One Day Ultra - Summer 40 Brecon Beacons report

Having completed the Green Man Challenge, I was looking for my next event over the Spring/Summer, something a bit quirky and not too far away.

Having checked out Man vs. Horse and Race the Train, I decided these were too far away. So I searched Keith Godden's ULTRAmarathonRunning.com for possible events. That's how I came across the One Day Ultra - Summer 40 Brecon Beacons organised by the Mightcontainnuts.com crew. The event seemed perfect - not being too far away, a 40 miles race over the mountains with fabulous views.

Having entered, I modified my training to suit this event - Plenty of box steps with a large weight in a backpack, two dumbells in my hands and ankle weights - to prepare for the ups and downs of the course.

So, on Friday 20th May, I travelled up to Talybont on Usk to the Talybont Outdoor Centre - A Grade 2 Listed former railway station, now used as an outdoor pursuits centre, complete with accommodation. I was booked in for Friday and Saturday night.

After arriving, I registered, then met and chatted with some of the event organisers and other competitors, then made myself something to eat (pasta/pesto followed by sticky toffee pudding).

The weather was looking lovely on Friday evening:

I shared my room with Pat and Ian. Pat, 58 years-old and retired from the army - Hard as nails but very green when it comes to ultra running. Ian, a 47 years-old surgeon from Nottingham.

My sleep during the night was average, with plenty of snoring from my room mates and door banging from the next door bathroom. I got up at about 5:30am to have a good big breakfast and still leave plenty of digestion time before the 8:00am race start.

Over breakfast (rice pudding, followed by toast and marmalade) I managed to discuss the course with some fellow runners - Along a canal path and then over Tor Y Foel, Corn Du, a loop down to a car park (for more water) before going back up Corn Du and then onto Pen Y Fan, a long descent, a difficult climb up Cribyn, Fan Y Big and then finally back down to the finish back at the Outdoor Pursuits Centre.

The course profile looked pretty scary:

In my mind, I had decided to split the course up into approximately eight 5-mile sections and four major climbs.

My nutrition for the day would start with a bottle of Lucozade Sport, move onto gels, then finally solid food in the form of muesli bars and protein bars.

The race briefing:

The course started out with quite a long, flat section mostly on a canal towpath. Quite a big group took-off along here, but I was quite happy to amble along, knowing there was plenty to come.

The course markings were easy to follow:

The first descent:

After about 8-10 miles I found that Ian (who I'd met at the race HQ) and I were progressing at a very similar pace. We got chatting, and then ended-up completing the rest of the course together.

The views were stunning. Although some of the ascents and descents required enough concentration that some of these weren't appreciated as much as they should have been.

Ian and I were progressing well. It felt much more of a competitive race to me than I felt during the VoTwo Oner, which was much more about survival. This time, I was picking off other competitors (in the nicest possible way ;-) ).

There were only a few linking road sections:

This following picture is of the Cribyn. At about 28 miles into the race, this was quite a challenge!

Ian had decided to bring telescopic trekking poles for some of the sharper ups and downs. I tried them out and they seemed to help somewhat.

On top of the Cribyn (it was getting colder and beginning to rain a bit):



After Fan Y Big, we descended to a big dam which marked about 2 miles to the finish. During this descent, we overtook another runner, and by the time we reached the dam, he looked far enough back that we weren't expecting to see him again. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case - I had just opened a gate for Ian, and this chap came out of nowhere, and ran through the gate. Not wishing to lose the race position, I took-off after him.

We had about 0.5 mile to go, and I soon caught him up, but didn't have the legs to overtake. When we got to a small muddy bank about 100 metres from the finish, he ran up and I knew he'd beaten me. Still, I was pleased to have put in a run like that after 40 gruelling miles.

I waited for Ian before we both crossed the line to record the same time.

Looking somewhat more tired than at the start!

All in all, this was a great race - A great course (scenic, tough, but not overly long), very well organised by an extremely nice race crew, good showers, and finished off with a freshly cooked chilli con carne - What more could you ask for!

I was very pleased with my race performance. I think I prepared pretty well, got my nutrition on the day about right and felt like I was racing rather than just surviving.

For the record, Ian and I came 20th in 8 hours 21 minutes - Results

Not sure what next. Ian was keen to plant the seed for doing UTMB in 2012 - Something to think about. We also talked about the 3 Peaks Yacht Race, which is definitely something I'll look into for next year.

Take a look at these photos to get a real feel for the day:

Next step - 5 hours...

Up and out at 5:30am this morning for a 5 hour run/walk. Beautiful weather.

The run contrasted the industrial harshness of Avonmouth:



With the beauty of the Spring flowers:



My training is progressing pretty well so far. I've been reading the following book, which is giving me something to think about during my long runs:



I have a couple of weeks without a long run now but then will hope to go for a 6-7 hours longest training run before the Brecon Beacons race.

A new venture

Onwards and upwards (literally!). I have signed up for my next adventure - The Summer 40, Brecon Beacons. Billed as "a challenging, scenic, mountainous (40 mile) one day Ultra Marathon". The event takes place on 21st May.

My training for this event will mostly compose of 1) Building up my long run again to 6 or 7 hours, and 2) Lots of hill training and box step-ups with weights.

I got up at 5:45am this morning and went out for a 4 hour run. Pretty flat. Very comfortable. 5 hours next.

Luke's Green Man Challenge Report

Here's my report about taking on the Green Man Challenge on Sunday 27th February 2011. Warning: It’s very long!!!

Much of what I’ve written is rather more factual than those of some other Woodwoses because this my attempt to document my personal experience in the hope that it may be of some help or encouragement to others thinking of putting themselves forward.

Before I go into the background and preparation for the Green Man, I would like to give some very special thanks.

Firstly to Chris Bloor, who is the Father of the Green Man Challenge, provides encouragement and enthusiasm about the challenge and who very kindly transported me to and from the start line (and provided tea at Blaise Castle).

I'd also like to thank Ian Ruck and Antony Clark for accompanying me from Ashton Court to Shortwood Hill. Their good company helped make the first half pass by relatively quickly.

Thanks to Ruth (Ian’s wife), who not only got out of bed early on a Sunday morning to transport Ian and Antony to the start, but was there at Shortwood hill with my drop bag, a deck chair (which I was too scared to use) and a wonderful smile.

Finally, I really, really want to thank Jonathan Gledson. Jonathan helped me round the whole of the second half of the course - putting up with my dwindling sense of humour, carrying sodden, mud soaked trail shoes and letting me raid his rucksack for snacks and drink.

OK, now a little about the background and preparation...

The Green Man Challenge was something that I quickly got to know about after joining TACH in about September 2009. I had originally planned to run the challenge in March 2010, but was prevented through a back injury which kept me out of running for the whole Summer.

Some of the reasons to attempt the Green Man Challenge were in part the distance - a proper Ultra distance but nevertheless not too daunting, and also because it is a personal challenge rather than a race. However, the main reason is that it has been a wonderful chance to connect with the countryside which bounds our city (we are so very lucky to have such wonderful countryside, so close by).

My preparation was based upon the following principles:
1. Don’t use any fixed training plan as the challenge could be attempted at any time
2. Specificity - The course is long, reasonably flat and quite uneven under foot. I needed to prepare accordingly
3. Always remember, it's often the lack of recovery that causes injury rather than over training, and so always prioritise recovery over more training. Similarly, I read somewhere "Those that under-train will always finish. Those that over-train never get to the start line"
4. Judge long runs by 'time on your feet' rather than distance

Using the above principles, my training generally fitted the following pattern:
● Long run every 1-2 weeks (building from 2-6 hours)
● TACH training runs on Thursdays
● Some treadmill intervals (to strengthen legs)
● Core and upper body gym work

The treadmill sessions were pretty sporadic due to the combination of work commitments and recovering from the Sunday long runs. And looking back, I think I could have made more use of some of the very short 'free' runs that often present themselves if one puts ones mind to it. Like, for example, running over to where the swimming pool is for a family swim rather than going in the car.

A week in advance of the challenge, I completely abstained from alcohol and caffeine. The caffeine abstention was intended to give my body time to become more sensitised again to caffeine, such that when I really needed a lift, a caffeine hit would keep me going.

Also, on the Wednesday before the run I subjected myself to the pain of a thorough leg, hip and back sports massage.

My nutrition plan was to take just Hammer Perpetuem (in a sweet, gloopy mixture) and water (with Nuun) for the first half, and then move onto solid food in the form of homemade choc-chip and banana bread, muesli bars and finally caffeinated gels.

Finally, in terms of preparation, my strategy for the run was simple - run at a very easy pace on the flat and downhills, speed march any up hills or when other walk breaks were required, and try to limit the time taken at any stops.

So to challenge day...

I got up about 5:45am to give me plenty of time for a good big breakfast (muesli, yogurt, honey and toast), lots of water to drink and time to digest.

Chris picked me up at 7:40am and we met Antony and Ian at the Green Man in Ashton Court in good time for an 8am start. Any thoughts of nervousness were dispelled as our conversation strangely veered onto the relative merits of Deadly 60 and Horrible Histories, against the ever so slightly surreal Chugginton.

The off:



The first leg up to Dundry followed by legs 2 & 3 to Pensford and Keynsham were all pretty straight-forward. Although, by Keynsham I was beginning to feel a slowly worsening twinge in my right knee. I swapped socks here as my original ones were in a pretty sorry state, and I could feel a few large pieces of grit irritating the soles of my feet.

At Kensham with the old Cadbury’s factory in the background:



Throughout the whole course the going underfoot was varied - some good, some wet and boggy, and some sticky.

Leg 4 to Shortwood Hill progressed quite well, although I was beginning to feel a bit tired and my knee was still sore. Thankfully, Ian and Antony were good company which helped a lot, and also, Antony's superior knowledge of the course proved invaluable on several occasions.

At Shortwood Hill, Ian's wife Ruth was waiting with my drop bag. I refueled with more Perpetuem and extra water, and departed with Jonathan as my support for the remainder of the race. Jonathan kindly carried a spare set of road trainers for me in his rucksack.

The next leg from Shortwood Hill to the White Horse at Hambrook was one of the hardest for me. I was beginning to feel really tired by now, and my knee was still pretty sore. So, as soon as we got to the end of the leg, I used the opportunity to take a couple of ibuprofen and caffeine tablets. Within 20 mins of the next leg (no. 6 to Patchway) I was in much finer fettle.

Jonathan was proving to be the ideal support, helping with gates and providing encouragement.

At Patchway, I had run out of fluid, and Jonathan kindly gave me a spare bottle he had of Lucozade Sport which turned out to be a welcome change for my palette which was getting sick of the over sweet Perpetuem.

I really enjoyed the route from Patchway to Blaise, the terrain is very mixed, with the contrast between the boggy flat land around Easter Compton and the views from on top of Spanorium Hill.

Just before Blaise Castle, I changed socks again and also moved to road trainers. I was surprised how heavy my trail shoes had got - they were caked in mud.

At Blaise we were met by Chris, this time with a very welcome cup of tea. I took a little more time at this stop, and had another couple of caffeine tablets, in preparation for the final 10k back to the Green Man.

As one can imagine, this final stretch was the hardest. By now my legs were pretty much spent. I suggested that perhaps Jonathan and I could swap legs, but he didn't like the look of what he was going to get in return.

There were a lot more short walk breaks now as I could feel my hamstrings cramping. But I knew I would finish, so my spirits were high even if my body was a bit broken.

It was wonderful to see Chris and Ian at the Green Man. As you might expect, I felt rather emotional.

At the finish:



I believe that the Green Man Challenge is the embodiment of TACH, Bristol, and most importantly, the passion Chris Bloor has for connecting people with the countryside. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone who reads this to consider taking on the challenge in some form (run, walk, relay, one leg at a time, etc.).

Luke Taylor - Woodwose XXXVIII
(Green Man Challenge, 8hrs 31mins, Sunday 27 February 2011)

The Green Man Challenge

The Green Man Challenge celebrates Bristol, a green city in the midst of the countryside, as part of the Forest of Avon. The Challenge follows the 48 mile course of the Community Forest Path.

Chris Bloor created the Green Man Challenge. He keeps a record of those who complete the challenge on his Closer to the Countryside website.

Chris has also created route instructions which split the course into 8 legs, each between 4.5-6.2 miles long.

The challenge can be undertaken solo, in pairs or as part of a relay.

My only plan so far for 2011 is to complete the Green Man Challenge, preferably in February/March.

Training so far has been sporadic rather than planned. However, I did have a day off work on the 4th January and used this to run/walk the first 4 legs of the course (about 22 miles). The course can start from anywhere along the route, but often starts from the Green Man sculpture in Ashton Court (the current blog header picture). The photo at the top of this post was taken just before I set off, looking out towards Dundry - the first leg of the course and about 5 miles by foot.

My 2010 Annus horribilis

Following my completion of the VoTwo ONER in August 2009, I took some time out before beginning to ramp-up my training again in December. Unfortunately, my training was curtailed by a back injury that nearly got better, but not quite.

My plan was to build up to a March attempt to run a 48 mile route around Bristol - The Green Man Challenge, and then run the Shakespeare Marathon in April.

My training continued to be hampered by the back injury. This put paid to the Green Man Challenge attempt, and probably effected my marathon training. However, I ran the marathon and finished in a PB of 3hrs27mins (I've only run one other marathon which was a shocker).

After the marathon, I consulted an osteopath and started a treatment programme. Unfortunately, this meant I had to take a break from all running over the Summer.

In August I started running again, building up slowly and just enjoying being out running.

Most of my really enjoyable runs have been out on training runs with the Town and Country Harriers (TACH) - Night time, offroad and about 10km.

I'm now at a stage where I can begin to ramp-up my training and look forwards to running the Green Man Challenge later in the Winter/Spring.

My back is now about 85-90%, and continues to improve when I take the time to do the exercises to help with strength and flexibility.

Onwards and upwards!