Having been selected to represent Great Britain back in May
I came into the World Championships in good shape to run well in the 77km trail
race with 2500m of ascent. I’d managed a good 6 week blocks of 90-100 miles a
week and that came after another 6 weeks of 80 miles a week, which followed a
good 12 week block running up to the 100km back in March. Racing wise I’d ran 3
marathons (1 road, 1 trail and 1 mountain race – winning 2 and running a pb), 3
half marathons (2 trail and one road – also winning 2 and running a pb) and the
100km (finishing 3rd in the UKA championships and running a pb)
since Christmas, so racing results were backing up solid consistent training.
My training is now much more actual running, less time in the fells, and at a
much higher pace so I do think I’m a lot fitter and results have backed that
up.
The race was back in North Wales so I was really relishing going back there fit and putting in a good run.
Unfortunately the selectors at Welsh Athletics aren’t so convinced I'm fitter so I missed out on selection for the World Long Distance mountain running championships due to not running the trial because of a clash with the world championships.. this was another plus really as it then really fired me up to have a good run.
When training goes well its really hard work as you never get a respite, I’ve felt on
the edge of an injury for a while, really tired but still managing quality but was desperate to start tapering so did
the standard 70%, 40% reductions in training load over the final two weeks with
maintaining the efforts; running my last km reps session on the Wednesday
before the race. But my last hard run was great, I finished a 12.5 mile trail
run with the final 2 miles sat around 5:40 pace.. which a few years ago was my
10k pace. Training works and positive feedback pushes you on.
On Tuesday before the race my kit finally arrived, running
for GB is obviously great but everyone knows that the kit makes it that bit
special. You get every type of kit imaginable, all with ‘Great Britain
Athletics Team’ emblazoned on it and that really builds the excitement. Being a
Welsh Athlete I’m still running in the same vest I was given back in 2009, I
have no shorts, and an old fleece, we
all have different generations of kit and we look like England’s poor cousins,
it just makes such a difference to all turn up, wearing good kit, looking like
a team.
Meeting team GB and
the opening ceremony
Gwen and I flew over the Thursday before and met up with the
team late Thursday night in Llandudno, at the (once) Grand Hotel… I knew most
of the guys in the team but only knew Tracy from the females and then also had
Andy Walling as team physio, who I knew from North Wales. From the management
team I only really knew Adrian Stott but right from the off it was very
relaxed. Both the males and females
stood a good chance of gaining individual and team medals.
Friday was to be a busy day, being one of the last to arrive
I’d been nominated to carry the flag for the opening ceremony, so we had that,
met lots of the other athletes and coaches. Jo and I headed to the press conference out at
the course as Jo and I were nominated to represent GB, Jo was third in Comrades
and a class roadrunner, and I was an ex-local. To be at the press conference
with the reigning world champions and the top performers from the last world
championships was a tad daunting and we were constantly referred to as the top
8 ultra runners in the race. but I did feel fit, knew I was in good shape and
running a course that suited me. Maybe over confidently I finished the press
conference by saying I was fit and was looking forwards to it, but I felt good
and was enjoying the pressure.
Then we grabbed a spot of lunch and did various TV and media
interviews with ITV news, Trail running and Dream TV and then finally late in
the afternoon had a quick 2 mile walk around the start and the end of the
course, the two bits I didn’t know. It
was pretty non-stop for the day which did concern me, I’d been on my feet for a
good 5 hours and still had to shop so we headed Betws to buy gels then to
tesco’s to buy 20 banana’s, lucozade and coke and some flapjacks, nuts etc…
I managed a quick massage with Andy before heading to the
hotel for our team meeting. I’d had a slight hamstring issue over the past few
months, just a tightness.. but going to work on my calfs and gluts Andy somehow
freed up the hamstring considerably without even touching my hamstring.. it’s
incredible how much difference a good physio can make. The management and
supporters were great at building our confidence, making sure we knew to enjoy
the moment but also seize this opportunity. We
grabbed some lunch and headed out for some quiet time. Gwen and I first
sat on the beach but migrated up to the headland on the start of the Orme to
have a relax and get my feet up. With all the activity in the day it was nice
to have a think about the race.
It was three from five to count in the teams, I fancied
Ricky to win, class runner, an unknown really in ultra’s but a strong pedigree
on the mountains, unfortunately we’d lost Lee kemp late on who would also have
been a contender. We then had Andrew James, Craig Holgate, Matt Williams and
myself. Out of them I classed myself as the weakest actual runner but the
terrain and route suited me but knew this was a fairly short ultra so a hard
start was essential and normally I'm a slow starter. Despite the heat I didn’t see any point in an overly safe
race. Race day was scheduled to be fairly hot, 22 C so a fast start was warned
against, but I wanted a good run and decided to go off at marathon effort and
try to hold on. As long as I finished knowing I’d given it everything I was OK
no matter what happened. I was also fairly confident that I was more heat
acclimatized that most and could gamble. While Rostock is not known for its
heat we do have many suny days in the low 20’s in the summer so I was pretty
comfortable in the 22-23 Deg C forecast for race day.
We then retired to the George Hotel for a quick hot
chocolate, usual wild Friday night, and then I went back to my hotel.
Surprisingly I slept well.
Race Day
The race was to start at 9 am so I was up at 5:45, quick shower and down
for breakfast for 6. Luckily I only eat honey and toast before a race and that
was provided. We left the hotel at 7:15 and headed to the race 30 minutes away.
The usual stress is the old toilet but the bowels were
behaving and I was off a fair few times before the race so it was good to relax
and plan the race. It was hard not to get too distracted chatting with old
friends but I was pretty switched on. Gwen was racing the 10k which started
later so she was off getting ready too.
We then had to do some coordinated team walk to the starting
area, various photos but were soon at the start. Ricky clearly set out his
attentions by standing on the start line from the off wanting a good start. I
stuck with him as I reckoned a quick first mile could put you with a nice open
run up the first climb.
The gun went off bang on time and we went off, already Ricky
took the lead, some followed, Julien Rancon (one of the best mountain runners
around) and Erik the then reigning world champion. My plan was sit in around
the top 10 and build, we passed the first aid station hit the first hill and
that went quickly.
It’s then a long switch back before a much longer more
gradual climb, some narrow trails, a short climb, descent to a water station,
swing by the lake side on technical trails, a short climb, a long undulating
traverse on single track to a short climb, descent and twists to the first aid
station then largely good running with some short sections of single track
before a long descent and final traverse on single track back to saw bench and
the first aid station. One lap was around fifteen km. At the first aid station
I could see the other GB runners so we’d all had a good start.
The first lap was a breeze, I felt superb, I had two French
guys on me and then and Aussie and an American soon joined. The second was
harder and around 10 miles in I did get concerned. I was sat around 10th/11th
though and was passing people. After the first lap I heard the announcer say
Andrew James was coming in so again knew we had three runners up in the race,
but with two French guys out front and two with me it was still all to play for
even if Ricky won.
As it was Ricky had a stormer, dropping them all and went on
to win by 11 minutes. The second lap was a bit of a blur, it’s too early to
hurt, and the end is too far off so positions don’t matter. The main thing was
my feet felt good, I was running well, knocking out low 6 minute miles on
trails where possible and was climbing well. I was wearing my tried and tested
Adidas Adio Adizero’s.. just a superb comfy shoe, a road shoe but with enough
grip and support to cope with the conditions on the trail. Interestingly most,
if not all, of the French team opted for the same shoe.
The third was where things began to change, it was here I
caught the Norwegian, 4th in the world last time, and then soon
after Erik, the reigning world champion… there’s not many better feelings in
sport than having the current world champion on your shoulder and knowing you
are in control, this gave me a great boost and I kicked on. One French runner
breezed past me here which was a concern, but I still felt good and tried to
ignore any negative thoughts. Food wise I was eating bananas, taking on water,
coke and lucozade. I was sweating heavily but pouring water on myself and felt
in control.
The 4th lap things got really hot and hard. The
Australian and American had now fallen away so I was on my own, sections of the
forest were like a furnace with no wind, other sections nicer. Despite our
rivalry with the French I have to say their support in the forest was great and
cheered us all on, regardless of nationality.
The first major climb was mainly ran but I was now walking
the odd steep section and could feel twinges of cramp, but my feet were still
good and I was still hitting the 6’s so nothing was majorly wrong. Towards the
end of the 4th lap I finally re-passed the French guy who had got me
and was now in 4th place.. I was pretty shocked and determined to
hold this position.
This was where the confusion started. Julien Rancon had
fallen badly and lost his number so was off the results… yet still in 3rd.
A German 2nd, Florien, and Ricky comfortably out front. All the
support team knew I was 4th and seemed to be closing Julien, but all
who followed online, including the start and finish area had me in bronze. At
the end people seemed to think I’d had bronze yet had it snatched away, but I
was shocked when Steve Eds asked me about that at the end.. I had no idea
Julien had a) fallen and b) lost his number, I was always 4th..
credit to the race organisers for having the systems in place to sort that
quickly; things can go wrong in races outside of their control, like a runner
losing his number, but they had chips on our back numbers which then sorted the
issue.
The last lap was a hard, hot lonely affair but I was pushing
on trying to catch Julien but every person I passed was another runner being
lapped.. but still no one was behind me, that was the main thing. If I could
hold 4th, with Ricky out in front and by all accounts the team doing
well we had Gold.
I kept hearing Julien was only 2 minutes ahead but I never
saw him, I pushed on at the end but finished 2:10 behind him in 5:56:31 and 4th
place… I was pretty shocked, battered and happy. Andrew James finished around
6:15 to give us the gold medal in the teams, with Craig and Matt finishing soon
after 6:30. Ricky won in only his 4th
ultra in 5:32 ish, just a superb run.
Looking at the splits I took a chunk out of Julien when he
fell but he recovered and over the final lap was just edging into his lead and
really needed another lap to get bronze. Still I can’t complain, a GB vest,
team gold, 4th in the world championships.. it doesn’t get much
better than that and I exceeded my expectations but was also happy with how I
approached the race both in training and over the final 24 hours. I was much
more aggressive in my start than usual and felt that my final position and time
justified the risk involved.
I was also pleased to send a message to Welsh Athletics that
I am fitter this year and running better.
The support from the GB management and supporters around the
squad was superb, but so was the attitude amongst the GB athletes. It was just so
laid back - still a lot of psyche but in a good way.. typically British.., I think we were all nervous but looking forwards to it, I knew I was
fit and just wanted to run well, with no regrets.
Running for GB is huge, getting selected for Wales was big
but GB is different – it just is. As I’d not ran the fling I was worried about
the reactions of other runners who missed out so was determined to have a good
run and justify my selection. My goals this year were run pb’s in the marathon,
sub 7:30 100k at least and make the GB squad, so it’s been a nice first 6
months of the year.
Great to see North Wales show cased like that. The event went seemlessly, it was a late call on where the route would be but you'd never have known, so full credit to the LC for the event and all those involved.
Great to see North Wales show cased like that. The event went seemlessly, it was a late call on where the route would be but you'd never have known, so full credit to the LC for the event and all those involved.
Berlin Marathon now dominates.. I’ve a few fun races in the
next month: an uphill race in the Bavarian Alps and then the classic Sierre
Zinal mountain race in Switzerland. I feel recovered, immediately after the race I saw Andy for a massage and then had a dip in the river and have had a steady weeks running every day, but steady pace and just a 50 mile week which included a few hikes in the Highlands and Lake District - pictures to come...
Results: http://www.tdl.ltd.uk/race-results.php?event=1386
Strava profile and my run: http://app.strava.com/activities/65837858 (watch stopped late)
Photos: www.fellrunningpictures.co.uk & http://www.sportpicturescymru.co.uk/pages/gallery/2013-gallery.php?gall_id=154
Results: http://www.tdl.ltd.uk/race-results.php?event=1386
Strava profile and my run: http://app.strava.com/activities/65837858 (watch stopped late)
Photos: www.fellrunningpictures.co.uk & http://www.sportpicturescymru.co.uk/pages/gallery/2013-gallery.php?gall_id=154
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