Anglo Celtic Plate 100k, Perth 2016
Take a chance on me
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| Happy! Photo: Debbie Martin Consani |
In 2007 I applied for a dream PhD scholarship at the University of St Andrews. It would mean switching fields from English to History, but Andrew and Malcolm took a chance on me, I moved from Cambridge to Scotland, took up running and found an entirely new life.
In 2014 I ran my first ultra, having persuaded my coach, Ron, that since I have mastocytosis and inflammatory arthritis (both of which could progress) I wanted to run an ultra while I still could… I picked the Speyside Way, won it and fell in love. I fell for the novel challenges of the distance, the sublime scenery, the self transcendence and the community.
Two weeks after the 2015 London Marathon (2.58) I ran the Kintyre Way and broke the course record. So when Scottish Athletics invited athletes to put themselves forward for consideration for the Anglo Celtic Plate I did. There is such depth of talent in Scotland, with a lot of experience, but Adrian decided to give me the opportunity to prove myself and I got my first Scotland vest.
The day before was a buzz of anxiety and adrenaline; it was going to be my first 100k, the furthest I had ever run (by 22 miles) and my international debut. I got about an hour's sleep (my Jawbone Up actually registered 0 hours!), partly from nerves but also because there was a wedding in the hotel...
I couldn't face breakfast and the consensus was not to force it and eat once the race started.
We walked over to the park as a team, our food and drinks transported by our fantastic support crew. The anxiety of the past few days began to wane as I fell into my pre-race routine. It definitely helped that the rest of team Scotland seemed so relaxed and the support crew so organised.
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| L-R: Rosie Bell, Charlotte Black, Fionna Ross and Sophie Mullins |
By the second lap all my anxiety had dissipated and I hit that familiar rhythm. The wind on the back straight was really strong so when Edwina Sutton joined me at the front I tried to go with her in the hope that we could work together but she was going too fast for me so I drifted back.
My nutrition plan was to stick with rice squares (Skratch-style made from sushi rice with vegan salted caramel in the middle) until 50k then move on to solid sugars and a single gel at the end. Loss of appetite on the day made the rice squares quite hard work and unfortunately I got an early taste for Veggie Percy Pigs. My wonderful support, Sue, kept proffering the planned nutrition for the first half - rice, sweet potato, ginger and warm Skratch apple and cinnamon drink - and finding her offerings received with a yell of “Percy Pigs!” Turned out veggie Percy Pigs (a last minute addition) were what my body/mind wanted more than anything in the world. That and Skratch hydration (warm apple and cinnamon to half way, then raspberry). Warm drinks through the first 50k were to prevent any mastocytosis issues (ice cold drinks can trigger mast cell degranulation) and ensure I drank enough whilst it was cold.
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| Scratch-Style rice squares |
I had two short trips to the dark side, each only lasting 2-3 laps. The first came at 30k. The second came somewhere around 60 or 70k (I was trying not to think too much about the distance). I tore my calf muscle somewhere around 60k avoiding a dog that would have been perfectly fine if his owner hadn’t called him back across the path just as I got there! It hurt but I could run on it without changing my gait so I eased off a bit while it settled. The eventual race winner, Melissa Venables, passed me while I had eased off, which was disappointing and didn’t help my mood.
Then several Fife AC athletes arrived to support me and Angela (who was storming the 50k). When I was running into the exposed headwind by the river, Roger said the exact thing I needed to hear. The words and the way it was expressed reminded me how awesome it was to be running for Scotland in the 100k. I was quickly smiling again and gradually the calf pain disappeared into the general hurt.
I got a second pick up when my coach Ron arrived (he had a prior commitment in the morning). Some of the Scotland guys had given me feedback during the race about how the runners ahead were faring but as we got into the last 5 laps what I really wanted to know was who was behind me and how fast they were running. Before the race one of my hopes was to go home with a British Athletics medal - of any colour - and running in bronze felt a bit risky!
On a lap course you pass and are passed by many other runners. There were a lot of mutual ‘well dones’ between the runners. Watching the Ross Houston ‘how to break the Scottish 50k record’ masterclass (in that wind!) was pretty special. His ‘well dones’ continued almost to the end when he must have been digging very, very deep.
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| Relaxed at the prize giving with Charlotte Black |
My Garmin had died with around 10k to go so I was just focusing on ticking off the laps. Ron had told me that Edwina (in second), who had been suffering, had rallied and that I would lap the runner in 4th so I settled down and enjoyed the final two laps, I was feeling a bit dizzy so didn’t push on. The final few hundred metres were exhilarating, I felt relief, joy, happiness, pride, amazement, ecstasy… 'all the feels'.
The second I stopped I became aware of the pain in my feet and legs and was pretty much carried to the tent by Sue (my patient and wonderful support for the day). There were bodies everywhere!
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| Light bruising form the calf tear :( |
My right knee was hurting but my calf wasn’t any more sore than the rest of me. It wasn’t until the next day when I saw the light bruising that I realised it must be torn. After the DOMs faded it was still hurting and was diagnosed as a grade one tear. Endorphins are a wonderful thing!
After the restless night and almost overwhelming pre-race nerves I couldn’t believe I had become the Scottish 100k champion and British bronze medallist. I posted an emotional tweet on Twitter and was overwhelmed by the response. A week later I am still feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything. It has been a long, sometimes hard, journey but I feel like the adventure is only just beginning.
Although ultra running is a deeply individual sport, with nothing between you and your thoughts for hour after hour, the team behind you (and other runners on your team) can make a huge difference. My parents never doubted me and continue to support me (including running a personal warm weather training camp and being a mobile feed station during a 40-mile training run). Ron Morrison over several years (and with great patience) has brought me from middle-of-the-pack towards the front, then let me have a shot at ultra running and guided me away from my daftest plans (repeatedly). Adrian gave me the opportunity and a great deal of sound advice in the lead up. Sue Walker stood on the side of the park for 8.5 hours holding out bottles and food while I yelled ‘Percy Pigs!’ at her. All of the Scottish support team gave me much-appreciated support and advice throughout. Jez and Stuart fixed my body when I pushed things a little too far (and struggled with an arthritis flare up 10 days before the race). Robbie (from Chimp Management) helped me box my inner chimp during the race (we are working on the pre-race nerves!).
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| My amygdala, Freya |
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| BMC have good taste in warm weather training camps. Mum and I saw them on the way to a fartlek session in Denia 2 days after a sunny 40-miler |
Congratulations to Rob Turner on becoming Scottish Champion and taking British bronze. Every Scottish runner finished the 100k and in great times
Results
1: Paul Navesey (Crawley AC, Coach: Allison Benton) 06:58:52 ENGLAND
2: Daniel Weston (Wrexham AAC) WALES 07:11:47
3: Robert Turner (Edinburgh AC) SCOTLAND 07:17:11
4: Anthony Clark (Bournemouth AC) ENGLAND 07:17:43
5: Marco Consani (Garscube Harriers) SCOTLAND 07:18:31
6: Chris Singleton (Coach: Christina Singleton) ENGLAND 07:28:47
7: Nathan Montague (Swindon Harriers) ENGLAND 07:37:27
8: James Stewart (VP Glasgow) SCOTLAND 07:43:44
9: Paul Raistrick (Statoil) SCOTLAND 08:11:04
10: Kevin O’donoghue (Greenock Glenpark Harriers) SCOTLAND 08:14:47
11: Melissa Venables (Spa Striders, Coach: Les Barnett) ENGLAND 8:15.54
12: Edwina Sutton (Lingfield) ENGLAND 8:24.05
13: Sophie Mullins (Fife, Coach: Ron Morrison) SCOTLAND 8:30.22
14: Katie Samuelson (Cambridge & Coleridge) ENGLAND 8:43.35
15: Charlotte Black (Shetland AAC) SCOTLAND 08:47:57
16: Fionna Ross (Harmeny AC) SCOTLAND 08:49:33
17: Jason Scanlon (Pontypridd Roadents AC) WALES 08:50:08
18: Bill Hutchison (Anster Haddies Running Club) 08:58:51
19: Rosie Bell (Strathaven Striders) SCOTLAND 09:00:38
21: Brian Macfarlane 09:22:40
22: Nick Lewis 09:43:38
23: Natasha Doyle (Les Croupiers) WALES 09:43:57
24: Laurence James (Ayr Seaforth AAC) 09:51:50
25: William Sichel (Orkney AC) 10:13:37
26: Samuel Kilpatrick (Road Runners Club) 10:21:32
27: Fiona Rennie (Carnegie Harriers) 11:31:35
3 runners did not finish.
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