Monday, August 23, 2010
The Nottingham Ultra- Race Report
I was expecting to get soaked yesterday- the whole week had been on and off showers, so I thought I'd err on the side of caution and pack my waterproof, a warm fleece and my gloves...
This was a really local event for me- there was transport from Nottingham Castle to the start of the race at Blidworth, it took me 10 minutes to drive to the castle and a couple of minutes to find a parking space on a rather steep hill; I spent part of the day wondering whether the car would still be where I left it as the handbrake's a bit dodgy. I was undecided whether to take one of both water bottles, but compromised on one and a half in case I got lost!
We boarded the bus in glorious sunshine which I didn't expect to last. We disembarked at Blidworth Leisure Centre, registered and received colour map print outs of the route along with a goodie bag containing a smart towel. I saw Jen at the registration at Blidworth and chatted to another runner, Anita, who is doing the MdS next year. At 8:45 we went out into the sunshine and received a pre-race briefing from Rory, before we were off- 56 ultra runners... and me! We set off downhill and then immediately started to climb before entering the forest. As I expected, I soon fell behind, and although I expected to be last it was a little demoralising. Finally I decided to not try to catch up, but to go at my own pace, do my own thing and enjoy the day. I got my camera out and took the time to take a couple of shots of the forest.
I reached a road Rory warned us would be busy, and was quite chuffed when a family clapped and cheered me as I jogged past! The route had been marked with stickers and red and white tape, but Rory and Jen said that they had had to redo these in some areas as they had been removed.
The route entered Burntstump Country Park and I caught up with Anita at this point as we ran past the Park Hospital. The route crossed the A60 before crossing fields to Papplewick- I was feeling quite strong at this point so went ahead. It was really hot by now, which was quite unexpected and caught a few folks out I think.
The Approach To Papplewick
Until this point my camera had been in my pack, but I found that I really didn't want to stop and get it out to take photos- so in the interests of this blog I carried it in my hand for the rest of the race! Checkpoint one and Rory and Jen were at Papplewick- I grabbed a bottle of water, but didn't replenish my water bottles, which I was to regret later.
I left the checkpoint slightly ahead of Anita, expecting that she'd catch me up, and jogged down the road, being cheered on by Jen as she drove past! Here the route took a curve through a farm with donkeys in a field before skirting Bestwood Village.
Baby Donkey!!
As the route neared a lake in Bestwood Country Park, I realised that I was running out of water and cursed myself for not topping it up at Papplewick. I was also feeling slightly sick and very hot. I was still jogging fairly slowly at this point- I ran over a bridge and slowed to a walk as I realised that I was in for a bit of a climb. There were some youths fishing in the river- one shouted 'Don't stop running, you've still got 31 miles to go love'. I was tempted to shout back 'I'd like to see you do it- love!'
Bestwood County Park
I was feeling quite sick by this point and actually wondered whether I was going to throw up. Luckily checkpoint 2 was very near, and I gulped down some water and filled both bottles- I figured it wasn't going to get any cooler and I would rather carry more water than I needed. I was very aware that I should try to eat something, and pickd up a recovery bar, but it tasted so sweet I couldn't stomach more than a few bites. I was pleasantly surprised to see another runner at the checkpoint- Louise. She said that she had also felt very sick, and had had to stop for some time by the side of the road. We set off together and managed to miss a sign, so had to retrace our steps. We met up with Anita, and the three of us stuck together from that point, which was really nice. Louise is on the waiting list for next year's MdS.
The next part of the route was very pleasant, winding through woods to the golf course. We lost the route a little here and had to retrace our steps- I think red and white tape had been put out for some other event as well! I still felt a little dodgy and headachey and I think Louise did too, so I took a couple of painkillers. We were mainly walking at a good pace with a few jogs thrown in, taking advantage of the downhills. I was feeling much better now as the pain killers appeared to be doing their job and no longer felt sick. After crossing the motorway;
the route headed towards Giltbrook before turning back towards Kimberley.
Looking Towards Kimberley
We had left the Robin Hood Way at this point and unfortunately there were no signs or tape- presumably they had been removed. A path appeared to turn left and lead uphill, but I expressed concern that we hadn't yet gone far enough. Louise and Anita listened to me so we carried on and discovered I was wrong... oops! We managed to get to checkpoint 3 using the road, and were told that loads of people had taken various unplanned detours...
It was still roasting but luckily there was a bit of shade, and some life saving fruit cake- funnily enough it was just what I fancied and I ate three slices! Ironoc really... I spend most of my life wanting to eat and trying not to, and then found myself in the position of not wanting to eat and trying to make myself! Oh, the irony of ultra racing...
We set off again down to the A610, passing through a tunnel under the road, before a steep climb to Swingate. The route crossed the M1 for a second time, before winding past a canal and through Bramcote Hills to the massive bulk of the Hemstone and out fourth checkpoint.
The Hemstone
The checkpoint was just below, and we were told that two people had sadly had to drop out. I managed to put away two more slices of cake and some jelly babies, and we were off on the final leg. We were entering the City now, and then somehow managed to miss a sign, or it had been removed... but we ended up at the A52 and realised we had gone too far... we had quite a bit of road walking to get back on track! Louise had a Garmin and reckoned we ended up doing more than 31 miles!!
Eventually we were back on track and passed the QMC before heading towards the castle along the canal- the first glimpse of the castle was a welcome sight as my legs and feet had started to ache a couple of miles ago. The approach to the finish and the castle is a steep uphill- we managed a shambling jog to the finish which was a giant red inflatable. It was really great as there were lots of people sitting outside the pubs and cafes who were all cheering us in! Rory and Jen greeted us and gave us our medals- it was a lovely finish! Rory confirmed that this would now be an annual event, and I would definately do it again- hopefully I won't get lost next time!!! We finished in 9 hours 16 minutes and had brought up the rear- I had expected to come last so it was lovely to finish with Anita and Louise. It was a fantastic day all round- great support and organisation.
Robin Hood Statue At The Finish
I am aching today, but not too badly. I'm pleased I finished, but would like to be able to do it a bit quicker next year- back to the training!
This was a really local event for me- there was transport from Nottingham Castle to the start of the race at Blidworth, it took me 10 minutes to drive to the castle and a couple of minutes to find a parking space on a rather steep hill; I spent part of the day wondering whether the car would still be where I left it as the handbrake's a bit dodgy. I was undecided whether to take one of both water bottles, but compromised on one and a half in case I got lost!
We boarded the bus in glorious sunshine which I didn't expect to last. We disembarked at Blidworth Leisure Centre, registered and received colour map print outs of the route along with a goodie bag containing a smart towel. I saw Jen at the registration at Blidworth and chatted to another runner, Anita, who is doing the MdS next year. At 8:45 we went out into the sunshine and received a pre-race briefing from Rory, before we were off- 56 ultra runners... and me! We set off downhill and then immediately started to climb before entering the forest. As I expected, I soon fell behind, and although I expected to be last it was a little demoralising. Finally I decided to not try to catch up, but to go at my own pace, do my own thing and enjoy the day. I got my camera out and took the time to take a couple of shots of the forest.
I reached a road Rory warned us would be busy, and was quite chuffed when a family clapped and cheered me as I jogged past! The route had been marked with stickers and red and white tape, but Rory and Jen said that they had had to redo these in some areas as they had been removed.
The route entered Burntstump Country Park and I caught up with Anita at this point as we ran past the Park Hospital. The route crossed the A60 before crossing fields to Papplewick- I was feeling quite strong at this point so went ahead. It was really hot by now, which was quite unexpected and caught a few folks out I think.
Until this point my camera had been in my pack, but I found that I really didn't want to stop and get it out to take photos- so in the interests of this blog I carried it in my hand for the rest of the race! Checkpoint one and Rory and Jen were at Papplewick- I grabbed a bottle of water, but didn't replenish my water bottles, which I was to regret later.
I left the checkpoint slightly ahead of Anita, expecting that she'd catch me up, and jogged down the road, being cheered on by Jen as she drove past! Here the route took a curve through a farm with donkeys in a field before skirting Bestwood Village.
As the route neared a lake in Bestwood Country Park, I realised that I was running out of water and cursed myself for not topping it up at Papplewick. I was also feeling slightly sick and very hot. I was still jogging fairly slowly at this point- I ran over a bridge and slowed to a walk as I realised that I was in for a bit of a climb. There were some youths fishing in the river- one shouted 'Don't stop running, you've still got 31 miles to go love'. I was tempted to shout back 'I'd like to see you do it- love!'
I was feeling quite sick by this point and actually wondered whether I was going to throw up. Luckily checkpoint 2 was very near, and I gulped down some water and filled both bottles- I figured it wasn't going to get any cooler and I would rather carry more water than I needed. I was very aware that I should try to eat something, and pickd up a recovery bar, but it tasted so sweet I couldn't stomach more than a few bites. I was pleasantly surprised to see another runner at the checkpoint- Louise. She said that she had also felt very sick, and had had to stop for some time by the side of the road. We set off together and managed to miss a sign, so had to retrace our steps. We met up with Anita, and the three of us stuck together from that point, which was really nice. Louise is on the waiting list for next year's MdS.
The next part of the route was very pleasant, winding through woods to the golf course. We lost the route a little here and had to retrace our steps- I think red and white tape had been put out for some other event as well! I still felt a little dodgy and headachey and I think Louise did too, so I took a couple of painkillers. We were mainly walking at a good pace with a few jogs thrown in, taking advantage of the downhills. I was feeling much better now as the pain killers appeared to be doing their job and no longer felt sick. After crossing the motorway;
the route headed towards Giltbrook before turning back towards Kimberley.
We had left the Robin Hood Way at this point and unfortunately there were no signs or tape- presumably they had been removed. A path appeared to turn left and lead uphill, but I expressed concern that we hadn't yet gone far enough. Louise and Anita listened to me so we carried on and discovered I was wrong... oops! We managed to get to checkpoint 3 using the road, and were told that loads of people had taken various unplanned detours...
It was still roasting but luckily there was a bit of shade, and some life saving fruit cake- funnily enough it was just what I fancied and I ate three slices! Ironoc really... I spend most of my life wanting to eat and trying not to, and then found myself in the position of not wanting to eat and trying to make myself! Oh, the irony of ultra racing...
We set off again down to the A610, passing through a tunnel under the road, before a steep climb to Swingate. The route crossed the M1 for a second time, before winding past a canal and through Bramcote Hills to the massive bulk of the Hemstone and out fourth checkpoint.
The checkpoint was just below, and we were told that two people had sadly had to drop out. I managed to put away two more slices of cake and some jelly babies, and we were off on the final leg. We were entering the City now, and then somehow managed to miss a sign, or it had been removed... but we ended up at the A52 and realised we had gone too far... we had quite a bit of road walking to get back on track! Louise had a Garmin and reckoned we ended up doing more than 31 miles!!
Eventually we were back on track and passed the QMC before heading towards the castle along the canal- the first glimpse of the castle was a welcome sight as my legs and feet had started to ache a couple of miles ago. The approach to the finish and the castle is a steep uphill- we managed a shambling jog to the finish which was a giant red inflatable. It was really great as there were lots of people sitting outside the pubs and cafes who were all cheering us in! Rory and Jen greeted us and gave us our medals- it was a lovely finish! Rory confirmed that this would now be an annual event, and I would definately do it again- hopefully I won't get lost next time!!! We finished in 9 hours 16 minutes and had brought up the rear- I had expected to come last so it was lovely to finish with Anita and Louise. It was a fantastic day all round- great support and organisation.
I am aching today, but not too badly. I'm pleased I finished, but would like to be able to do it a bit quicker next year- back to the training!
Labels: Nottingham Ultra
Comments:
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Well done Steph, looks a good event.
Just very pricey when you compare it to the LDWA events.
I've been looking at the Portsmouth Coastal Marathon in December, but it's £50.
There is a 25miler in Wales the same day for £7.50, which if you include the hotel at £45.00 is only £2.50 more.
Minus the M5 afterwards !!
No contest really.
Just very pricey when you compare it to the LDWA events.
I've been looking at the Portsmouth Coastal Marathon in December, but it's £50.
There is a 25miler in Wales the same day for £7.50, which if you include the hotel at £45.00 is only £2.50 more.
Minus the M5 afterwards !!
No contest really.
Thanks both, it was a good event- it's funny how the running- type events tend to be pricier than those geared more towards walkers.
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