As another calendar year comes to a close, its time for my annual self indulgent ‘look at me’ post. My diary entry if you like, reflecting on the last 12 months of running.
Looking back this year somehow feels a little different. Admittedly there is a little less motivation and enthusiasm in my words and also in ‘me’. There’s probably a few good reasons. Firstly injuries. These are becoming more frequent and a little harder to deal with, naturally this means my body is changing and there is some lack of satisfaction and ‘body confidence’ issues linked to this too. The last year has probably included the most amount of ‘down time’ from any of the last 5 years or so of running. It shouldn’t be a surprise to me because the variety of supplementary exercise and strength training I do has dropped significantly, the past few years of excessive running is probably having an impact and I am also getting older. I’ve also been doing this a while and I think a small part of the novelty of it all is wearing off. It isn’t quite the ‘been there, done that, have the t shirt’ (literally), but I am finding I am becoming more particular in what I want in events and races as the trail running landscape changes. And that too is probably a small part of my decreasing enthusiasm, even in the short time I’ve been running the trail running sport is changing and not always in a direction I agree with. Whilst I’m still fairly new to the sport, it has changed from what I first got involved in with social groups and shared passion and the sport is now becoming more and more commercialised and overcrowded. So the vibe is changing, and I’m changing too. That is ok though. Change is good and all being said, I haven’t withdrawn and am continuing as I always do (repeating the same mistakes also!)…
So looking back to where the year began and starting 2023 I was a little cautious. Despite finishing 2022 on the high of completing the Cheviot Goat, I was still very much aware of my healing broken ankle. Distance and speed were being restrained and I tried to train consistently but more conservatively with the trip to Trans Gran Canaria looming just a few weeks away. Those chains were torn off fairly quickly though thanks to the scheming of Paul and Darryl and in January we were in the Lake District running the George Fisher Tea Round – a 50km circular route joining up the peaks visible from the Abraham Tea shop at George Fisher shop in Kendal. It was brilliant. Such an incredible experience as the Lakes were covered in a thick blanket of snow for the weekend. I’ve never seen that much snow and it made for a glorious adventure. It was tough going but enjoyable and good practice for some of the events later in the year that were also likely to involve covering snow capped mountains. The ankle held up fine which boosted my confidence. The only concern being a short period of temporary blindness in my left eye during the later stages of the run and into the next morning. We put it down to ‘snow blindness’ once my vision was restored though and I didn’t think about it again.
A few weeks later and I was back in Trans Gran Canaria, 4 years after I first ran the 129km classic event. This would be a different experience as I’d be sharing the adventure with Paul and Darryl. Having company certainly made it more enjoyable and many of the ‘things ‘difficult’ parts I recalled were not as bad as I previously thought they were. That said, many parts I’d forgotten completely and I didn’t enjoy as much this time around! The changes to the route were overall more enjoyable I think and I was certainly glad the remaining distance after the river bed wasn’t as far as it was in 2019! We all came away a little beaten up by this event and its probably arguable whether we actually enjoyed it. TGC continues to blur the lines for me!
In March I didn’t have a race planned, but I did make a trip to Snowdon for more running adventures with the ‘Running Addicts‘. Just like the Lakes two months earlier, North Wales was covered in snow and the weather was challenging. We had a lot of fun bounding down the trails passing hikers clambering on all fours with ice axes and crampons (completely unnecessary!). Unexpectedly this was another weekend of getting used to snowy conditions which I thought would come in handy later in the year.
In a little break from the usual, I actually took a holiday in May. Natalia and I spent a week in Malta which was lovely and a good chance to rest. Although we did finish the week with a trip to the Island of Gozo where we met Nick and Elise and, of course, ran a race – the Xterra 50km. A beautiful circumnavigation around the whole island. It was very hot and uncomfortable and we all struggled with the heat, particularly early on. However the views and landscape was beautiful (by far the best of the trip!) and we encouraged each other through to the finish. This was also a huge achievement for Elise as this was her first trail run and she sped around the 25km course.
Later in May things stepped up a level. Two weeks after Malta it was off to Bran, Romania for the Transylvannia 100. I’d been looking forward to this one so much. After some last minute panic purchases (micro spikes!) we hit the trails. The race directors advice was clear – be prepared for bad weather, as there was far more snow cover than usual. The spikes were put to good use from very early on and I’m not sure we would have made it up the infamous ‘chimney’ without them. This was probably the steepest climb I’ve ever encountered on a race. Everything was going well, until it wasn’t. A fall and slide on the snowy mountain meant I broke both my (pretty new!) Leki poles just 30km in. It slowed my progress dramatically and put me into a foul (but determined!) mood. Being a little shock up from it all and not thinking clearly I made some terrible decisions to the race and my feet paid the price with awful blistering and trench foot. I hobbled to the finish line (with the use of a stick I found!) and the next morning, as I struggled to walk, I started to worry as I had just 6 days before I’d be running 100 miles in Norway.
With lots of salt water baths, foot cream and copious amounts of Duo Derm (thanks Elise!) I rocked up at the airport with my feet surprisingly healed enough that I could walk without pain. I was confident now I’d be ok as Paul, Matt and I embarked on the Article Triple 100 mile event in the Lofoten region of Norway. Wow, just wow. This event was something else. A small group of maybe 30 or so runners were hustled onto buses and boats as we made our way to the start line that was literally in the middle of nowhere. We then set off on an unforgettable adventure running 100miles back to Svolvear. Sadly this experience didn’t quite go the way we hoped and we were timed out at 92 miles as we arrived about 30mins passed the cut off. It was challenging, but mostly without drama (I did lose sight in my left eye again for many hours though!) but we were simply not fast enough. The terrain was challenging and we couldn’t cover the ground in the speed required to make it through the cut offs. Sure we would have continued if they let us, but we also wouldn’t have made the finish line cut off either. Lofoten will forever be the first DNF and the one that got away. I’m ok with it, but I’m also definitely not OK with it. There will be a chip on my shoulder until I go back and conquer that race….
Thankfully though I didn’t have much time to sit and dwell on the failure. In two weeks I’d be lacing up to go again, this time in the fa drier and more comfortable surroundings of Salzburg in Austria for the Mozart 100. With my feet taking another battering in Norway I was worried about the tight cut off in Austria. However, everything worked out fine and I got through the race in a surprisingly speedy time ahead of my expectations. I was relieved, so relieved. The last thing I wanted was two consecutive failures. Mozart made sure my confidence wasn’t broken and my view on the DNF at Lofoten softened a little. I took a few weeks off and laid low to recover from the exertion of the last two months.
Frustratingly though, when I started running again I found my right shin was causing some pain and discomfort. I got straight back to my old mentality and ignored it. Enjoying the last of summer running alone, and running with friends. Come August I helped pace Maria as she ran the NDW100, completing four of the centurion 100 milers in a 12 month period – way to go Maria! Later that month I found myself out on a 50km run called the ‘Hangman Ultra‘ which I heard about many years earlier. There were only a few entrants with maybe around 25 of us running. I had some weird thoughts that I could win it (of course I couldn’t!) but did come 5th which made me happy. Despite the achy leg, I was back out doing what I loved – exploring somewhere new.
August didn’t end there though and the last week saw another trip to Chamonix for UTMB week, this time with Natalia as she ran the OCC. I made my own variation and ran about 40km from Vallorcine to Trient and back to Chamonix so that I could be at a few aid stations and support and cheer her through the race. It was so good to see her smile her way around and smash the race in a brilliant time! I certainly felt it the next day as I’m not used to running so fast (as I had to speed downhills to make sure I could beat her between the aid stations!) and felt worse that I do after most races!
Shortly after getting back to the UK I found myself in the Lake District yet again, this time for the Maverick X-Series Lakes event. Another 50km loop in a part of the Lake District I’ve never been too. It was great, my new favourite Maverick event and a fantastic route. As always the organisation from the Maverick team was the greatest. I had such a great time on this little solo trip and was so glad I did it. One I’d highly recommend.
It didn’t stop there though as two weeks after the Maverick Race Natalia and I were off to the ‘salubrious’ (Ha!) Swindon for the Swindon Ultra Trail. More and more I want to run in places I’ve not been before, and whilst Swindon isn’t appealing, it is somewhere new. I did enjoy the route and we did get to explore some lovely areas (like a little jaunt along the ridgeway). Admittedly though we were gad when it was over and we were back in London!
I don’t like saying it but feel I need to though – I wouldn’t recommend this organiser – Only Foot Print Events. Despite what I said after the race about the organisation, things became sour in the weeks afterwards. I signed up to another of their events “the Great Stones Way” in November which was later cancelled for very understandable reasons. However, after being offered a full refund, I’m still, two months later chasing this up (as are Darryl and Paul) as the organiser has stopped responding to all messages (calls, emails, social media messages, and messages from the booking platform etc.,). So sadly they are not to be trusted and I’d advise everyone to avoid. I don’t enjoy saying that about a small company but the silence and being ignored is not acceptable.
Anyway, back onto the good times. a week after Swindon I was in Chicago for the Chicago marathon. My first road marathon since 2019. I enjoyed it. I Planned to be conservative and look after my still niggly leg but got caught up in the vibes and good feelings. I finished quicker than I anticipated and of course my mind then started thinking that maybe another Boston qualifying time might be possible in the future… though, trails are my love and I’m not going to get back into road running any time soon.
I ‘finished’ the year in November. After the cancellation of the Great Stones Way, I joined Jon’s group who’d organised to do a recce of a section of the Pennine way he’d be running on the Winter Spine in January. Sadly Jon couldn’t make the recce in the end, so me and the ‘ladies’ changed the plans and the route to incorporate the Yorkshire 3 Peaks instead. It was a wicked little adventure and somewhere I’d been hoping to visit one day so I was glad our plans changed and we didn’t stay on the Pennine way (sorry Jon!). I say I finished the year on this trip as I haven’t run since. It has been 5 weeks and counting at the time of writing this. My niggly leg became more painful on this run and I finally accepted, after 6 months and over 1000 kms that I needed to do something about it.
In December I saw a physio and it looks like it might be that shin splint stuff. So I’ve agreed to rest longer and am doing some rehab exercises in the hope that I don’t fuck up the plans made for 2024! Looking back though, its been another incredible year with 11 events and some amazing adventures. There are memories there that will never be forgotten.
Run With Dai 