Ultrarunning – Blue Green Gold Grey, Awyr Maes Tywod Aarreg

Imperfect Storms

Last Saturday was the Preseli Ultrabeast run. As those who have followed the blog for a while will know I love the races in Preseli, I’ve run the shorter versions of the Beast Bach (11 miles) twice, the Beast (24 miles) and the Ultrabeast. As this was the first year the Ultrabeast has been run since covid and the first time I’ve been able to run it since 2018 due to injury I was very excited to be going back out there.

I got my ass kicked.

That’s the short version – you may want to scroll down to the photos as the rest is just a post mortem for future reference.

I’ve spent the last few days trying to work out what happened and what went wrong. But first I need to explain what actually went down on the day. Although I don’t think I’m quite sure myself.

The Ultrabeast is a 32 mile race through the Preseli Mountains, I don’t think there is a flat section over 200 metres in the whole thing. A couple of the climbs such as the one up Carn Ingli feel vertical and the top of that climb is a rocky scramble. Put simply it is indeed a beast of a course. And I think I forgot just how hard it was.

It was a hot day too. And I don’t deal with heat well being fair skinned. We started at 10 and it was already feeling like a temperature I wouldn’t normally run in. And I’ve not run in any heat since I got Murph as he doesn’t like heat much either.

So from mile one things already felt off, I seemed to be putting out far more effort than I needed to just to trot along. I was already sweating profusely and had a feeling it might be a long day. Then after 7 or 8 miles my stomach went south, by now I had already removed my shirt just to try to keep cool. I started getting stomach pains low down, especially on descents and any water I was drinking was either just sitting in the stomach causing more pain or making me feel nauseous and coming back up.

All I could take were small sips every now and again. Unfortunately with the amount I was sweating out I knew I was going to dehydrate. By now there was a lot of walking involved. There’s a lot of a walking on that course anyway so the difference in pace wasn’t really noticeable anyway.

Things improved temperature wise at around the 12 mile mark as we climbed to the tops and mist fell, I was able to cool off a bit up there but the legs were now having none of it. The really steep climbs were feeling much tougher than I remember and I think the hydration and sickness issues were taking their toll in general.

At this point I’ll admit I just didn’t want to move anymore. It made no sense at the time in my head, I had been flying on the South West Coastal Path only a few weeks earlier with similar climbs and today I had nothing, zero. It was hard enough just to get to the top of Carn Ingli and there was no respite on the descent for as soon as I started going downhill the pains would return. And of course as soon as I descended into the valley the heat returned. Going from cool mountain mist to baking hot sunshine in a matter of minutes probably didn’t help my confused system either.

I wish I had an answer to what really went wrong, I could maybe blame undertraining but I should have had enough in the bank, especially after the South West Path. Perhaps I went in sick, perhaps it was just the heat and definitely some dehydration. Perhaps we are looking at a combination of everything going tits up at the same time. The next day the sunburn on my shoulders and face was pretty impressive and painful which is a definite clue. I don’t run with a hat as it chafes and makes me even hotter – that’s something I need to reconsider for sure. Same with running shirtless, ok it cools me but I burn so easily its dangerous.

It was unfortunate I couldn’t drink enough to stay hydrated, the plan was there and I tried But I just couldn’t keep enough down. I have no idea where I was at medically but I’m guessing looking back I had some sort of heat exhaustion or minor sunstroke going on, certainly I had a headache which I put down to dehydration at the time.

One of the quirks of the Ultrabeast is that it is the same route at the Beast race run at the same time, the ultra route adds an 8 mile loop near the end and the option is there if you are running the ultra to not do the loop and claim a Beast finish. I spent the miles leading up to this point trying to work out what to do for the best. Oddly enough the choice to just DNF and get a ride back from the aid station didnt actually cross my mind. Just switching to the Beast was a hard decision but one I reluctantly made.

It was incredibly disappointing at the time and in the immediate aftermath. It felt much like a DNF as even though I completed the 24 mile Beast race I hadn’t achieved what i set out to do. But after feeling wiped out for 3 days and now 5 days later I’m still sunburned it was the right decision to make. At least another 8 miles and 2 or 3 hours in the sun would have been a stupid decision and I’m glad now I made the right one. The last 5 miles once the decision were made were bad enough. There’s no shame in failure but there is in being a prideful idiot and having to get carried off mountains.

So that’s the tale of the Ultrabeast. But by writing this and spending some time looking at the lessons learned I think there are many positives to take from it. I can’t do much about sickness if I carry it into a race but I can do something about heat. I can make sure I’m trained for hills and not just hills but steep hills – I intend to take a look at how poles will work for me. I may not have run the 32 mile but I got through the 24 version which I guess most people would be more than happy with. I also learned once again when to call it a day at the right time.

So I have 2 Beast Bach finishes, 2 Beast finishes and 1 Ultrabeast finish. I have a year to get ready to make that 2 2 2.

I cant finish without saying how special this race is. The work of Carwyn to put it together and of all the marshalls and helpers out there on the day is incredible. Plus the support from the local communities. It makes it a carnival feel at times, the moments when you run past an accordion playing lady riding a red dragon at an aid station you don’t forget in a hurry. (No that wasn’t sunstroke). The support, encouragement, kids with supersoakers and smiles were probably all that got me through some parts. If you ever get chance to run one of these races, please do, you won’t regret. I don’t and I had the day from hell out there.

This is where it starts really getting lumpy
Lumpier again
Ok time to rope in
We need at some point to get back over there and beyond- When I see photos like this (that I dont remember taking) I realise just how big these races are
Heading into the mist at Carn ingli
Fires have swept the mountain recently
I love this photo – Summit of Carn Ingli – you can just make out the two marshalls on the right peak
So just run down there, don’t worry about the quads
The last few miles back through the forest and to Maenclochog in the back right of the photo
Oh yeah and past the wild horses
Plus foals =)

Success/failure is not black/white

One of the beauties of ultrarunning and I guess life is that you live and learn. And they say you learn as much of not more from failure than success. And I think I agree.

Yesterday was the run “over the other side” for a 40 odd mile run along the south west coastal path in Devon. It was all planned, I had my friend Claire as my support crew, the two dogs were going to spend the day traveling with her to various support points. All that could go wrong would be my legs giving up, or I could fall off a cliff or something.

The landscape was beautiful and so much fun to run through. As I had never been there before it was like exploring as I went. The photos below really don’t capture the scene.

I set off around seven and was in a groove much sooner than I expected. I was expecting hilly and I certainly got hilly, with a mix of long drawn out drags and really steep stuff. It was all technical and I was loving all of it. I was alternating between shirtless down in the wooded valleys and a waterproof jacket up on the highest hills as it was drizzling up there.

Then the derail began. Not with the legs, not the heart or the head but upon reaching combe martin to meet Claire and pick up more food and water it was clear murph was an unhappy dog. He’s been on crew before and was fine but yesterday he wanted none of it. He was crying and whining all morning while I was gone. He was barking at people when parked up. He is a nervous dog because of his rescue past and it displays in ferocious displays of false bravado which to the outside world can be quite intimidating and frightening.

I continued on and at the next stop they met me on the path so he was happy to be away from people but as I stocked up and then moved on his crying broke my heart. Suddenly the joy of running where I was became joyless. I turned it all over through the next section which as it turned out got me near halfway. This was because Claire couldn’t get the van near enough the path which stressed her further. I was oblivious as there is no mobile signal. It seemed like a long leg but as I pulled into the next stop I could hear murph barking before I saw him and the decision was made. It was over there and then

The time to think on the last leg brought me to the only possible conclusion. I could continue in my own world and selfishly push for the 40 mile achievement I wanted so badly but only at the cost of the happiness of the others.

It was a no brainer. I checked how they all were and climbed in the back with the dogs and called it a day. I’m not going to lie it was disappointing. I was having the day of my life as far as running goes. It was all clicking along. I had a few back issues with the downhills but not enough to stop things. I was driving the uphills hard, too hard perhaps and who knows if the wheels would have fallen off eventually. It doesn’t matter because in the end it turned out not to be a day about running. Ultrarunning is about making decisions, hundreds of tiny decisions throughout the day all leading to success or failure.

In the end I only had to make one decision yesterday. And even if today I feel like a failure I know deep down making the right decision was the only way to really win.

The view the night before – “see those in the distance? I bet I have to run up those” Of course I did
Dawn looking back over Ilfracombe
View towards Waterford
Waterford harbour
Approaching Little Hangman
Some cliffs somewhere
That way – They have done a great job on signposting the path.
Up there – Now thats a longass uphill drag
But when you’re up there its great
Cairn on Great Hangman
The drizzle is coming in
Another valley
Oh look thats nice, a vertical path to get out of the valley!
Those dots in the path are the support crew!
Every drop was steep
Looking back
Looking forward – thats the path cutting halfway up the opposite hill – another longass drag!
But always worth it
Ummmm yeah – the correct path was actually new Zealand
Just run out of water and wouldnt you know your luck…
And this is where it ends
Fierce van guardians making sure anyone parking within 20 yards knew about them

Sometimes you need a few friends

We have just over 2 weeks left in the countdown to the run over the other side. Battling a sore back at the moment that just seems to tweak nastily every now and again. But then again when have I ever run a race without an injury so it’s going to be a fingers crossed and hope its ok on the day kind of thing, even if its not perfect I reckon it’ll be good enough.

So crew is sorted and we have a vague plan, its handy to have a friend who is willing to spend all day driving and meeting up with me and listening to me moan about how everything hurts. She’s seen it all before in my first 50 miler and doesn’t really give a shit as long as she gets to spend the day with the dogs.

Its a two dog adventure again and Murph will get to spend the day with his new best buddy Dug. We’ve been getting some training in but also enjoying the chance to to walk too with Dug, he’s a Romanian rescue and although not quite as damaged as Murph he has some issues that are being ironed out. Judging by the photo avalanche below you will see what I mean.

Dug is allowed off lead at the beach first thing when no-one else is around and we go mental – I’m not really trying to bite him but we playfight a lot
This is our dance routine opening
Oof – We playfight quite hard
But always best buddies
We went to Margam park one morning – we had to stay on long leads – Mainly cos we will both chase anything that moves
Chilling for once
I was very happy to try the back of the mini camper, Dug appears to be less excited
More zoomies
Dog wrestling
Headlock
Boxing…..
I will fend you off with my left jab

The Other Side

I’ve lived alongside the Bristol Channel my whole life, it’s always been there and part of my life whether I’ve actively thought about it or not. Where I have always lived has been bounded on one side by a wide strip of water, I’ve never really thought about it, it’s just there. Being able to go to the beach just a mile or so away has always been part of life and I’ve never considered actually how lucky I am.

And for all my life the opposite side of the Bristol Channel has been called “The Other Side” and I’ve never thought about that either. People around here will say something like “It was such a beautiful day, you could see the other side so clearly” or “You couldn’t see the other side because of the fog” and everyone knows that the other side is simply the other side of the Bristol Channel.

I see the other side a lot as it’s visible from not only my home but also from the beach where I run a lot and the fields where I walk Murph. As I say it’s just a geographical feature on the horizon but lately I’ve started thinking about it a lot more. Like what does here look like from over there? And what does Foreland Point Lighthouse actually look like up close? I can see this lighthouse – or rather in the early morning or late evening dark I can see it’s distinctive repeating 4 flashes followed by a pause.

And how much of over there can I actually see from over here. And can I run the length of all the other side that i can see? In a day?

So the blue dot is Monknash beach and the two red arrows mark the section of the other side I can see from “our side”

Luckily (or not) the South West Coastal path runs along this section of coast too – in fact Minehead which will be my finishing point is actually the end of the SW path too. So the plan is to run from Bull Point Lighthouse in the west to Minehead in the east following the coastal path. A handy SW coastal path calculator tells me it’s around 43 miles with plenty of ascending and descending – One thing I learned about the SW coastal path while running an ultra on it a few years ago (on the south coast) is that it is rarely flat and there is a lot of steep climbing up and down into the coves.

17 hours is the walking estimate so I would be thinking closer to 10 or 11 but as ever it depends on so many factors.

Timing wise looking at spring 2022 because it’s the best weather for both myself and Murph to be doing this kind of thing – He cant do the full distance but he could do sections maybe. Well he could probably do the full distance but I would never make him try. I can make the choice to stop but he cant communicate that to me and I know he would just keep going. School holidays run from the 8th April 2022 to 25th. Easter weekend is the 17th so that’s one to avoid. Preseli is the 7th May this year and I’d like some recovery time between the two as I want to run the ultrabeast this year as it’s been a while and I know how hard that one is with the elevation too. I need to get some hills under my belt!

So it’s some consistent winter training coming u – Plan is to get after it avoid injury and stop the weather watching – Murph fetch your rain gear!

It’s real

I got to thinking after xmas. My nephew brought a virtual reality headset with him on boxing day and it started me thinking about reality. I can see the use of VR in education – you can fire pupil’s imaginations like nothing else with it. But what concerns me is the disconnect from the real world and actually experiencing things.

I thought about this while running this morning, it was still semi dark, the wind was howling and then it started to hammer down rain too. And as I ran through it all I thought about how although some may consider it a miserable experience to me me it wasn’t. I could feel the lash of the rain on my face, feel the water running down my face and mingling with sweat and stinging my eyes. I could feel the salt in my mouth as I sucked in air. I could smell the wet earth beneath my feet, the aroma of wet grass. I could sense the freshness of the storm, the wind blasting over and around me, pushing me this way and that, making me drive into it.

I looked down to see Murphy trotting alongside me, as usual when i transfer attention to him he looks up at me and seems to grin. I know deep down it’s just the way we percieve and anthropomorphalise animals but it seems like he grins and smiles at me, sometimes its almost as if he looks up to agree how utterly ridiculous the situation is, why are we running ankle deep through streams of water into a biting wind anyway? Not that he cares because I know at that moment he feels alive, no matter the weather he is out doing something he loves with someone he loves – and so am I. Because right now we are alive.

And can VR give this? Of course not. But corporations will tell you it can. Because they want to sell it to you. And all the attendant “experiences” they can sell you too. They want you at home, sat in your lounge where you are comfortable, malleable and ready to part with cash. How can they sell things to someone stood ankle deep in mud in a field? So they will tell you be comfortable. There is no need to leave your home. Be safe. We can bring the world to you.

I say no thanks, I’d rather be cold, wet, tired … and alive.

A foggy morning at the beach, like running through a world of cotton wool
A wet dog happy and about to negotiate a pool that wasn’t there yesterday
Give me food – you have food, give it to me
A find – I ran for miles carrying this
You can’t simulate happiness
What gets wet must get dry

Three Woods

Not the golf club three wood but rather our small three woods challenge. On our regular runs there are three seperate woods that we visit just not on the same run. Murph loves woods as there are furries to hunt and things to sniff. So I figured why not do a run that links up all three so he gets to visit them all in the same day. I had a vague idea it would be around half marathon length and would mean we could take in the fields, woods, cliffs, beach and the lanes.

Plus it was an excuse to take sandwiches and extra dog treats. Of course everything is easier in phot form so here goes the story of the day (spoiler its not that exciting)

Over the bridge heading for woods number one
Woods number one and the first stepping stones of the day
Out of the woods and up onto the cliffs – the channel is looking spectacular today. It always does when there are low clouds
Drop down here from the cliffs to run the beach as by now the tide had dropped off enough to get around
I know the sandwiches are in here
Woods number two – We don’t need a path right?
I knew it – Gimme sandwich
More stepping stones on way to woods three
Made it – tired but happy in woods number three
Sandwiches!
The road home
See the horizon? We have to go over that kiddo
Home and time for a snooze – It was just over 13 miles altogether

My Posts are like buses

You wait for ages for one but you just want to get off it as soon as possible. Luckily the runs aren’t like that these days. With it being half term we have a full week to get out and about and so after waiting for the rain to stop we headed out for a bit of variety. We hit the beach, followed by the forest then ended up in the lanes where Murph was most pleased to meet his best friend by pure chance. In fact his friend was so happy to see him he ran off with us instead of his owner and we had to backtrack a bit to return him

10 miles of dog joy and things feel just right at the moment, the only injuries are nary but niggles and the cardio side of things is just fine. More miles in the legs and some hillwork and we’ll be ready for more mountains.

It’s odd, it might be 6 months away but just having an ultra to train for it giving me unexpected motivation

First up the beach
Past the waterfall
Im not sure how this photo worked out like this but I like it
Once we climbed up Witches Point we got the view
Then the forest
And the sun came out in the lanes
Here they come!
And run back up the hill to return Iolo

Making It Up

Last saturday we marked the spring equinox with a run. An ultra in fact. Due to pandemics etc I hadn’t run one since the 50 miler back in 2019 so I figured it was time to get back on the horse and why not do it by marking the beginning of my favourite season. I’ve learned that a bit of preperation goes a long way in running ultras even in your own local area so although I didn’t plan a route I left a drop bag at my parents and left gear and food at home so I had two “aid stations” to visit when I needed.

Now I was pretty sure Murph could do the whole 32 miles but I didn’t want him to. After all I get the choice to stop if I have to, I can call it quits but he can’t or won’t. I know he will just go as long as he can and that may be too far, he has no real way of communicating that. So the plan was to drop him off for a few hours rest and then I could pick him up for the end.

We set off at 6.30 on our adventure!

Enjoying himself playing “come on catch up”

As usual the first miles fly by. Murph did his usual run about like a lunatic thing, probably covering twice the distance I do. We raced the tide along the beach and were having a whale of a time.

Through Southerndown and looping back towards home

Our plan went perfectly, as we looped back into Wick at around 9 miles we met our friends who go walking their dogs every morning. Murph loves a blast with his friends so it works out perfectly if we hit the field at the right time. It was also a chance to grab some food and water from my parents

After a while spent playing with his pals we set off again in the opposite direction making up the route as we went along. We found ourselves in the woods around Atlantic College and followed the new footpath through the college and back around toward home.

Woods being Murphs favourite place to find furries

By the time we hit home for the first time it was 17 miles in and after a quick break for sustenance it was time to distract Murph with some treats and set up on my own for a few hours. He was probably doing better than me at this point as the legs were finally showing signs of tireness but he seemed raring to go still. The next 11 miles were …. ok I guess. I was at that point where things were starting to hurt so it was a case of grinding out miles plus I was missing Murphs company. Although its easier and faster to run without him as you dont have to constantly monitor him it was kinda sad to not have him there for part of the journey. But part of ultrarunning is just the mentality of “getting it done” and I certainly was going to get it done no matter what.

This is the face of a dog who has had a good day!

It was odd to run an ultra without the normal race setting, no people, no other runners, no defined course, no finishing line and I admit there were “why am I doing this to myself moments?” but I knew there would be those moments and I had prepared myself for them. You get them in every ultra but it’s just easier to drop out when there’s no-one else around. So if I thought about dropping I thought about something else instead. Like picking up Murph at 28 miles!

Although things were certainly starting to fall apart in the legs (and oddly back spasms) releasing the hound certainly gave me a boost for the final miles. As did stopping briefly at my parents house a few times where I could have a chat and get some food and water down me. Where would we be witout aid stations!

As we trotted home I checked my watch (I actually wore one for once) and realised I could still break 8 hours which considering the terrain, dog minding and various stops. But to break 8 we would have to put a final charge on. So after 31.5 miles it was time for a sprint – Sprint being a relative term but we gave it all we had down the road and hit our original starting point and 32 miles later in 7′ 59′ 30

All in all the whole day was a success. As with all ultras I’ve run there are parts I hate while im out there and then I look back and say I loved every minute. It was certainly different to run one with just Murph for company and I was so happy that I could motivate myself to stick at it. I wonder if there will be more …

Seems like its monthly now

My posting that is, I have plenty of time to write but seemingly it’s more fun doing something than writing about it. So as per usual we’ve been out and about, running here, running there but no longer logging the miles like last year. Which took a litle while to get used to but after having to record every single walk and run I think I do prefer just getting out there and doing it and sod the numbers.

We also have a few projects on the go. First up is Run all the Footpaths which does basically what it says on the tin. There’s a vast network of footpaths and bridleways around here and I want to run them all with murph, which takes us maybe to places we haven’t been before. Hopefully it will turn out to be an ever expanding circle of footpaths on a google map that I’m recording them on. Christ I’ve ended up recording things after all.

So far it looks like this with the yellwo lines as completed footpaths

We also now have a Go Pro camera and as of yesterday a camera harness for Murph. So we’re been doing some filming and I’ve been playing around with video editing – which I’m not very good at. And Murph now has his own youtube channel where I can store all the finished videos. The lastest is being uploaded as I type and is his first test run with his hardness for a Murphs eye view of a run.

If you want to see his vids go to

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwjERA57Av8_6_iwHv7hKtA

Should be more to come, especially as the weather starts to improve, I don’t really want a harness on him when it’s wet and to be honest I don’t like him wearing one at the best of times but the odd bit of filming won’t hurt I reckon.

We have some more things in the pipeline and for now I leave you with his latest photos!

Idiots having fun
Poser
Sunnier days
Photogenic yet dirty hound
Having fun with fresh water bubbles
Sunset in our favourite fields
In the ancient dovecote

The truth is we did it all for the biscuits

7.52AM on a dim sunday morning in October it was complete. 2000 miles in a calender year for the Murph and I. The murphometer is full.

292 days. 2000 miles. 1 packet of cheese biscuits to celebrate. And then we ran on. What else was there to do?

Along the way we saw some stunning sunrises
We chased a lot of birds
We ran a lot on the beach under beautiful clouds
We ran through the fields under beautiful clouds
We climbed up to look at more clouds
We posed in the sun
We ran at sunset
We found some cool fungii
And when we hit 2000 we shared a packet of cheese biscuits – does life get any better?
When I say shared I mean Murph ate nearly all of them. He deserves it. I’m so proud of him, he’s come a long way in so many different ways, we both have.

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