I had no plans to do an ultra this year. I’d signed up to do Edinburgh marathon as my challenge for the year and convinced my friend to sign up too. My friend’s payback was to convince me to sign up to the Race to the Stones ultramarathon. Turns out it’s very easy to sign up to long races when you’re sitting on the sofa in your pyjamas making your way through the Christmas chocolates.
The Race to the Stones is one the UK’s biggest ultramarathons. The route is along the Ridgeway, starting in Lewknor, through Wantage, and ending at Avebury Standing Stones.
It’s a whole weekend event, with the option to run 100k (in a oner or as 50k each day) or 50k (either as the first 50k stretch of the route Saturday or the as the second stretch on Sunday). When I signed up, I hadn’t run further than a half marathon and (thankfully) opted the 50k option (from Wantage to Avebury).
My training had mainly been focused on the marathon. With seven weeks between the marathon and the ultra, I was hoping I’d still have the distance in my legs. Then with a few longer runs to practice on the trails I’d be good to go. I’d planned on doing a few fell runs as part the club fell race series (but a niggling hip injury put a stop to this).
I didn’t fit in as many long trails runs as I wanted in those seven weeks, but I felt more relaxed going into the ultra than the marathon. I’d really been looking forward to it, didn’t give myself the pressure of a certain goal time, and had convinced myself it was more of a long picnic with a bit of running in between. I loved the longer runs in marathon training and the nicer scenery of trails was a bonus.
Aside from training prep, I wanted to make sure I felt confident with any kit I might need. There was a recommended kit list for the race, and I’ll take any excuse to buy more running gear.
I got good practice in with my new running vest (Inov8 Ultrapac Pro 8). I would definitely recommend this one – I found it super lightweight with plenty of easy to reach pockets for my water, equipment, and snacks. They weren’t need with the heatwave, but I did pick up a new light windproof jacket and waterproof trousers (I suppose I’ll have to sign up to more trails through the Winter to make use of them).
I always prioritise comfort over speed and went with the very cushioned ASICS Trabuco Max 4s for my new trail shoes and I loved them. It wasn’t an overly technical trail route by any means (some runners did wear road shoes), but I was glad of the trail shoes on the gravel sections.
Chatting to Andy Ross about his experience with ultras, he said that he learns something new with every ultra. So I stole some of his lessons (thanks Andy!). One being that you don’t need to carry too much food. I knew the pitstops were well stocked, so aside from my water, a few things to protect from the sun, and electrolytes, I was only carrying a couple of mini bags of Haribo and a mini malt loaf. In the end, my running picnic mainly consisted of flapjack, fruit bars, and watermelon.
With the weather forecast of 30 degrees plus, the start time had been pulled forward to 5am. We had a bit of a drive to get to the start, but the 3am alarm was worth it to get as much done while we had cover from the clouds. I obviously started off too fast but managed to get 15k in before the clouds disappeared. It was a beautiful route with plenty to see to distract from the run, but I’ll admit I’m not always the best at taking in my surroundings and end up looking at the ground!
I didn’t try to stick to a specific target pace. I just walked the hills and ran (or shuffled) when I could. I was feeling great for the first half, but the route is quite exposed and was starting to feel the heat from there.
With the heat there were extra water and electrolyte stations around every 8k which were definitely needed. I was getting through a litre of water every hour and it also helped mentally break up the rest of the distance. After about 40km I’d made a note to remember how tough it felt and not sign up the anything more than 50km in the future (a note I’ll probably forget quite quickly).
I’m not sure what lesson I learned from this ultra. Maybe to take in my surroundings and enjoy the views more, or that I’m definitely not ready for anything further. I absolutely loved this run. While I don’t think I have 100km in me, I definitely want to do more ultras in the future.
Catherine Dutton
