Well, as last week went on, I got simultaneously more apprehensive and excited about what Saturday would bring. Well, I knew it would bring 50 miles, but I was unsure what I would bring to the situation. This was to be my third ultra, and I'd enjoyed the first two. But the last few weeks have all been a bit of a disaster training wise. My Granny passing away, a new job and relocating, catching a cold (so bad, it was definitely man-flu), the approach of dark dark nights (although this happens every year, I am still utterly unable to cope with winter).
So, Friday night, my Mum and I set off East. To Yorkshire! We bedded down in a Travel Lodge near the start of the race, for a few short hours before it was time to be up and off. Ready or not....Round Rotherham day is here!
After a sight mishap where I misplaced my phone (the only thing the race instructions said you definitely must have to carry with you at all times) through using it as a torch in the car on the way here, as it was so early it was still dark, I met up with Beth, who I'd met on the race Facebook group, as we were planning on doing the race in about the same time.
At 7 am we all gathered in the car park and off we went. I will say one thing for getting up before dawn has even cracked, and that is seeing the sun rise, even through the rain and cloud, it's nice to be out running and have a few miles under your belt as the new day starts.
The route turned out to be quite tricky to navigate. By quite tricky, I mean difficult. And by difficult, I mean that if, like me, navigation is never described as one of your strengths, it was a complete nightmare. I may be exaggerating, but I was glad to have Beth to consult with at all times, for sure. The first few miles were OK, as everyone was still close together. My first test came at about 10 km when we were running through Elsecar Woods, and I ended up (accidentally) at the front of our group, and ended up leading us through the woods. What's that saying about leading someone through the woods without trees? I don't remember, in fact there may not even be a saying, but that doesn't matter, because here's the important thing, one wrong turn in the woods on a 50 miler, and you'll end up doing 60. Fortunately, a friendly Round Rotherham veteran and his posse took control, and we emerged in one piece (one piece each, not attached) at the first checkpoint at 10 miles. Snacks (yes Becka, I had some cake, despite it being not even 9 am yet) and a top up of water were welcomed, and some words of encouragement from my Mum (ta!) sent us on our way for the next leg.
Sadly, after the cake stop, we seemed to have lost the nice Round Rotherham expert, so we were on our own, which went well, for approximately 2 minutes, when another helpful Round Rotherham expert stepped in. The race organizers provide an impressive array of options to help navigate. I went for some great strip style maps, plus written instructions. Unfortunately, I hadn't practiced much with the maps beforehand, and hadn't realised the orientation of them was a bit different to a normal OS map, so some interesting moments occurred, before we go the hang of it. Then all was fine, and we didn't need rescuing again, which was handy, as the further on you get, the less helpful people there are sauntering around the countryside. There were 16 strips of map to get round the whole race. I got into a little system of moving them from one pocket to another once we'd finished that section. Many people tell me I am mental to run long distances. I would argue that although I don't necessarily agree with this statement, a lot of running is mental. You've got your fitness through training, then you mustn't think to yourself you are about to run 50 miles. It's such a long way! I was going to run along 16 little bits of paper. Sounds much better. As my left pocket got fuller and my right pocket emptied, and the little stick person crossing the finish line on page 16 got closer, I knew we could do it.
Well, it's funny where you run (literally) into people. A few hours in and running through a field, and I saw Tanya and Nigel - I met them on the Woldsman in 2013, and it's thanks to their recommendation that I looked into doing this very race. Despite not seeing each other for 18 months, and only having met once then, we all recognized each other, and it was great to see them again.
We kept on chipping away at the distance. I kept a track of the things in my body that seemed to be going wrong, which is always an interesting little exercise on a long run. First a got a nerve trapped in my knee, but that didn't last long. Then I felt blisters starting to come. Then at checkpoint 4 I tripped over a sleeping policeman whilst I was talking to my Mum, and jarred my dodgy hip, which then niggled for the rest of the race. Then towards the end Beth's knee started playing up. Then, I started having stomach ache. I mention this only for interest, if you're interested. I was utterly unimpressed. Having taken no less than 6 years to crack what to eat and drink in a marathon, it seems that you can't just keep doing that for a longer race, you have to eat proper food and do things differently. I'll save this discussion for another rainy day. Now there's something for you to look forward to.
Back to the race. There was some truly beautiful parts of the route. One of my favorites was Roche Abbey, a beautiful Gothic ruin, which wasn't originally a ruin, of course, but quite happy being an abbey until the lovely Henry VIII in his best tyranty-self pillaged the lotl.
Some miles were spent choosing some posh houses in some pretty villages that we would buy if we won the lottery. There sure are some big houses around here.
We arrived at the second to last checkpoint to see my Mum again, who had been helpfully, although slightly ominously, standing at the gate to a graveyard, and pointing 'this way' to runners. Fortunately, all made it through the graveyard to the checkpoint where there were cheese straws to be had, which reminded me of my Gran, and remained me that she is always here. Not in the form of a cheese straw, but because she has created so many happy memories that keep popping up.
After leaving this checkpoint, a relay runner who had just finished off his leg, carried on running with us for a while, to help us through a tricky navigational bit. A mile or so later, we saw him again, after he'd driven his car up to another bit he was worried we might find difficult. And then another mile later, he popped up again to help us out! What a nice man!
The last few miles were a bit more built up and gritty as we got back to Swinton. As we were about 0.5 miles from the end of completing our circle, a man asked us where we had run from. We pointed and said 0.5 miles in that direction....or......49.5 miles in the other...
...and 0.5 miles later we finished (although in one final navigational hiccup we almost ran through the car park and carried on for another lap) in a time of 9:46:35. 1 hour and 26 minutes faster than my last 50 race. Pleased with that. And made a new running pal, met lots of lovely people, spent time with my Mum, and saw some nice places on the way. Good times! Very enjoyable race. Thank you to Beth for running with me, my Mum for supporting us, everyone who made it happen, and all the nice people at the checkpoints who gave up their Saturday to stand in the cold and cheer tired muddy people on their way.
Well, there we go. Having a little rest for a few days now.
P.S. Bored.....have entered next years LDWA 100 miler in May.
P.P.S. I've remembered that saying. Can't see the woods for the trees. That has nothing to do with anything here. Never mind.
