Jedburgh 3 Peaks Ultra

The Jedburgh 3 Peaks Ultra wasn't in my fixed race plan for 2014 but I had always intended on finding another race later in the season and after considering a few options I settled on the Jedburgh race.
The day before the race I left work to the words "you are a typical runner".  I guess I shouldn't have expected much asking for  the opinion on whether my colleague thought it would be a good idea  for me to race 38 miles with a cold. As most of you know it is pretty common to feel like you are getting a cold in the week before a race (affectionately -taperitis! i.e. any weird transient feelings of unwell you get when you are hypersensitive before a race). Anyway this was a bit more than that I had been feeling pretty rubbish all week and on Thursday after feeling a bit better on Wednesday I felt the worst I had been. I really wasn't sure I was going to race. In the end I decided to pack the car and see how I felt Friday lunch time. While I had run and even raced some shorter races with a cold I had been fortunate never to have had a cold before an ultra before so I really wasn't sure if it was a wise idea.
In the end I didn't feel as bad as I had on Thursdays on the Friday so I took a few deep breaths to check I wasn't feeling it in my chest and decided to head east to Jedburgh. Driving down I felt excited, there is something very liberating about driving off somewhere new with your tent packed and an adventure planned for the next day. When I arrived I popped into the leisure centre to say hi to Angela and Noanie, the race directors and the team. I made a token effort to help before grabbing some pub grub and an early night.

Thanks for the photo Steven Somerville!

Despite a very windy night I slept remarkably well and we were definitely reaping the benefits of being on the east coast as the weather for the start was nice and dry. Having only been to Jedburgh once before the only knowledge of the course I had was from looking at maps and reading the chat on the race forum. I often like it that way as it means the whole route is new and the new sights add to the experience, but I had heard that in previous years a number of runners had taken wrong turns so that was playing on my mind.
The course it's self is a 38mile lolly pop type route with about 1100m of ascent primarily on trails throughout the stunning countryside of the Scottish borders, the climax of which includes running up the Eildon 3 Peaks. Before the race it was nice to catch up with a few familiar faces including a number of the guys/girls that I had been out at Transvulcania with earlier in the year.
The race started at 8am and as ever there were a few keen to push the pace from the start, one of them being the Neil MacNicol who had won the race the year before. If you have read any of my previous reports you'll know I'm not keen on going eye balls out from  the gun. My ageing body needs a few miles in the tank to warm up. I was also feeling a bit concerned about what impact the cold would have on my running. I hung back a little and Neil took the lead, shortly after Hugh McInnes another runner who had ran well in previous years at the race came along side. We chatted briefly but he soon decided that he wanted to push on (or got bored with my chat) and took off in pursuit of Neil. As the first few miles went in my breathing felt hard work and due to the autumn winds a thick covering of leaves made following the trails challenging at times. As I lost sight of Neil and Hugh I made a wrong turn following the river instead of turning left. Thankfully I realised within 10-20 meters so corrected myself very quickly, but it did emphasis the need to keep up my concentration. I'm not sure quite how far in  as my Garmin didn't start at the start of the race but I guess 4-5 miles in I began to try and focus on relaxing and let my breathing settle,  as I did I caught up with Neil and Hugh. I felt good and weighed up my options. Do I A: be cautious and stick with them to help with any navigational issues and not push too hard in case my cold played havoc later in the race or B: push on and run to feel and hope I don't get lost. I chose the later.

As we reached the first check point at Maxton (10M) Neil and I were neck and neck, Hugh was a little behind.  I had opted not to leave a drop back as I feel by carrying a bit food and drink you can save yourself a bit of time by not stopping. Having said that I was not forgetting the lessons I had learnt in Transvulcania. It proved to be a good decision as Neil stopped and I was able to run on through. The next section of the race took us along a great riverside trail along the River Tweed.

Up and down plenty of steps we went and I was quickly rejoined by Neil, sadly he wasn't ready to give up yet.

As we approached the Eildons I knew that this was going to be a critical point in the race with most of the race ascent happening in a few short miles. As we hit the steep climb up the first hill Neil was close behind. I did my best to run the whole way but not sure you could really call it running. I managed to keep the lead, up the second hill and I tried to quickly take in the view before starting the steep descent. This was my favourite part of the race. It was a steep path straight off the hill covered on grass and lose gravel. Great fun!!

Coming off the last hill I glanced behind me an saw that I had opened up a bit of a gap, but there was still a long way to go. As we headed back I bumped into a few runners still on their way out and one nearly joined me thinking she had taken a wrong turn and was going the wrong way. By now I was on my own and concentrating hard to  make sure I didn't take any wrong turns. Despite all the twists and turns the guys had done a fantastic job at marking the course and although I did have a few occasions where I was running with that horrible feeling of being unsure I was on the right path thankfully the red and white tape kept appearing. At about 28 miles I began to feel a bit tired and the numerous stiles and gates we had to cross became increasingly unwelcome. I hadn't seen Neil for a while but he easily could have been near by and taking advantage of my tiring legs. Although the later stages of the race are retracing your steps the variation in terrain and number of twists and turns meant I had no chance to get bored. As the day progressed we were lucky to continue to enjoy a beautiful dry day, but the strong winds took their turn to help and hinder us throughout. In the last few miles I felt as if my hamstring was on the border of wanting to cramp. I had visions of needing to walk and things all going wrong. Thankfully, it held up despite the brutal head wind that made the last mile back into Jedburgh drag big time. Crossing the finish line in 5:01 I was delighted to find out I had broken the course record by over 20 minutes. It turns out you do need to listen to your body.....but not be afraid to question what it tells you. Thankfully on this occasion it was worth taking the gamble but like anything in running there are few hard and fast rules another friend ran the race with a cold and had a very different experience.
It was a great way to finish my season and I would highly recommend the race. Thanks again to all the team who worked so hard to put the race together.

Results:

Matt Williamson	05:01:48		Joanne Thom 06:17:24
Neil MacNicol	05:12:25		Elaine Omand 06:23:57
Duncan Oakes	05:23:29		Victoria Reid 06:34:17

Kit:  Helly Hansen Terrak Trail Shoe

         Helly Hansen Pace Short

         Helly Hansen Dry Elite Long Sleeve

         Helly Hansen Pace 1/2 Zip Lifa Flow Short Sleeve

Helly Hansen Beauty and the Beast

I purposefully hadn’t entered any races in the couple of months after the West Highland Way (WHW) race because I tend to find that when I step up my racing distance it takes longer to recover and the odd niggle/injury isn’t uncommon. This proved to be a wise decision, as true to form after the WHW I was decommissioned for 3.5 weeks due to tendonopathy on the front of my shin (tibialis anterior: for those who care). I had considered doing the Tour of Skiddaw Race at the end of August if I recovered well, but after the time out I decided to give it a miss and focus on my next target.

The Helly Hansen Beauty and the Beast isn’t an ultra it is a six lap trail marathon with 1400m of ascent, but it was my first opportunity take part in the race since becoming a Helly Hansen ambassador at the start of the year.

When training for the WHW my speed sessions had begun to suffer and eventually all but went by the way side so I knew I needed to get my finger out and do some speed work before the race. Once back training that went pretty well for 4 weeks but come the start of September I was out in the Alps for 2 weeks. The first week Dawn and I walked From Chamonix to Meillerie along the GR5, the second week we stayed in Meillerie and did some walks, runs and a bit of sailing from there. Some longs days out but not much to help the lack of speed in my legs, so my preparation wasn't perfect .

The day prior to the race I went down to west Wycome Park, the venue for the race, to meet some  of the other UK Helly Hansen ambassadors and do some filming to profile some of their new clothing and footwear range.  

West Wycome Park is a National Trust Property, so naturally in a beautiful setting (hence ‘The Beauty’), the guys from HH had done a great job already of setting out the race village ( space hoppers and welly wangying for the kids to boot) and the guys from Trail Plus added “The Beast” i.e. the course,  billed as the Toughest Multi Lap Trail marathon in the UK.

My fellow ambassadors for the day were Jules Roberts, another Ultra runner and Inge Solheim an expedition leader/adventurer who amongst other things lead the Walking with The Wounded Team to the North and South Pole. They were both doing the half marathon. I don’t know about them but I felt a bit nervous about the race, feeling that there was a certain amount of expectation on me to have a good. That remained to be seen by as always I would give 100%!.

On the morning of the race the weather was overcast but warm and slightly humid. All the runners including the marathon, half marathon and relay teams started as a mass start which made pacing the more difficult as it took me a while to work out who was in which race. I wanted to take it steady to start with, get a better feel for the course over the first lap and take it from there. One benefit of a lapped course is the fact you know what is coming after the first lap without the need to recce the whole course.

The lap starts with a deceptively small looking hill, which in reality climbs for longer than you would think sucking the energy out of your legs with every stride. I got to the top not far behind the leaders with no idea what race they were doing, once we got there it was a quick 180 degree turn before heading back down toward the start and the beginning of the next climb.

The pattern of up one hill and down the other side was a pattern that was repeated frequently throughout the 4.4M course with little cahnce to settle into a steady pace. One way of describing it would be a long cross country course, the difference being that they normally last 4-6 miles not 26! Oh and they don’t normally take you through a river six times!

I felt pretty good through the first 3 laps and by that stage I had worked out who my competition was. I was in 3^rd place but within sight of the two leaders. I hoped that my endurance would stand me in good stead for the second half of the race. Come the fourth lap of the course I began to feel something in my legs that I hadn’t felt for a long time in a race: lactic acid as I climbed the steepest hill of the course. In an ultra, it would be normal to walk a hill that steep to save the legs but I was determined to run on. The hard work paid off as I caught Scott Forbes who was in 2^nd place.  The same hill on lap five was a real chore and I could feel the impact racing at a faster pace was having on my legs. I push on as hard as I could but in the end Scott was too strong passing me on the final lap and finishing 25 seconds ahead. Majell Backhausen who won the race had stormed the second half of the race and won comfortable in 3:10. I finished in 3:19.

While I was disappointed not to win the race for the Helly team I guess I wasn’t too surprised. You can’t expect to perform at your best if your training is focused accordingly. Despite that with was a fantastic couple of days and great to be part of the team at Helly Hansen.

Kit:  Helly Hansen Terrac Trail Shoe

         Helly Hansen Pace Short

         Helly Hansen Pace 1/2 Zip Lifa Flow Short Sleeve

West Highland Way Race 2014

The West Highland Way Race  (WHWR) is one of the most iconic races on the Scottish ultra calendar and arguably one of the most stunning ultra races in the UK. It is a 95 mile route with 14,000ft of ascent, starting in the suburbs of Glasgow and finishing in the highland town of Fortwilliam at the base of Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain. With the start line a mere 5.5 miles from my front door it was a race I just had to do.
Over recent years I have been asked numerous times when I was going to do the WHWR, but I was keen to get  the more comfortable at the medium ultras (40-60M) first before stepping up to that distance. Until the WHWR the longest race I had done was 100k (62miles) and that was on the road. The longest trail race I had done was 55miles.
This years event was set to be memorable from the start. Paul Giblin the current record holder (15h07m) was back to defend his title and Robbie Britton was also keen to be the first to run sub 15 hours. In the lead up to the race there was some speculation as to who would win the race ( Paul hadn't entered at this stage knowing he could get a last minute entry) and my name had been thrown into the mix. This added a little pressure, but in all honesty my goal was never to win the race. Of course it would have been nice but most people win races of that distance don't do it on their first attempt. I had a time of  16 hours in my head that I felt was realistic and my plan was to run with that in mind and concentrate on finishing the course. After all I had failed to finish my last race and it was only 45 miles (see previous post).
For those of you who have never done a race like this before, don't underestimate the amount of prep work on the run up to the race. The weeks leading up to the race are filled with planning meetings, buying and organising insane amounts of sugary junk food, packing boxes and setting target times.

The race started at 1am, which in itself caused issues. When do you eat, sleep etc before starting, but after weighing in and the final race briefing I was glad to get started.
The gun went and as expected the pace was very quick from the start, in the dark it was difficult to see but it seemed that there was a lead group and a second pack slightly further back.

 Being fresh I could have comfortably ran with them but I was conscious that both groups were running faster than my target pace. I made the decision to hang back in the darkness on my own in about 10th position. Any other course may have been different but even in the dark I was confident of every turn the course made so I knew I wouldn't get lost. Hanging back is a hard thing to do in a race, but something I am used to doing and it often pays dividends later in the race. Even by hanging back I got to Drymen (13M) in 1h38m   six minutes ahead of my target time.
Leaving Drymen it was approaching 3am and being a clear night I was able to turn my head torch off, no one else was in sight and there was something special about being out there approaching Conic hill as dawn drew nearer.  Conic is the first big climb of the race and it was here that I passed my first runner. After that the course descends into Balmaha one the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, the first official course check point, where it was great to see my loyal support team braving the horrendous midges!

Along the loch side I caught another couple of runners and at about 30 miles I caught David Gardiner. Here began a game of cat and mouse that would last another 45 miles. The northern half of the loch side is pretty technical but I have always enjoyed the variation in terrain, having said that I was glad to reach Beinglas Farm, the next check point at 40 miles. I had a brief moment of panic when I couldn't see Dawn and Dougal my support team. Thankfully they were just in disguise under a veil of clothing and midgy nets. I arrived in 6:29 (target 6:41). I had gained a few extra minutes but was happy as I was feeling feeling strong and 10 minutes over 6.5 hours seemed an acceptable margin.
As we approached the half way mark David passed me again we clocked in about 30 second apart at Auchtertyre. At this point we were weighed, the medics use weight as a guide to hydration levels etc. I had lost 2kg but this was within the acceptable parameters.  With more fluid and food on board I hit the trail again.
The next section of the race took us past Tyndrum, the 53m mark, I would soon be approaching the 8h30 min mark, the longest in time that I had ever ran before and the end point for the Highland Fling Race which I had ran before. No ill effects yet and I was happy that I seemed to be eating and drinking without any issues. The next uneventful section took us to Bridge of Orchy. At this point David and I were neck and neck coming into the check point, we both fuelled up and pressed on with me slightly ahead.
Leaving Bridge of Orchy is a steady climb know to many runners as Jelly Baby hill. On a recent training run Marco (who has done the race 5 times)  had said if you can run al the way up at this stage in the race you are doing well. Spurred on by the fact that I new the friendly face of Murdo McEwan awaited me at the top of the hill bearing jelly babies I ran the whole way to the top. It was an added bonus to see my friend Thomas Loehndorf up there taking some photos.

Up until this point I had seen few people I knew outwith the check points. The next stage from Victoria Bridge took me beyond the 62M mark i.e. further than I had ever ran before and despite having run it before I hadn't appreciated that it is pretty much all uphill. The gradient is slight but it was definitely uphill. On top of this it is an old military road and cobbled along the way, my knees began to hurt. As we approached the steeper section before Glencoe David caught me again and reached the check point a minute ahead of me. I had dropped a few minutes but was still 3.5 minutes ahead of target.

For me Glencoe was a big landmark. It was 70 miles into the race, it was about 3/4 of the way and marked the start of what I felt could be a critical part of the race. The scenery is dramatic but with that came two of the biggest climbs of the route.The first is the Devils stair case a 400m climb followed by a 650m descent into Kinlochleven.

       Not long after leaving Glencoe I had managed to get back into third but there was still a long way to go. Being over 70miles in I had to give in and slow to brisk walk on the latter half of the Devils Stair Case, I was relieved to look behind and see that David was having to do the same. Reaching the top  I was anxious to see how my quads would feel on the sustained descent into Kinlochleven. Thankfully they feel good (relatively speaking) and I tried to relax into the nice technical trail, glancing up occasionally to the view ahead. Reaching the final official checkpoint it was a great boost to see my two old flatmates Evan and Shona who had come to to support. Little things like that really give you a lift when you are out there for so long. After another weigh in and some more food it was time for the final big climb of the race.

There was no sight of David, but he could appear any minute. I left the checkpoint and got a sudden sharp pain in my left knee which brought me to a hobble. For a few minutes I wondered was that the beginning of the end. I have heard stories from others of taking 8 hours to do the final 13miles and knew there was still potential for thing to go dramatically wrong. Thankfully  I managed to run it off and when I did I was more confident than ever that I would finish the race. The final big climb is  200m and I jogged/walked up as best as I could. Reaching the Lairig Mor below the Mammores I knew there was only one final small hill to come, despite a lot of long rolling climb. I said to myself I was going to run the whole way. I had to remind myself to keep eating and drinking. That had all being going so well until then I just had to keep focused a bit longer. Half way along another nice surprise was to see Graham a mountain biker friend who had pedalled up to take some photos and give me a shout along the way. I glanced behind and could see no sign of anyone following.

The final unofficial checkpoint was Lundavra, 6 miles from the finish. The atmosphere there was fantastic John and Katrina Kynaston were manning the checkpoint and had music blaring that along with Dawn, Dougal, Evan, Shona, Graham shouting for me. I grabbed a final top up of food and checked my watch 15:05. Could a sub 16 be on the cards? I knew it would be a bit of an ask but it didn't seem impossible, I was feeling good and there was a good section of downhill to come.

I reached Braveheart car park for a final cheer from Dawn and Dougal and Thomas shouted 4 minutes! I knew dipping below the 16 hour mark wasn't going to happen but I pushed on for the finish. Looking back on my splits I managed about 7:30 min/mile over the last couple of miles reaching the finish in 16h05mins in 3rd place. I was delighted, I could deliberate over the 5 minutes but I was ecstatic to run so close to my race plan on my first 95M race. I was even happier to see that I was had the fastest split of the whole  race field for the last 13M. As for 1st and 2nd, Paul Giblin annihilated his own course record finishing in 14h20 and Robbie Britton having led in the early stages came in 14h:47  sensational performances from both of them.

In the ladies race Fionna Ross won in 18h45, 17 minutes ahead of Rosie Bell who finished in 19h02. Keziah Higgins was in 3rd in 20h09.

At 12pm the next  the official 35hour cut off time for race finishers the organisers hold a prize giving in which individual finisher gets a coveted crystal goblet with the finale being that the race winner presenting the last runner with their goblet. It's a great touch which helps the cement the feel of the race for everyone.  All involved are affectionately known as the 'West Highland way Race Family' and while the times of the winners may seem impressive, the personal battles that many of the other runners will have overcome are undoubtedly more worthy of your awe.

Paul Gibin has just presented the final finisher with hid Goblet.

Three days on I can pretty much walk normally again and manage stairs, not quite ready for running yet but hopefully won't be too long before I hit the trails again.

Kit: Helly Hansen Pace SS 2 t-shirt
       Helly Hansen Pace 9" Training Shorts
       Helly Hansen Trail Kenosha Trail shoes

Food: Muesli bars, gels, rice pudding, nuts was the main sustenance along with soup and some fresh fruit(bananas and strawberries).
Drink: Energy drink, electrolyte drink, chocolate milk drink, cola, water

Transvulcania 2014

The Transvulcania was the second race I had planned for 2014. Having no international selection races that I wanted to focus on this year I decided I wanted to race abroad in one of the many European trail ultras. Fionna Ross who I had raced with at the World Ultra Champs last year was the first one to bring the race to my attention. After a bit of research and the obligatory YouTube search clips I was hooked. The race is 73.3km trail race within 4415m of ascent along the spine of a volcanic ridge on the beautiful Island on La Palma in the Canary Islands.

Having never been to the Canary Islands before, the predominant image I had in my head of the area was the image of Brits abroad, sun burnt, too much to drink with fish and chips in hand. La Palma is nothing like this!  It is much less touristy and 35% of the island is made up of national park. The banana industry plays a key role in the Islands economy.

Another fact about the island is that it has more ascent per square kilometre than any other island in the world. Knowing what was in store when I was training for the race I tried to ensure at least one of my long runs a week was on the hills culminating in a recent weekend in the Cairngorms covering 9 munroes and 50 miles over the two days.

Preparation for the race had largely gone well,  despite a couple of niggles I hadn't missed any training since the start of the year. My one significant blip came at the end of a 20m out and back run from Balmaha up Ben Lomond. I had a major bonk having to hitch a lift the last 2 miles back as I was feeling completely wasted, dizzy, unsteady and unable to run. I had run the Pentland Skyline route the day before, not eaten a lot after and then been pushed really hard trying to keep up with Tom Owens and Casey Morgan so felt it wasn't surprising and didn't worry to much despite never having felt so bad before. I was reassured to feel great the next weekend with no recurrence

Knowing the race was likely to be in warm conditions I opted to head out to Palma a week early to try and acclimatise before the race; I was not alone. There was a great Scottish contingent heading out for the ultra, the marathon and the half plus some loyal travelling support. Including Donnie Campbell, Ross Lawrie, Gavin Bussey, Lorna McMillan, Caroline McKay, Donald and Elaine Sandeman, Craig MacKay, Karl Zeiner, Bob Steel, Mark Howlett (wannabe Scot )James Reynolds and last but by no means least Dawn Buchanan. We decided to try and find accommodation together and to say it wasn't my usual pre race accommodation was an understatement!! I am more used to hostels and tents prior to races but between 12 people you get a bit more for your money. We had two houses a smaller villa and a larger. The larger came complete with pool, pool table,bar,  tennis courts and even a vintage car in one of the lounge areas!!

Getting to the island (no mean feat in itself) it was hard to resist the urge to explore the trails prior to the race. The balance between the urge to run and see the island had to be struck with the fact it was taper week. 

As the Scottish contingent grew so did the pre race excitement until race day arrived.

The day started with a 315am alarm clock and a taxi to the Fuente Caliente lighthouse on the south of the island at the bottom of a recent lava flow.  The race started in the dark at 6am. My self and Donnie had found a sport on the start line a few rows back from the numerous press snapping away at the elites on the start line including the previous winners Kilian Jornet, Luis Alberto Hernandez, Anna Frost and Emelie Forsberg.

The gun went and 2500 ultra runners set off in the dark, head touches forming a steady wave of light up the lava field. The path was narrow and it was elbows out as we fought for position and tried to stay on our feet up the sandy rocky terrain.

Knowing the quality of the field I wasn't aiming to get to the front I just wanted to ensure I wasn't held up too much by the people walking early on. The first section of the race took us from sea level on black sandy lava trails through Los Canarios our first check point at 7km and 709m then onto mixed trails through pine forest up to our second check point at Deseades 1931m and 18k. It was a brutal start to a race 18km of pretty solid uphill but I felt good. The darkness and strong wind kept the temperature cool and I was pleased to be making my way up through the field. As we reached the top of the hill after about 1.5 hours climbing it was stunning to see the sunrise giving views across the clouds to. Mt. Tiede on Tenerife emerge.

The next stage of the race consisted a bit of down hill but largely of a flatter section along the ridge taking us to 34k and 1415m. It was great to see Dawn at this checkpoint for some support. I again topped up my bottles and ran on feeling good towards the next big climb. Over the next 9k we climbed another 800m towards Pico de la Nieve. As we climbed the temperatures rose and the wind seemed to die away. Things began to get a bit harder. Having ran most of the way to this point I began to walk the steeper climbs, to save energy, soon it wasn't to save energy it was just out of necessity. I began to lose sight of Donnie who I had been a bit a ahead and a bit behind for most of the climb so far. Despite beginning to tire a bit I still felt good ok considering I had hit 50k and 4000m of ascent by this stage.

 As we approached  the highest point Roque de la Muchachos 2426m the views were dramatic we could see right out to sea and down into the volcanic crater below.  At the top I began to feel the temperature getting to me, heat was beating down from the sun and radiating up from the ground. I stopped at the check point refilled my bottle grabbed some water melon and poured some water over my head to try and cool down.

 The vast majority of the climb was over, but ...................and there was a big but! We now had 2422m in 18km of pretty unrelenting decent across technical rocky terrain in further climbing temperatures. Down hill should have been a nice change but I didn't feel I could let go the way I wanted. Every so often I had to slow down to let my legs recovery and I was aware of a growing unsteadiness on my feet each time I slowed, I finished my fluid had another gel and continued to the next checkpoint. I kept willing it to appear and the contrasting signs on route didn't help. One walking sign said 2.4k to the next check point and the next said 4.5. It wasn't what I needed at this stage. When the next check point arrived it wasn't where I thought it was going to be. We had recced some of the course below and I knew where I though the check point would be, in my mind I thought there was another check point to come. I stopped again, covering my self in water, filling my bottle having some watermelon  and even had some coke which I don't normally drink. I saw someone stop and sit in the shade to drink and it looked so appealing but I am not used to stopping at checkpoints. I just refuelled and hit the trail. As I left I felt even more unsteady than I had before. I stopped a bit longer to put a Nuun tablet in my water and steady myself. I was becoming more aware that my unsteadiness was  being noticed and I began to worry I might get pulled from the race. A marshal approached to see if I was ok and questioned me no further when he saw me trying to put the tablet into my bottle. I set off again more and more aware of the heat. On a flat section I tried to stop again but a camera man willed me on the keep running, so I pushed on. The heat was relentless. I soon recognised the trail and knew I was approaching El Time I had been there before it is at 594m and I knew what was to come, but there was no feed station. That was not good. In my head I had already decided I would stop at that feed station fuel up and that would get me through to the finish. I thought I had 2 gels left and looked down to take one but there was none there. I must have dropped them. I was also of of fluid. I knew it wasn't long to the next check point so in my head the only option was to continue. The path at this stage turned to a step Tarmac road through a Banana plantation. The finish line was getting closer. I dropped another 300m and approached a narrow (about 1m) ramp down the edge of a car port. There were about  6 people there and as I approached I suddenly became aware that I didn't know if I could run down the ramp without falling off it. This was not good. I slowed down and managed but was again aware of the 6 sets of eyes watching me meander past. I then hit the cobbles marking the final descent into Tazacorte the final check point 7km from the end. I couldn't control my legs, I slowed to a walking pace and  2 ladies outside their house asked if I was ok. I had to stop. The decent was a series of switch backs down a cliff face and I was in no fit state to  navigate them. if you look carefully at the picture below you can see runners on the switchbacks.

I sat down for the moment and tried to compose myself. One of the ladies went off to get some water and I tried to get some shade under a cactus. I thought that if I stopped for a while I would be ok to continue. I had some more Nuun, tied to eat a bar but couldn't, the thought made me nauseous. I sat longer and felt no better. Soon 2 of the race staff arrived and we tried to talk in my little Spanish and their little English. I asked for something sweet and drank some more Nuun. They brought me an apple. I managed to eat it but by this stage my legs had began to seize and while I desperately wanted to try and go on I was still mentally fit enough to know that the cliff was not safe for someone so unsteady on their feet and that if I had got further down and had to stop getting off the cliff would not be easy. I made to heart breaking decision to withdraw from the race. My garmin read 41m and about 8h30 when I stopped. The race was 45m. As I called Dawn to come and pick me up I had to take a few deep breaths to stop the emotion getting the better of me. my first ever DNF.

When I started the race I had hoped to run about 8h30, as fatigue set in I began to aim towards under 9 then as close to 9 as possible then just finishing. Despite there only being 7k to go there was not just the final descent to contend with there was also a brutal sting in the tail with a finial 300m ascent out of the canyon up to Los Llanos. had it not been for the exposed descent I am confident I would have pushed further knowing a fall to the ground would have been my worst fate but that was not the case so with the finish line almost in sight that is where my race ended.

Looking back on things  I still cannot give a definite answer as to what when wrong? Was it a lack of fitness, was it the heat, was it not enough fluid, was it not enough food, was it a lack of mental strength.? There are also so many what if's. Ultimately I will never know the answers  and perhaps it was a combination of factors,but what I'm my mind is important is to learn from the experience make no excuses. To reach your potential you have to push your limits, in my mind finding those limits and pushing them that little bit further is all part of the journey

On reflection there are a number of things I am going to change for future races.

1) I am going to give much much attention to energy and fluid balance. Neither was optimal for this race.

2) Listen to the warning signs and act on them

3) Not be a afraid of stopping at check points. In all the ultras I have done I have never stopped at aid stations for longer than required to fill my drinks. If I had stopped in the shade for a few minutes refuelled and cooled down at the penultimate station perhaps I would have finished.

As for the rest of the field the men's race was won in 6:55 by Luis Alberto Hernandez and the ladies was won in. 8:10 by Anna Frost. For me it was great to hear Tom Owens a good friend of mine had ran an amazing race finishing in 6th position in a truly world class race, showing he is back on form after a season recovering from injury last year.

Each and every one of guys and girls I was out with has their own story about the race but I'm not here to tell their stories, but I guess they will contain stunning scenery, brutal climbs, sun rises and sunsets, team spirit and IV drips, cheers of vamo vamo, animo!! lots of laughs, wearing pizza and lots more.

A massive congratulations to all who completed the race, respect!