There was a good, relaxed vibe at the race HQ and the weather was pretty epic for March.  On the race itself I met a lovely lady early on who’s pace matched mine, so we naturally kept on running and talking together, yabbering away for miles and miles (classic women I know – and did we trade some stories!). This was great until we realised we had hit the peninsula loop the wrong way around (so much for keeping the sea on the right!) But we decided it was the same distance whichever direction you ran. So we kept going and just had to keep reassuring all the other competitors we passed that they were in fact going the right way and we were the ones who’d messed it up.

Race HQ called us eventually to tell us we were going the wrong way (we’d been going wrong for at least 2 hours by this point so no sh*t sherlock) but we agreed we were not in this to win it and would rather not add a considerable amount of time and distance to correct an insignificant route mistake.

It was so good to run with someone else. It was especially useful when I started flagging on the flat in Weymouth and, although I told her she was free to run on, my ‘accidental running partner’ said “nope we went wrong together, we’ll finish together’. She also bought me a calipo icecream at the end of the Weymouth sea front! What a legend! She could obviously tell I needed the morale at that point; it was super-hot, busy and there was no respite from the hard tarmac.

Once we hit the hills again it was much better; I much prefer having a varied terrain to work with, it keeps the mind occupied and allows you to work hard and recover in equal measure. We were on for a great time for most of the route but, after hitting about 35 miles, we slowed down considerably. The last 5km were particularly brutal, the rolling Jurassic coast really upped its game and the downhills were genuinely painful for our feet. Normally 5km would take us 30 – 40 minutes but I think it took us about 1.5 hours! In the last km my running partner started to pile in and it was my turn to keep her going, I was glad to be able to repay her for her encouragement earlier on. We even managed to limp-run across the finish line after 9 hours and 45minutes!

The actual running aside, it’s amazing how well you can get to know someone when you run with them for over 9 hours. You naturally pick up on when they wish to be silent, when they are happy to chat and when they need a bit of encouragement. I was extremely grateful to find my accidental running partner, it made it much more enjoyable. 

The other great thing about this weekend was that I got to see several friends. Over the course of the weekend the race organisers were also running a 3 day multi stage event (a marathon a day) and competitors could choose to do 1, 2 or 3 days. So, I had dinner with friends on Friday night and supported another friend on Saturday which was really lovely. This made the whole experience even more worthwhile and added a feel good wrap to the experience that stopped me from hitting the come-down too quickly after the race.

I still got the come-down this morning when I woke up back in London, with an achey body, an empty fridge and a full inbox, but this time I was better prepared. I also focused less on the fundraising (or lack of) which I realised can take the enjoyment out of the activity itself.

Considering the amount of verbal support I have received, I only achieved 3 more donations during this challenge. My theory is that people only see me enjoying myself and I knew on the race that I should have captured the harder, tougher parts (when I was in clip and suffering), but it’s really hard to get the camera out at these times, it’s the last thing you are thinking about! The same went for the social media, handing that off to my sister made the event much more enjoyable than the last challenge when I had to spend hours afterwards constructing videos which drained me completely. My other theory is that many of my friends are holding back until I have completed more challenges, either because they think I am more capable than what I have achieved so far or because they want to spread the love. Just for the record these are ALL hard for me!

It is a bit tough though, especially when I know people have raised much more money for ‘less’ of an event. I’m putting my body and mind through quite a lot and I don’t want it to be for nothing. 

Still, I had a very enjoyable weekend overall and would recommend to anyone giving an ultra a go – it’s not as hard as you think, and as one competitor put it, as you get older it pays to trade speed for distance!