied and a unique feature of this race was two days of site seeing including Dracula's castle and Peles Castle, guided by professional guides. What a beautiful country Romania is and how hospitable and friendly the people are.
Since arriving home, the runners have all kept in touch and we will meet up when visiting each other or at another race. I've had plenty of time to reflect on my failure and have come to the conclusion, this has been my most successful failure. I raced for 100km and was lying third when my stomach problems led to me withdrawing. Could I have gone on? I've asked myself that many times but feel if I had then I would not have survived the following day as the stomach issues continued afterwards. It would been a risk to the race organisers had I continued. Safety first.
The winner, and now my good friend Davide Vitali, explained to me this had happened to him four times where he DNF'd so I will be taking some advice from him in how he manages it. I had the privilege of sharing my tent with Laurent & Richard who I'd run with in G2G & Tahoe and we had a great laugh as they tried to help me with my French! Every race has a "snorer" and Tommo was ours but his "liverpool banter" was hysterical or at least we think it was - didn't understand any of it!! Mike & Kristine from Canada planned their race with military precision and smashed it while local "hero" Cosmin held his second position throughout the race also using a stick instead of a running pole!
All the runners have their own story as to why they were there and what they were trying to achieve. I went wanting to race this race but came away after a life affirming adventure having been enriched by every competitor in the race. That is why I go through the discomfort of a multi-staged ultra. I now have an extended running family, one where I know we will stay in touch and will meet up again. It was the detox I needed and the result was totally unexpected. None of this would have been possible without the organisers who had a dream to showcase Romania whilst raising awareness for an Autism Charity. My final thanks goes to my wife and family who have also "lived this race" for the last two years with numerous sacrifices along the way. They understand what ultra's mean to me and how they hopefully make me a better person. Thanks to you all for your support. Till the next adventure, take care.
Sunday 22 August 2021
The allure of ultra running
Wednesday 18 August 2021
Ultra Race Romania - stage 3
Excuse the delay in my report. I did send it from the camp but now I am back in civilisation I see it didn’t arrive.
As advertised, this was going to be a very tough day and it lived up to it’s billing. Although the overall gradient was less, 31.2%, there were places where I really did question if I would reach the top if in fact it was the top and not a false summit. I’ve questioned this before when looking a huge sand dunes and my feet were sinking in the sand, but to have those thoughts when standing on firm ground gives you an idea how difficult it was.
I was concerned right from the start because last night I could only eat half my dinner meaning there wasn’t enough fuel in the tank. Breakfast and I only ate a quarter of it so I knew I was going to have to eat regularly on the move and make sure I kept hydrating. I was in third place overall but expected a couple of runners to get past me on this stage as I was taking it easy in preparation for the long day, stage 4.
My good friend Laurent was on a mission and headed off fast so I decided to let him go. I caught up with him at CP2 which was after a 7 km climb but I decided to take 10 minutes rest as I wasn’t feeling great in the heat. I took a salt table and immediately was sick - warning bells were ringing in my head. I still had over 22km to go (advertised as down hill - aye right!) and if I couldn’t keep liquids or food down I was in serious trouble. I left the CP and the summit was a short distance away, straight up. Possibly the steepest gradient so far and I took baby steps at get there. It was less than 10 minutes from CP2 but I decided to rest and enjoy the view. Mike & Christine from Canada came through so I thought I’d follow them on the descent to be safe and knew the other runners would be some way behind - possibly an hour.
The descent was horrendous. All sorts of hazards under foot, each of them a potential ankle breaker so it was very slow. I knew I was struggling as my friends disappeared into the distance. I met some locals climbing up the mountain with baskets of blue berries they had picked and they gave me handfuls to eat. They were so sweat, my mouth is watering just now thinking about them. However every time I tried to drink I was getting reflux. It’s hard to explain my physical and mental state at this time. I had no muscular pain in my body but my stomach was not happy. I was on my own, no one around for miles and there was fresh bear poo and paw prints It was almost impossible to run with the deep logger tracks that were slippy where wet and mud coming over my shoes. Staying upright wasn’t easy but I focused on the next check point - just get to the next CP and re-evaluate and maybe get some medical attention. From CP3 it was only 12 km to base camp and I could recover there.
However I was doubting whether I could manage CP3 to base camp as I had studied the map and knew it was difficult and eventually I started to think about my safety as I was hardly covering any ground. I kept banging my poles together to hopefully scare off the bears but that’s not something I’d thought about when training in Scotland. Going through the forest you had to keep your wits about you as you didn’t want to miss a sign, and at the same time there was the possibility of meeting a bear. I know the probability was low, only one competitor had seen a bear up till that point but she was so traumatised she withdrew, but it was in my head.
With a heavy heart I came to the conclusion that even if I could complete the day, I’d be in such a state and would still have 125km in the next three days that I was asking to much of my body that wasn’t accepting food or water. When I entered the race it was with a view to competing for a top 5 place but now it was about survival and self preservation. I pressed the button on my GPS tracker which alerted the organisers I had a problem and they would come and get me. However I wasn’t going to sit in the woods and wait for them so I continued walking. The logging track was horrific. Churned up by the machinery I was stumbling across tracks that were 2 feet deep and slippy with mud. I became clear that the organisers could never get a car up here so I slowly made my way down the hill. Eventually I heard a scrambler and one of the volunteers was there to see what the problem was. I explained and he told me to sit down and that the car would be here shortly. I’d walked 6 km since pressing the button and was totally done in / finished.
I got in the car and we drove the last 13km to the camp - seeing the terrain, I’d never have made it. When passing my friends I lent out the windows and shouted encouragement to them. I could see the shock in their faces but fortunately they didn’t see the tears in mine. My race was over. When I got back to the camp the doctor sorted me and I was looked after. I was the 2nd runner to drop out with the same problem that day. I was allowed to phone home and explain why I wasn’t appearing on the tracker any more. Fiona then posted the message so that everyone knew and could “stand down from dot watching”.
I cheered my fellow runners home but it was strange being in the tent with them knowing I wasn’t running in the morning. I had given the videographer Mike my kilt at the beginning for a finish line shot so went off to see him as I always sang 500 miles on the start line. We agreed that I’d surprise my pals at the start line so I put my kilt on and when they were all lined up, I stepped out. Instantly I had runners and volunteers hugging me and demanding a photo which was lovely and I really worked hard not to cry (man the fuck up I told myself!). I sang them off and they heading into the distance for the long day. Then the camp was silent.
The volunteers offered me food - real food. Bread with chicken pate and then they gave me a tomato - I bit into the tomato and cried. I have never tasted anything so wonderful. Christ what was happening to me, but they understood. Arrangements were made and they got me to a hotel a few hours away where I spent the next three days. I’ll cover that in my next blog. I’ve lots to share as this adventure wasn’t over but sadly my race was. I’ll be posting another blog on Sunday but I’d like to thank you for all your support and for your emails that I received while in the race. I hope I have conveyed what a multi staged race is like however as will come out in my next blog, this was way more than a race and will forever be etched on my soul. I also would like to thank the organisers for looking after me before during and after the race.
Friday 13 August 2021
URR Stage 2 - and they think it's all over!
Monday 9 August 2021
Ultra Race Romania - Day 1
Plenty of rest required because tomorrow is 38km with 1,826m of climbing. My game plan is to run the first couple of KM before the big steep climb starts and that's where the power walking begins. But it's slower than UK pace due to the heat, gradient and rucksack so be patient if tracking me. I'll run the downhills if the terrain permits and I'm safe to do so. I need to keep some in the tank as Wednesday is a really tough day.
Ultra Race Romania - Base Camp
T-1
I passed the covid & medical tests but my bag weighs 12.3kg, and that's having reduced my snacks! Another 1.5kg will be added with the water so the first 2/3 days are going to be affected by the weight as I weigh 67kg, it's a challenge.
I've studied the route and the altitude for day 1. I'm going to pace myself as this is a 6 stage race not a sprint. Where I can I will be running the downhills but I need to be sensible as I also have to acclimatise - it's in the 30's but there is a nice breeze. The key is staying hydrated and as we are hanging around camp waiting for dinner we are sheltering from the sun.
There are competitors from all around the world and a few racing snakes by the look of it. At our briefing last night we were warned about the bears and we're been given a bear spray and firecrackers!! Apparently there are also snakes, vipers, however they haven't seen any in the last couple of years - here's hoping that continues.
I'll post at the end of every day with the exception of the long 4th day, 70km, as my priority after that will be taking care of my feet, eating and going to sleep. I'll report back the following day which will be a rest day. As you know you can track me by going to www.ultraraceromania.ro and following the instructions and you can also email me. Receiving the printed emails in your tent at night can be the highlight of the day (or the lowlight if you don't get any!).
I'm now going to rest. Another briefing in an hour and dinner in 2 hours then an early night. It's down to business tomorrow. Let the adventure begin.
Sunday 1 August 2021
On the edge
8 days to go before I "toe the start line" in Ultra Race Romania. Time is running out as I finalise my food and a few last minute equipment purchases which I pray arrive on time before I travel. Getting on a plane will also be something I haven't done since February 2020, but I'm looking forward to a complete change of scenery and an internet detox. You will be able to track me during the race and I'll put up details when I know them. My only internet contact will be 15 minutes a day when I can send an email which I will do to my wife so she can update my blog on a daily basis. If you want to send me an email offering support then please do. It's the highlight of the night when you are in your tent and there is mail delivered. You have no idea the lift that it gives me. It's also terrible if a tent mate doesn't get mail - especially if it's me! I'll get the email address out soon.
As for being "on the edge" this is in relation to my last big week of training. It's a fine balance between getting me to the optimum condition while avoiding injury or making me too tired. But my coach Genevieve has nailed it.
This week involved me in my first race since September 2019. The John Lucas Memorial Ultra which had a relay race. ATHelite put 3 teams in and I had the first leg which was 16km with 322m of ascent. I pushed hard as one of my other team mates Mark was looking to beat me so was delighted to complete a very difficult leg with my average pace being 5:02 mins per km. Delighted with that and staying ahead of Mark - by one minute! After a few minutes rest I then headed out for the second leg but not to race it, just to run it for the distance. Another 18 km in the bag with 231m of ascent and an average pace of 5:30 mins per km. Very happy with that result as a race and as a training session. Our team came 4th and there were great performances from the individuals - well done guys. There is nothing to beat racing for real and it's wet my appetited for URR, although there are some serious runners in the race.
Today was a 5am start as I headed to the mountains on my own. I had some scrambling over rocks at the second summit and was very nervous although another climber who appeared from nowhere, gave me some guidance - my heart was in my mouth, again! I shortened the route to give me a long descent and I flew down the hill. My legs feel great and 3.5 hours of effort with 1,400m of ascent was a fantastic way to bring the hard training to a close.
My coach will be letting me know what I will be doing this week but it will definitely be a lot less and no more mountains. I've said it before but the first priority is getting to the start line and I'm almost there. The second is to get their fit and I think we can tick that box based on my numbers. She has taken me "to the edge" but that's been achieved safely no matter what my Garmin has been trying to tell me!
I aim to report back next Sunday from Bucharest on the eve of the race depending on the access I have to the internet. I'll make sure I let you know how you can follow me and send me emails. Thank you for all your support and I will be posting my charity page for Maggie's Cancer Centres. Like all charities they have suffered with a lack of donations during the pandemic and I hope we can raise some valuable funds for them as the support they give cancer sufferers and their family is just amazing.
