Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Kent 50 Mile Challenge
This was a toughie- I think I underestimated quite how tough it was going to be! 50 miles in 15 hours was always going to be tight, and to make it even worse, the eight laps were each 6.55 miles long, which actually made the event 52.5 miles!
I drove down to the Travelodge kindly booked by Carol (negotiating the Dartford Crossing and Toll for the first time ever, plus a hold up on the M25 due to an accident) and met Carol, Rach and Rose, all doing the MdS in 2009.
We had a good natter, discussed kit, and looked at the kit Carol has already aquired (she is so organised!!) I made drinks and managed to knock one over, then we went to the start to recce and register to save us time in the morning (a good thing as it turned out!)
The start (and finish) was at The Gate Inn at Marshside, and was organised by Mike, who is an MdS (and Gobi) veteran; he handed us a bottle of water and a lion bar each and gave some hints on the MdS. It appears that quite a few of the check point volunteers and competitors have done it- it seemed surreal to find so many MdS vets in a small pub in a tiny village in Kent! We ordered a meal which Mike very kindly said was on him, and set an alarm for 4:45am!!
I don't quite know how, but we were a bit late getting to the start- I didn't notice the time, and think we just left late, plus the start was further than the 15 minutes away suggested in the information pack. We had a bit of a fright when a pigeon suddenly decided to end it all by disembowelling itself on Carol's windscreen! As we reached the village the challenge had already started, and we could see the competitors coming towards us, so we parked up, donned race numbers, used the loo and set off after them.
Rose had decided to run/ walk, so quickly went ahead, and me, Rach and Carol stuck together; due to the strict time limit, we had to maintain a quick pace if we were to have any hope of finishing. The course was 6.55 miles long, and consisted of grassy tracks, tarmac paths and roads, each lap starting and finishing at the pub. It was very flat, I don't know whether this was a contributory factor but both myself and Carol agreed that we felt worse much earlier on then we expected to feel. We had been concerned about the weather, as it had rained all day Saturday, and was drizzling a little when we set off; we were very luck though, the clouds cleared and it was sunny all day.
There were various manned checkpoints/ waterpoints; as the route was a figure of eight, we passed one chap twice on each lap- he was really supportive, giving us a round of applause each time he saw us and having a quick chat.
Carol had worked out the times we should be finishing each lap, and potential rest stops, but in reality we didn't really get the chance to stop for long. We took a few minutes at the end of lap two to fix our feet, but the rest of the time we only stopped for a quick loo break, and to fill up our drinks bottles with water or electrolyte.
I must admit, after lap three the scenery became rather mundane and monotonous, although it was scenic in parts; one stretch was full of butterflies. We were lapped by various runners, including one who called out, as he passed us, 'Have you seen my wife?' Carol queried what she looked like, and he made a gesture with his hand, saying 'About yea high... strawberry blonde...'
Rach and Carol
I had developed a blister before the end of lap two, which was annoying, and although I dressed it it didn't seem to get any easier. I developed one on the other foot, which I didn't dress to try to save some time, which was perhaps a mistake. Even more annoying was the fact that my feet swelled, and my shoes felt too small; I could feel my toes being squashed. Rach had only completed the Trailwalker, a 60 mile event, a few weeks before, so her feet hadn't properly healed from that. She must have been really suffering on Sunday, but kept up the pace. Carol had recurring hip and knee problems which were giving her some trouble. Bizarrely, our hands also swelled much more than I have ever experienced before, but it made undertaking tasks requiring dexterity quite difficult!
About halfway round lap 6, one of Rach's blisters popped and she was in agony. She told us to go on, so we did, but I felt really bad about leaving her. She text us later to say that she had finished after that lap, covering an impressive 40 miles on badly blistered feet!
The Gate- Start & Finish Of Each Lap!
Me and Carol ploughed on, and realised just how the time was slipping away; we ran back to the pub at the end of lap seven, as there was a cut off time for the last lap. We had both taken some pankillers, but they no longer seemed to be touching the pain! At one point, I felt a sudden excruciating pain as a blister popped and had to hobble for a few minutes until it settled down. I wasn't the only one though- we passed a runner who was walking very painfully, and said he couldn't run anymore. About ten minutes later, Carol said she heard a shriek from behind us, and thought 'That's a blister gone!' We reached the pub well inside of the cut off, and saw Rose, who had completed the full distance- she had done really well. Mike advised us, though, that he didn't think we would complete the last lap before 9pm, and advised us to cut the lap short- meaning we would have completed 49.8 miles.
We were undecided, as part of us badly wanted to complete the full lap, but as we neared the suggested cut off point, our bodies made the decision for us- if we had had more time, we could have done the full lap, but to finish before 9pm would have meant we would have had to really push ourselves after a day of already pushing to the limits. We did walk an additional 0.2 miles, measured by my Garmin, to make it a full 50 miles, and when we reached the pub again, Mike greeted us and gave us 50 mile medals. Rose was waiting, and we were given hot drinks and generally looked after by the organisers.
My feet are really painful- I have several black toenails, and had blisters under each large toe nail, which were actually lifting the nails up! I am aching, but luckily it's just muscular. Although we didn't quite do the full course distance, we still covered long distances, and it was my first 50 miler, so I am pleased. It was also quite a useful event in a way, as it seemed to mete out problems I hadn't encountered before, such as swollen feet- I am definately now considering using shoes a size larger. It was well worth driving down for this one, as it was lovely meeting the girls and having people to plan, walk, natter and socialise with!
I have had the details and comfirmation for the Bullock Smithy Hike, which is only four weeks away, so I am hoping me poor feet will have healed by then...
I drove down to the Travelodge kindly booked by Carol (negotiating the Dartford Crossing and Toll for the first time ever, plus a hold up on the M25 due to an accident) and met Carol, Rach and Rose, all doing the MdS in 2009.
We had a good natter, discussed kit, and looked at the kit Carol has already aquired (she is so organised!!) I made drinks and managed to knock one over, then we went to the start to recce and register to save us time in the morning (a good thing as it turned out!)
The start (and finish) was at The Gate Inn at Marshside, and was organised by Mike, who is an MdS (and Gobi) veteran; he handed us a bottle of water and a lion bar each and gave some hints on the MdS. It appears that quite a few of the check point volunteers and competitors have done it- it seemed surreal to find so many MdS vets in a small pub in a tiny village in Kent! We ordered a meal which Mike very kindly said was on him, and set an alarm for 4:45am!!
I don't quite know how, but we were a bit late getting to the start- I didn't notice the time, and think we just left late, plus the start was further than the 15 minutes away suggested in the information pack. We had a bit of a fright when a pigeon suddenly decided to end it all by disembowelling itself on Carol's windscreen! As we reached the village the challenge had already started, and we could see the competitors coming towards us, so we parked up, donned race numbers, used the loo and set off after them.
Rose had decided to run/ walk, so quickly went ahead, and me, Rach and Carol stuck together; due to the strict time limit, we had to maintain a quick pace if we were to have any hope of finishing. The course was 6.55 miles long, and consisted of grassy tracks, tarmac paths and roads, each lap starting and finishing at the pub. It was very flat, I don't know whether this was a contributory factor but both myself and Carol agreed that we felt worse much earlier on then we expected to feel. We had been concerned about the weather, as it had rained all day Saturday, and was drizzling a little when we set off; we were very luck though, the clouds cleared and it was sunny all day.
There were various manned checkpoints/ waterpoints; as the route was a figure of eight, we passed one chap twice on each lap- he was really supportive, giving us a round of applause each time he saw us and having a quick chat.Carol had worked out the times we should be finishing each lap, and potential rest stops, but in reality we didn't really get the chance to stop for long. We took a few minutes at the end of lap two to fix our feet, but the rest of the time we only stopped for a quick loo break, and to fill up our drinks bottles with water or electrolyte.
I must admit, after lap three the scenery became rather mundane and monotonous, although it was scenic in parts; one stretch was full of butterflies. We were lapped by various runners, including one who called out, as he passed us, 'Have you seen my wife?' Carol queried what she looked like, and he made a gesture with his hand, saying 'About yea high... strawberry blonde...'
Rach and CarolI had developed a blister before the end of lap two, which was annoying, and although I dressed it it didn't seem to get any easier. I developed one on the other foot, which I didn't dress to try to save some time, which was perhaps a mistake. Even more annoying was the fact that my feet swelled, and my shoes felt too small; I could feel my toes being squashed. Rach had only completed the Trailwalker, a 60 mile event, a few weeks before, so her feet hadn't properly healed from that. She must have been really suffering on Sunday, but kept up the pace. Carol had recurring hip and knee problems which were giving her some trouble. Bizarrely, our hands also swelled much more than I have ever experienced before, but it made undertaking tasks requiring dexterity quite difficult!
About halfway round lap 6, one of Rach's blisters popped and she was in agony. She told us to go on, so we did, but I felt really bad about leaving her. She text us later to say that she had finished after that lap, covering an impressive 40 miles on badly blistered feet!
The Gate- Start & Finish Of Each Lap!Me and Carol ploughed on, and realised just how the time was slipping away; we ran back to the pub at the end of lap seven, as there was a cut off time for the last lap. We had both taken some pankillers, but they no longer seemed to be touching the pain! At one point, I felt a sudden excruciating pain as a blister popped and had to hobble for a few minutes until it settled down. I wasn't the only one though- we passed a runner who was walking very painfully, and said he couldn't run anymore. About ten minutes later, Carol said she heard a shriek from behind us, and thought 'That's a blister gone!' We reached the pub well inside of the cut off, and saw Rose, who had completed the full distance- she had done really well. Mike advised us, though, that he didn't think we would complete the last lap before 9pm, and advised us to cut the lap short- meaning we would have completed 49.8 miles.
We were undecided, as part of us badly wanted to complete the full lap, but as we neared the suggested cut off point, our bodies made the decision for us- if we had had more time, we could have done the full lap, but to finish before 9pm would have meant we would have had to really push ourselves after a day of already pushing to the limits. We did walk an additional 0.2 miles, measured by my Garmin, to make it a full 50 miles, and when we reached the pub again, Mike greeted us and gave us 50 mile medals. Rose was waiting, and we were given hot drinks and generally looked after by the organisers.
My feet are really painful- I have several black toenails, and had blisters under each large toe nail, which were actually lifting the nails up! I am aching, but luckily it's just muscular. Although we didn't quite do the full course distance, we still covered long distances, and it was my first 50 miler, so I am pleased. It was also quite a useful event in a way, as it seemed to mete out problems I hadn't encountered before, such as swollen feet- I am definately now considering using shoes a size larger. It was well worth driving down for this one, as it was lovely meeting the girls and having people to plan, walk, natter and socialise with!
I have had the details and comfirmation for the Bullock Smithy Hike, which is only four weeks away, so I am hoping me poor feet will have healed by then...
Labels: Bullock Smithy Hike, Kent 50
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Brilliant effort Steph. I know i want/need to have the experience of a long day before i go, just dont know when i'll get it!!!
Hi well done guys, I was the idiot driving the green land rover as safety vehicle - I remember you guys well.
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