Preparing for my first ultramarathon - Just getting to the start line in one piece has been a huge challenge!

As I write this I have 2 days to go until I hopefully line up in the shadow of Dunster Castle to start my first ultramarathon. It's a 50km race up and down the hills of Exmoor with about a mile of vertical elevation to climb! I say hopefully as this has been over 15 years in the planning with a lots of injuries and cancelled races along the way. So until I hear the starting gun, I'm taking nothing for granted! I've just completed my final little pre race run and it's time to put the feet up now.

I remember when I lived in London and was competing in triathlon I read about a 100 mile foot race along the Thames, starting in Richmond and finishing in Oxford. Then learning that this takes up to 24 hours non-stop and you're running through the night blew my mind. I'd competed in numerous Ironman races with 10 hours or so of racing but this was a whole new level. I immediately put this event on my mental 'to-do-list'. I'm not entirely sure why I feel drawn to these extreme events (some sort of self sabotage and/or self esteem issues probably!) but the enticement of these difficult events is there.

Around this time I started having some health issues which were difficult to diagnose. But looking back with hindsight I was suffering from burnout. I was juggling a very stressful job trading in the City, bringing up young children and doing a ridiculous amount of hours a week triathlon training. Add into the mix my neurodiverse brain which brings another layer of stress to everyday life and it all came to a head with a bit of a health car crash. Any plans for ultramarathons were shelved.

In 2016 we left London for Somerset in search of a better quality and slower pace of life and the hope of better health. This took a few years to see the benefits but I eventually saw some big improvements in my wellbeing and a few years ago I started running again. At first it was just to try and lose a bit of weight but it didn't take long before I entered a half marathon to give myself some motivation. Then that dormant ultramarathon idea started to reappear and I began looking at potential events online. Many of these events pose logistical challenges in that firstly they are not local and secondly the start and finish point are often really far apart which requires some planning. Then I stumbled across a local 50 mile race (they also do a 100 miler but we'll come to that another day!) which starts in Taunton and finishes in Minehead which sounded very doable for Lisa to drop me off at the start and then be there at the finish 8 hours or so later with the kids to cheer me over the line. It had the added benefit that part of the route came through our village which would mean good support. Within 2 minutes I had signed up for the 2024 edition.

All was looking good and I raced some decent half marathons in 2023 and was in great shape. Then out of the blue one day in the kitchen I felt a twinge in my back. What followed was numerous visits to doctors, physios, osteopaths, chiropractors and orthopaedic surgeons trying to diagnose the problem. It didn't help they all told me something different. It turned out my lowest spinal disc had collapsed (not totally uncommon with age) and this was causing inflammation in the adjacent facet joints. Steroid injections in the spine didn't help at all. I couldn't run for over a year and I thought my running days were over which was a tough pill to swallow. However, last year I started Pilates, daily stretching as well regular ice baths & sauna (I'm now a qualified thermalism instructor) and the back slowly started to improve. This story is a whole separate blog post and a big part in why we are bringing running retreats with a big focus on injury prevention to Old Rectory House next year. It was such a steep and long learning curve and I'd love to share these benefits with other runners.

So that 2024 50 miler was another race in the bin of abandoned dreams! Late in 2024 I gradually started running again seeing what my body can take. My back is always going to be a weak point now but the orthopaedic surgeon I saw said I wouldn't do any more damage by running, which was a green light to me. Running quick on a hard road surface definitely doesn't agree with my back and leaves it very stiff and sore. But running trails off road is way better. And instead of quick running to get fit, if I focus on hills (and we have a lot of hills around here!) I can get the same fitness benefits and more without the brutal pounding of road running. This was another learning curve and more knowledge I can bring to run coaching.

So again I started looked for ultramarathon races to enter. The 2025 edition of the Taunton - Minehead 50 miler wasn't viable as we had a big event for our business planned that weekend. However the previous year I had driven past a big running event in Dunster which I googled. It was a 50km ultramarathon starting and finishing at Dunster Castle with a very hilly route over Exmoor. Perfect! I signed up immediately. I had about 9 months until the event which gave me plenty of time to get in shape and figure out how to manage the training load with my dodgy back.

All was great until early March this year. Training was going well and my fitness was building nicely. Then I was out running one day and I felt a twinge in my hip. Not a pain that immediately made me stop so I decided to run through the pain and I ended up doing quite a hard run. That was a massive mistake and I couldn't run for the next 2 months with this hip injury (all linked to the bad back). The big lesson here was to learn when to stop. If I'd stopped immediately when I felt that twinge I reckon I'd have been fine a few days later but pushing on caused a longer term injury. I'm always feeling little niggles when running and sometimes you can run them off but my mantra now is if in doubt, stop. Another lesson learnt the hard way.

So no running for March and April was far from ideal. 2 months is such an annoying amount of time to be out injured. Just long enough for a vast majority of fitness to disappear. Once the injury finally cleared and I could start running again I had exactly 15 weeks until the ultra. Literally couch to 50k! I knew it was doable but things would have to go smoothly from here on in. Which they pretty much did although the back didn't allow me to do as much volume as I'd have liked. I did a lot of hill reps on my treadmill which is kinder on my body than running outside and I started to increase the mileage of the long runs. These longer runs are a vital part of prep for any long distance race to build the fitness and prepare your mind and body for running that far. I even managed a really hilly 45km training run which took 5 and a half hours. This is way longer time wise than I'd ever run and probably not in many training manuals to basically run your ultra race distance in the build up but I needed to see if my body was up to it. I got it done well even though the last couple of hours were very tough but that session gives me a lot of confidence for race day.

I've been tapering for the last 2 weeks where I've reduce the running load right down to let the body absorb the fitness and recover to feel rested for race day (that's the theory anyway). A well timed taper can be a massive advantage on race day so fingers crossed I've got this one right. It's hard to know what my expectations are for this race. In some ways I feel hideously underprepared as my body hasn't allowed me to do all the training I want, but the positive spin on that is given my limitations, I've done all that I can. Being a bit of a numbers geek I can normally get a good handle on what time I can go for. Looking at my training numbers I think sub 6 hours is a possible target. But there are so many variables and always the chance of hitting the wall and blowing up so I'm just going to focus on good pacing and not going off too quickly. It's so easy to get caught up in the moment and start to quickly when you're feeling good and the adrenaline is flowing but that always makes for a grim end to the race. It's going to be hard enough anyway at the back end so I need to do everything right to have a good day. Try and run all the flat, downhill and the shallower hills but I know some of the steeper hills will have to be walked which is normal for these races, even for the top guys. I haven't seen the course before so I'll just have to figure this out by instinct on the day.

There is a lot of literature out there on race nutrition. When I ran the 45km a few weeks ago I just had 1.5 litres of water with me and 5 energy gels so I know I can get through with that. There are aid stations on route so I can pick up a few extras as I go, but I'm not planning on wasting too much time at these. I'll also stick a few jelly babies in my running vest so when I'm trudging up the steep hills I can have something to perk me up a bit!

Race weight is an interesting topic. I never think it's healthy to obsess about weight but if you're training hard and eating properly, your body should find it's optimum weight. But any endurance event, especially with hills involved, it is a big advantage to be light. If you look at the Tour de France, the lead guys are absolute waifs and they fly up the Alps. If you ran up a hill then you had to do it again but this time I gave you a 5kg weight to carry you wouldn't be very happy. So dropping that 5kg in bodyweight can not only make running easier, but you're also putting less pressure on your joints and body which can help prevent injury. I've been eating healthier than ever (not counting calories, just cutting out snacking and eating well balanced meals) and I haven't had any alcohol for a while. I'm the lightest I can ever remember being as an adult and a stone lighter when I ran a sub 3 hour marathon in Amsterdam (why the hell didn't I get in better condition for that race?!) So even though I'm 50 next year and most definitely don't have the speed I used to, by being more disciplined with my diet I'm giving myself the best chance. So the training is done and I'm in as good physical conditions as can be given my limitations and I have a race plan. It's just a questions now of hoping for a fair wind on the day and trying to enjoy it. When it gets tough I need to remember I'm choosing to run this race and I'm extremely fortunate to be able to do these things. Watch his space for a post race debrief!