Mourne Way Marathon + Ultra
Marathon x2 Please
16.06.2010
I'd recently read Dean Karnazes' book, Ultramarathon Man, which planted a seed in my mind that going beyond the marathon distance can be highly rewarding. I decided to go for a 30 mile run that weekend and see how I coped. It went well and gave me confidence that in a worst case scenario I could complete a minimum of 30 miles in reasonable shape then just shuffle my way to the finish.
For the remaining 6 training weeks I lifted weights, ran hills, and did more long runs (longest was 35 miles). Bottom line: I wanted to be ready for this ultra monster. I wanted to be stronger than when I had a slightly negative experience in the 2009 Causeway Marathon. In it the last 5 miles were the toughest of my life and I missed doing a 4 hour marathon by 3 minutes.
Eventually race week arrived. I've never been as excited about an event from 7 days out. I woke with thoughts of the ultra most mornings.
My objective going into the race was to survive, nothing else. At the start line I kept repeating an ultra runner's mantra that I'd heard somewhere: 'start slow, then taper off!' I lined up at the back of the field, determined that the adrenaline, which was in full flow, wouldn't get the better of me.
At the 10k point I had overtaken a few folks but the majority of the runners were still ahead - I was in 34th place. The next stretch was a bit boggy till we hit the road up to Spelga. That part is quite steep. I powerwalked it and overtook a few more folks, which got me up to up to 25th by the 13 mile point.
The piece from there to Tollymore is lovely to run. It's soft underfoot but not too boggy, pretty much ideal. The views are incredible! As I was coming into Donard Wood (about 22 miles) the leader, Eoin Keith, passed me running back towards Rostrevor. He was roughly 8 miles ahead - I was suitably impressed and managed to say 'well done!' after I'd picked my chin off the floor.
I passed another few folks so I was 17th by 26 miles. Took care of my feet, had a slice of cake, about a gallon of water and hit the trail again. My Garmin told me I'd done the marathon in roughly 5 hours and that I'd stopped for 10 minutes at halfway.
I assessed how everything was going: nutrition spot on – no nausea and I’d eaten plenty, hydration good – drunk a litre of water with electrolytes per hour, body condition –feeling strong. Therefore I decided to push on a little harder in the second half and try to finish in less than 10 hours.
The route back through Donard and Tollymore was very hard because of the heat ... it was about midday and there wasn't a breath of wind. I met up with another runner and we walked for a while chatting away. The camaraderie among ultra runners is brilliant. The walk was good for cooling down and I enjoyed the craic but I felt a sense of urgency so I decided to press on.
I overtook another few runners between there and the 39 mile point. It seemed my strategy of starting slow and finishing strongly was paying off. My hyper-competitive side started to kick in and the adrenaline started to flow because one of the runners I'd just overtaken was gaining on me heading back up to Spelga. I powerwalked like never before and had dropped the runner when I looked back from the top of the hill. Things were starting to feel a bit tougher now generally and it was still 10 miles to the finish.
Got to about 9 miles to go and saw a runner behind me again. I thought 'no way ... has the runner I overtook got a second wind?' I redoubled my efforts and pushed hard though my body didn’t really want to. The next time I looked back there was a second runner ... then a third as well. The first runner was quite close at that point and I managed to see that he had a number with a yellow band: he was in the half marathon race. What a relief that was!
The half marathon runners gave me an amazing boost. Pretty much every one of them recognised I was an ultra marathon competitor and were very encouraging. Thanks folks I really appreciated your support!
It seemed like ages before I got to the start of Kilbroney Wood. The run to the finish was all downhill thankfully and I gave it the full gas, which in my state translated to 10 1/2 mins per mile, but at least I managed to keep running with short walk breaks :)
Finally I began to hear music and realised the finish was not far off. I swore to myself that I was just going to go for it and sprint all the way home from there. I gritted my teeth, smiled through the pain and went for it! Crossing the line was so sweet! I wish everyone could experience the feeling but ultra running seems to be the preserve of the very few, so it's an experience that not many will have. In the end I was 10th. I'm very pleased with that because I just set out to survive this ultra so I think I can do more in future events.
I went for an ice bath at the finish, which made me feel remarkably comfortable after it. Brilliant job those things! I wasn't any sorer than after Belfast Marathon and felt good enough the next day to walk a couple of miles. On the day after that muscle soreness was all but gone.
So was it worth it? Absolutely: finishing a marathon feels good; finishing an ultramarathon feels ultra good. If you're even a little intrigued by this I'd encourage you to give ultra running a go - maybe start by reading Dean Karnazes' book and see where it takes you. I'll definitely be doing this event again next year!
In the meantime I’ve a score to settle at the Causeway Marathon where I want to strongly, hopefully well inside the 4 hour mark…
SleepMonsters
