This is the second event by Big Feat Events that I’ve done. I did their Big Pilgrimage back in 2024 which was quite unique and I really enjoyed. With it almost Christmas, I had a little itch for one more ‘big’ run before the end of the year. The timing worked out so I signed up.
The next week it was an early start to drive to the New Forest in the pissing rain on Sunday morning for an 8am start. Arriving at the Holmsey Campsite I was already pretty wet after walking from the car park to the registration tent. Thankfully the rain stopped just in time for the start of the race.
The rain briefly stopped as the race started
The route promised lovely crisp and glistening frosty winter trails. From the off though it delivered wet and soggy muddy winter trails instead. The muddy patch at the start line held runners up before a brisk run on tarmac. Although it was covered in surface water. This was to set the tone for the day. With wet feat from the start though, it made for great fun not giving two hoots as to where I placed my feet and trying to avoid the mud or wet. It was amazing though how many people were actively trying to avoid both the mud and puddles at the start!
I’ve been to the New Forest twice before but never have I covered this sort of distance there. The trails were mostly on marked footpaths that were wide and forgiving. They were however either water logged or caked in mud throughout. Whilst I had good grip on my shoes, it did make it a little tougher on the legs constantly trying to stay up right and push off the softer ground.
I set off running and maintained the run pretty much the whole day. I walked briefly on the longer of the hills and after aid stations when I was still stuffing my face. Given it was wet I tried not to hang around at the aid stations for too long as it was clear I’d get pretty cold rather quickly. About midway through the run the heavens opened and it pissed down. I couldn’t get any wetter so it wasn’t too much bother.
Enjoying the wild horse roaming free
As beautiful as the route was, my mind was very distracted. The day before I had the amazing fortune to b drawn on the waitlist for the Western States Endurance Run in America. As great as this is (the chances are so slim and I’ve been applying for 7 years now!), the frustration is that I am number 49 on the waitlist (out of 75). The reality is that I’m more ‘out’ than ‘in’ and only a few times before has the person in 49th got an entry to the race (and each time that was all in the last few days before the race!). So my mind was crunching the options and scenarios all day long! It made the time fly by!
Wet Trails and Wet beard
waterlogged throughout
Towards the end of the route we had to cross a ford. We’d been warned in advance about this crossing and it was funny listening to people moan about as we approached like we weren’t already soaked from head to toe! Given the weather it was fuller than expected – they’d suggest ankle deep but it was more like thigh high. It was icy cold, but refreshing. As I crossed a shorter lady behind me needed assistance from another runner as there was quite an under current.
Towards the end of the route the different courses all came together and I found myself running near more and more people. I was still moving strongly until the last 5 km when stomach cramps hit me out of nowhere. I tried to ignore them but the last 1km they won the fight, grounding me to a halt a few times and playing on my mind. I was so close to the end. As I crossed the finish line I grabbed my medal and kept running straight to the facilities!
Despite the weather (I probably haven’t run in that sort of weather since I did Lakes in a Day!), it was a really fun day and I made my way around far quicker than expected which was good as I could get home earlier! I was planning on getting as close to 6 hours as I could but end up coming away with a 5 hr 20 finish. A lovely end to wrap up another year of running.
I was looking at this race by Embrace Ultra, the Three Castles 50k last year. I couldn’t make it so added it to the to do list. A year later I was able to join their second edition. By this point I was living a lot closer to Kent and have access to a car, so logistics were pretty straight forward for me. I had a 20 mile drive to the finish line where I could get the organised bus to the start.
Leading up to the event the organisers provided a load of helpful information and guidance for runners. It was a great start! Come the morning of the event, I arrived at 7am to the school in Tonbridge ready to get on the bus by 7:20 as instructed. We were waiting at car park/school for the buses and it all felt a little bit of a rush (we were told ‘don’t be there before 7 but be on the buses to leave by 7:20’). As we waited though, there were no buses, soon enough we could see them arrive and park up on the other side of the school. By the time they came over to us and we boarded it was 7:45 before we left the school grounds. This was quite good for me as I was in the second starting wave so would have less time waiting around at the start near Rochester Castle.
Rochester Castle, the backdrop to the startline
Registration was straightforward. After a short wait I had my number and tracker and started walking down to the start line. I was there with plenty of time and sat and listened to the wave 1 briefing and watch their start.
First wave of runners assembling
The race director gave plenty of information in the briefing and I heard him mention that the initial few miles of trail had single track. I made a note to try and start near the front of my wave and not get caught in a bottleneck. The waves were split roughly by expected finish time with under 5 hours in the first wave and over 5 hours in the second. I was thinking I’d get to the finish in about 6 hours, so didn’t want to get too caught up on the single tracks if I could help it.
Positioning myself towards the front of Wave 2
As we started I soon found myself running in a breakaway group of about 10 people. That worked out well for me. After a few kms it became a group of about 5 of us. We covered some road kilometres before hitting some trails as we ran under the M2 bridge. I recognised the bridge as the crossing you use on the NDW100. It made me smile now running under it.
After about 5k I was very surprised that we already caught up with a group of about 10 runners walking the route. I expected to catch up with some runners from the first wave throughout the day, but not this soon considering they started approximately 30 mins before us. They were very cheerful as we passed. I was doing the math in my head and thinking that they wouldn’t make the cut off at that pace…
The trails alongside the river were scenic as we made our way through the village of Wouldham and on towards Aylesford. They were hard packed underfoot and very dry and uneven in places. After about 13km we had our first aid station. I made a quick stop. There was plenty going on. Loads of sweet and savoury foods and great vibes and support from the volunteers. By this point I’d passed loads of runners from the previous wave too. I was moving up the field! I didn’t stop for long and got back out on the course and kept moving. The course was pretty much pancake flat so I thought I’ll keep running until I inevitable tire somewhere between 30 and 40k then switch to a run walk strategy.
Somewhere
After Aylesford we were back running along the river to Maidstone. I think we passed the second of the ‘three castles’ here but I can’t remember. It was very hot now and closer to midday. There were loads of riverside cafes and bars and plenty of cheers and support for runners. We crossed over to the other side of the river at Maidstone. Somewhere a volunteer was informing runners of what position they were in (as in how many had passed him anyway). He said something 130-odd as I went passed. If true, I really had been passing lots of people and the wave set up wasn’t that accurate/strict.
Somewhere else
Come the second aid station I was thinking I hadn’t seen another bib from the second wave for a while. But I was constantly around other runners. I took a bit longer at the second aid station and ate a few jam sandwiches to keep me fuelled. From here the rest of the route blurred in my memories. We basically ran all the way to Tonbridge following the river. Sometimes in the open on canal paths, sometimes on single track and forest trails. There was a third aid station in a camp site somewhere and I remember thinking it seemed to be a nice area for river sports. There were people swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding all day long.
As we reached Tonbridge it was getting busier and we ran a little bit through the town and by the castle. It was lovely and I made a mental note to come back one day and explore the area more. We then left the river for a loop of about 5km out and around the town to make our way back to the school. By now I’d slowed a fair bit. From 30ish km in my pace had dropped as I aimed to keep running. Over that last 5km I walked a few times to break it up. Specially as we had a few road sections. The last km or so along with he busy B road. By then I’d lost all interest in running.
Could be anywhere
I got back to the school and jogged around the track to the finish line. Job done. I was way ahead of my 6 hour target and actually closer to the 5 hour mark. I grabbed a hot dog and alcohol free beer and headed back to the car. Rather than faff with a drop bag for the finish I left my changes of clothes in the car. And rather than walk back to the school changing rooms I thought I’ll strip down in the car park. Little did I realise that I parked over looking the trail. Hopefully no one was greeted by my bare buttocks on that last climb to the school grounds!
Overall an excellent day out with great organisation by Embrace Ultra. Got my eye on their 100km loop in Kent later in the year now…
The come down from some epic adventures this year has hit me hard. On returning from the Eiger Trail I had 6 weeks before my next event (The Pirin ultra trail in Bulgaria). So I went looking to ‘fill the hole’. I found two events that were reasonably priced, logistically easy to get to by train, on weekends when I had nothing planned and would take me running in places I’d not run before. So I signed up for both. The first being the Big Pilgrimage…
The Big Pilgrimage is run by Big Feat Events. I’d not done one of their races before. There are different distances on offer, but I signed up to the 54k which started in Southampton and finishes at Fort Nelson just outside of Portchester.
The night before the race I stayed over in Southampton. I’d never been to Southampton before. What a shit hole. It makes Swansea look fancy! Glad I now know that I’ve never any need to go to Southampton! The next morning I made the short walk to the start line for 7am and arrived just as the buses were unloading runners who’d parked at the finish and taken the extra option of a bus to the start. Registration was rapid and we were handed our first sticker. Sticker? Yep, the niche thing about this race is that your race number has boxes and you collect stickers along the way to place on your race bib. Each sticker is at one of the points of interest along the route. I quite like that idea and it provides the information to go back and learn a little about where you’d run.
Startline selfie
All stickered up we went to the start line, had our race instructions and then set off. The first few kilometres were all road as we made our way passed the ports for cruise ships and the Isle of Wight ferries and made our way out of Southampton. We crossed over the Itchen bridge (grabbing another sticker) and made our way to the coast.
As we reached the coast we had a short paved section before finally hitting the trails. Not long after two speedy marathon runners ran passed. Geeez they were quick (they started ten minutes after us). From here the trails weaved through woodlands passed Netley Abbey and Victoria park, where Royal Victoria Country Park chapel is, with more stickers added to the bib. A few more marathon runners passed (after a big gap from the front two!) as we passed through more woodlands and made our way back to the coastal path. Before long we were running along a shingle beach. That sapped the energy and tired the legs pretty quickly. It was refreshing though running alongside the water, hearing the calming sounds of the sea. Not many of my runs take me along coastal paths!
Shingle beachthe Sea!
After another few kilometres we reached the first aid station at the river crossing. I’d been expecting and waiting this. Another feature of the race is that you need to cross the river on a boat. Oddly not that niche for me as I’ve had a boat crossing on my first 100 miler – the Tarawera 100 in New Zealand. I also had to get a boat across the fjords in Norway for the start of the Lofoten Arctic Triple. Still it was pretty fun. The organisers had hired the small pink ferries to ship runners across the river Hamble to the other side.
the ferryPink Ferry!bye bye little fella
Once over it was more running along the coastal path. After a few kilometers there was a confusingly placed event marker. I followed another guy up what admittedly I too thought was the right path. As we started climbing a small hill though I sensed we’d gone wrong. There is very little elevation on the route (just 400m total) and pretty much all of it is in the second half, a quarter of the race elevation is in the last 2k to the finish! I checked my watch which confirmed my thoughts. I yelled after the other runner but he was lost in his music. I screamed so loud maybe 5 times and he still didn’t hear. Thankfully he eventually heard me. We made our way back down and stopped a few more runners who’d made the same mistake.
We were then back on shingle beaches for a while. I was leading with a small group of 3 or 4 behind me when there was another suspect marker. I chose the wrong path, but persisted as I could see on my watch that it ran parallel and there were points to rejoin not far ahead. I kept going, then, when I went to rejoin there was a photographer. He said a few others had made the same mistake. I carried on, now on the correct route but noticed I was alone. The others must have stuck to the other path which I could now see didn’t rejoin anywhere else and would turn off in a different direction.
Back on the shingle beach
I soon came out on a water stop at about a half marathon distance and the marshal directed me along a footpath. After a while I was catching some other runners when I realised it was all those who had been behind me. That path must have cut a shortcut on the corner I’d made along the actual route. We were now running alongside the marshes of Titchfield Haven and leaving the coast behind as we headed inland. The next few km to Titchfield Abbey was tough going. So flat and straight. I told myself to keep going to 30k then I can relax the pace a bit. At Titchfield was the next aid station then a few kms of road, crossing the M27 before back into some woodlands and fields for a few km. It all started to blur in my memories but I know I hit that 30km mark and stuck with it and didn’t let up on the pacing too much. I wasn’t feeling too bad, albeit all the running was starting to make my legs ache. I kept going and soon came across a marshal who directed me up a steep hill. Bless, so many people were trying to be helpful and warn of hills etc., but nothing on this route was actually a hill. This one was about 2m high and just a verge to join a footpath. Not long after the ‘hill’ the third aid station appeared. I was glad of some coke and watermelon. Here the ultra and marathon routes separated.
On the ultra route it got a little dull and much harder. We were on a flat footpath that was straight. It was where kilometers come to extend their life. Each km seemed to grow in length. On and on it went. It was exhausting. Thankfully despite a hot sunny day, this was all sheltered in the trees. I kept going though and I only took one short walking break but otherwise ran the whole 8km of the footpath section. When we left it, and had a short incline I was very pleased for the walk. I was now 40km in and ready to do a run/walk to the end. I was optimistic that the change in terrain would force this approach for me.
Never ending flatness
We were now heading back south towards the finish line. There were varying sections of narrow woodland footpaths. Overgrown sections. Open fields and recently ploughed fields. It helped a lot having the variation of terrain. I collected more stickers along the way and passed another water stop where I had a good chat with the volunteers about tattoos. The varying terrain continued and I walked regularly. Since starting the footpath of doom I’d been pretty isolated but I was enjoying the peace on my run. Before I knew it I arrived at the final aid station, on the side of a narrow road with a sole lady tending to our needs. She was lovely and so helpful. Two other runners then showed up and joined me. I stayed a bit longer here eating loads of orange slices as the two others sped on.
After leaving the aidstation it was back onto single track paths and fields as we made our way along the remaining 9km of the race. At one point we had a climb through a field that was actually an incline, it was really taking us uphill! I enjoyed that. We also crossed several fields with cows and electric fences. This part of the run was much more enjoyable (with the exception of the few km of road before the field with the incline). A steady walk/run was seeing me through at a decent average pace just above 6min/km.
Kind of went uphill a little!
As we reach Southwick I caught up with one of the runners who had passed me and another lady whom I had no idea where she came from. It completely threw me before I realised she was on the marathon and the routes had rejoined. After collecting the penultimate sticker the guy politely asked my age. He was wondering about age categories and hoping to podium in his category. Cheeky fucker though, as Nick would say “he’s three days older than God”. I thought he was much older than me and he was pleased to hear I was only 40 and that he could let me go without a fight.
The final ‘ascent’the Finish line
We had about 2 km left now and one last ‘climb’. To be fair, this was a whopping 80m of elevation over a kilometre. I know, punishing. Once I reached it, it was nice to walk pretty much to the end. The climb was diagonal across a recently plough field so the terrain underfoot wasn’t exactly pleasant. After the climb there was a short few hundred metres of dry footpath to go. The tower at Fort Nelson came into view and then behind it the flags of the finish line. At the finish we got our last sticker ‘Fort Nelson’ and a very colourful medal.
Finish!Gotta catch ’em all
I had a great time despite the race being somewhat flatter than I’m now more accustomed to (and enjoy). The flatness certainly made it tough going and my legs were aching afterwards (thankfully no wobbly walk though). The organisers were incredible and have put on a really excellent event. There were so many marshals throughout. I’ll definitely have to try some of their other events!
It has taken far too long, but finally I got around to visiting Matt out in the Netherlands for a run on trails more local to him. Over the weekend Matt and Lara treated us like royalty, putting us up for the night, feeding us, driving us to the race and putting up with our tourist commentary.
The race was the 50km Drielandenpunt Trail in Vaals, in the southern part of the Netherlands, in a park area known as Drielandenpunt, which is the three country point. This is where the three borders of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet. The race is mostly in the Netherlands but the course twists and weaves its way into Belgium at several points and also tracks along the border with Germany.
The night before we stayed nearby and had the shittest risotto known to man. It was a real talking point that someone is capable of making such a bad risotto. Alas, being the non confrontational type we ate it and kept our mouths shut. After all it did serve the purpose of a meal and it’s not like we need high quality food before running an ultra. In the morning we made the short drive up the ‘hill’ to Vaalserbeg which is the highest point in the Netherlands at about 322m, near the three country point. Here is where the race would start and finish. I suppose not many running races will both start and finish at the highest point in a country! We registered and messed around taking pictures on the tri-point where the borders of the three countries meet, crossing between the countries and back in a matter of seconds. We then said goodbye to Natalia who’d start her 30km race an hour later. After the quickest starting line up ever, Matt and I set off.
Within minutes of starting the run I was overheating. It was a wet day with a constant drizzle of rain, but, with just the wind jacket on I was too hot, so opted to continue the run in just the t-shirt and sleeves (I probably gave myself a cold as a result, but it was very stuffy in the forests). It was instantly noticeable how, muddy the trails were, how narrow the forest paths were and how surprisingly hilly it was. With a total elevation of 1400m elevation across the course, it was very much a series of short steep climbs and descents with very few flat bits in between. The course, mud aside, is rather runnable although my fitness levels meant I didn’t run a single one of the hills! The first part of the course was a 14km loop to the south. We had some great views of some very grey, overcast skies (‘m sure on a better day there are views to be enjoyed) and made the first of numerous dips into Belgium. This was my first time visiting Belgium. I think it counts as a visit!
Towards the end of the loop we left the forest and ran (trudged!) through some very muddy fields. I laughed as the person ahead kept falling over whilst my Inov8 X-Talons were excellent for ensuring I stayed on two feet, I was so glad with my choice of shoe! We then had a one of the bigger climbs (at just shy of 100m) back up to Vaalserbeg and the start line which would now serve as our first aid station.
From here it was more of the same with forest trails undulating as we ran alongside Germany. Drielandenpunt is a beautiful area with many, many intersecting trails for hiking and biking. It reminded me of the Surrey Hills area with endless twists, turns, short sharp descents and muddy climbs. Overtime the trails all blurred into one and it wasn’t long before I was completely disorientated and had no idea where we’d come from or which direction we were heading in.
After another 13km or so we arrived at the second check point where we were spoilt with ham and/or cheese sandwiches. These went down a treat and we both stuffed our faces and enjoyed a few moments of rest (although standing around we got very cold very quickly). By now we had been passed by a lot of runners. It felt like nearly the whole field had passed us as well as many of the 3okm runners. We were enjoying the day though, chatting our way round the whole course and catching up (some how it had already had been 8 months since our last run together in Lofoten).
Throughout the day Matt was sharing all his knowledge and facts, particularly at key points on the course like when we ran through the vineyards and he gave me a crash course in the history of Dutch wine production. It was a welcome distraction from the muddy trails! Throughout the run I recall the course being fantastically marked and sign posted, the aid stations being well stocked and the ground being a slushy mud fest – there were several more fields that were really muddy and a few little picturesque towns that we weaved through connecting the trails together. After another 15km or so we’d made our way back to the second aid station location for our final stop. With a quick top up and refuel we set back out.
King of Facts
We were on the home stretch now and had finally stopped being overtaken by runners. We commented that we didn’t think that we overtook a single person in the race. Towards the end of the course that changed with a steep muddy descent causing a few other runners to have trouble descending. We sped and slid our way down and claimed about 4 places in one short movement. From here it was a gentle jog into the finish line where we passed with an American we’d shared a few moments with earlier in the day. The ‘international finish’ as the MC dubbed it as an Aussie, American and Welshman crossed the line together.
We opted to skip the ‘city wash’ showers and just throw on dry clothes to start the long journey back to Amsterdam as quickly as possible. This was hindered a little bit by the inaccessible finance system in the Netherlands where many stores don’t accept Visa or credit cards as a payment method. To buy a portion of chips we needed to call Matt and have him come pay for us!
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable weekend in the Netherlands and a great adventure in the forests. Drielandenpunt is worth a visit! Personally, after a few months of inactivity it was good to finally be back out and running long distances. Now I just need to find the fitness before the bigger events that are fast approaching….
Run With Dai 