Salomon Serpent Trail 50km Race

 

Yesterday I finally ran the Salomon Serpent Trail 50km race.  

Although I've been training for this since Feb, I've only ever run a marathon distance before so this was a totally unknown quantity.

My main aim was to complete it and still be able to walk after, and if I could do it in under 7 hours, well that would be a bonus.

I was up at 05:30 and at the Petersfield Rugby Club for 06:30 to catch one of the 5 coaches taking us to the 50k wave 1 start.

 

The weather gods were very kind to us.  Although it rained over night it stopped before we got to the start, and the day was mostly mild but overcast with a cooling breeze.  Perfect running conditions.  We had had a little rain last week so there were a few muddy bits, but compared with when I ran it in Feb, it was lovely underfoot. 

The first couple of miles we were all a bit bunched up, but it soon settled down and I enjoyed running through the chestnut plantations, now fully in leaf and looking green and lush.

Photo by Will Harper-Penrose

There were some great bits where I could just see the chap in front through the trees so knew I was on the right path, but couldn't hear anyone behind me, so it felt like I was running by myself as normal.

The more stressful bits were some of the narrow paths when you could hear people coming behind you.  Do you just keep going or step aside and let them pass?  It's very hard to work out just from the sound of their breathing and footsteps.

Photo by Will Harper-Penrose

At mile 19 I ran past a field full of the 20k race field.  They all cheered us as we ran past, which was cool, but we knew they'd be overtaking us quite soon.  I'd made it to the aid station at mile 20 and had carried on into the woods when they all started to pour past me.

My mantra for the race was 'my race, not their race', reminding me that it didn't matter what anyone else was doing, I was running for me.  If I felt good but others had stopped to walk, it didn't mean I needed to stop to walk too, and if the 20k runners were pushing hard I didn't have to join them.  This seemed to work for me.

(For everyone who asks; No I didn't run all of it.  Aways walk up the hills!)

It was a beautiful route through a mixture of woodland and commons with the odd bit on roads.  Having run it in Feb I knew it was pretty, but it was in its summer finery now and looking great.

While I did have my normal assortment of sweets and flapjack I also had more tailwind to drink and I think this had a good impact.  By mid race I didn't really want the sweets as my drink seemed to be hitting the spot, but I did really enjoy some watermelon at a couple of the aid stations.

The first 10 miles felt ok, but I got a stitch around mile 13 so the middle felt a little harder.  The last 10 miles were hard, my feet really hurt, but I was counting down single figures now and feeling strong.  Looking at my watch I realised I wasn't as late as I thought I might be and started to push a little bit more - could I do this in under 6hrs?

I didn't, coming in at 06:14:39 but I'm dead chuffed with that time.  I was 252 out of a field of 557 and 63rd woman out of 222.  Even better I was 23rd woman in my age category!

While this was a hard race, I did enjoy it.  It was well organised and through beautiful countryside.  And all that training paid off so I was even able to do a sprint finish!

I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a 50k race.  The website tells you everything you need to know and they sent us useful emails in the couple of weeks leading up to race day.  The route was very well sign posted, I think there was only 1 place were there was slight uncertainty over the whole 50k.  All the aid stations were well stocked with everything you might fancy and the race crew were brilliant.  And I loved knowing that if it all went wrong I could walk it and get in before the midnight cut off. 

 

I'm going to take a week off running now, but I'll be back to it, I've got all these interesting footpaths I've seen during training that I want to explore...

50k Training Reflections

 So after thinking about the Salomon Serpent Trail 50k race for a good couple of years now, it’s finally nearly race day and I thought I’d write down some of my reflections from training for nearly 5 months.

 

First Covid stopped me, then injury got in the way, so when everything looked clear this year I had to sign up for the race before it was too late.

 

I started upping my distances last autumn and began training in earnest at the beginning of Feb.

I’ve been amazed at how well my body has coped.  Towards the end, the training plan has had me run maybe 24 miles on a Saturday and 10 miles on the Sunday and while it has been hard, I’ve been able to do it.

 

The real question is can I do that distance all on one day?  Many people think I’m crazy when I say I’m doing this to see if I can, but that’s the only reason I can give you.  Can I run that far and come out the other end in reasonable condition?  Time is only the tiniest consideration for this one.

 

Training since Feb has been hard and there have been times when I really haven’t wanted to go out and run, especially in the cold pouring rain, but with every run I’ve got stronger and hopefully made it more likely that I’ll finish.

 

And I’ve been able to tick some things off my bucket list, the biggest of which was to run the South Downs Way. I still can’t get my head around the fact I've done it.  Looking at it on the map it just seems too big, but I’m so glad I’ve had the chance to do it.

 

I’ve also run the whole Serpent Trail which was quiet and beautiful and I’d like to do again now it’s drier and the woods will be full of leaves and plants etc.  (Yes I know I’ll be running part of it for the race, but that’s not what I mean.)

 

I’ve run the Shipwrights Way, which I’m glad to have done, but wasn’t the trail I was hoping for, aimed more at cyclists than runners.

 

And I’ve completed all the Slow Ways into Petersfield.  There are some lovely routes in this bunch and I look forward to running some of them again.  But I’m also looking at the next set to work my way through.

 

I’ve loved running the trails, even in the winter.  But going forward this is something that’s only really going to happen in dry weather.  I really can’t stand sliding around in mud, it just spoils the whole run.  I don’t really like wet feet either!

 

But running through the countryside and not having to worry about cars is bliss.  Finding new places you’d never see from the road.  They feel like secret places.  I know other people have used them, I can see their marks on the mud, but it’s rare to actually see them.  This is a whole other world that I have to myself, except for a few deer.

 

 

It’s been very different from training for my marathon as that was all done on roads and followed a lot of the same routes each week.  This time it’s all been trails and each week a different one.  I’ve not just been training my body to run a long distance for a long time, but also gaining confidence in my map reading ability.  Yes I’ve got lost a few times but nowhere near as badly as I thought I would.  I’ve been learning to trust myself and trust in my abilities.

I’ve been able to see the improvement from the first few runs where I kept getting lost to now where I’m unphased by not being where I thought I was and finding that’s not happening as often any more anyway.  I’m really looking forward to doing more exploring of the trails in my area once I don’t have a certain distance or time to cover.

 

One of my hardest mental challenges has been convincing myself it’s ok to eat sweets while out running.  I would never normally spend my Saturday morning eating packets of sweets and I know this is different but it’s taken time to convince myself it’s ok. (I’m still not really convinced!)

 

And there is no way I could be doing the training I’m doing and commuting to work every day!  I’ve been getting up at 5:30 to get 9 miles in before work, but if I was catching the train I just wouldn’t have time.  Plus commuting is tiring and I’m already tired from all the running.  The two combined would just be too much!  (Also my boss was really relaxed about my start time, if I was ‘running’ late, which really helped.)

 

Lastly once again the support of ‘im outdoors has been amazing.  Although I know he thinks I’m crazy to want to do this, if I ask him to drop me off in the middle of nowhere and tell him I’ll run home he does it without comment.  If I’ve asked for a pick up, again from the middle of nowhere, he’d been there when I’ve needed him, often with a recovery shake. I could have done the training without him, but it would have been a lot more difficult.

 

So there we go.  A round up of the past 5 months.  There have been good bits and bad bits and while I’m nervous about tomorrow's run, I’m excited too.  Excited to see what I can do, excited to be out on the trails again and excited for it all to be over.

759 miles run in training, 4 blisters, 3 pairs of trainers, 2 falls.

Slow Way - Newapet

With only two weeks until my race, this was my last proper long run before I start to taper.

Running all these different trails has been amazing, and I'm so glad I've had the experience, but at the same time I have to say I'm looking forward to getting my weekends back!

 

This week I was finishing off the Petersfield Slow Way set of seven, running from New Alresford back to Petersfield.

It wasn't quite as hot as last week and there was a lot more shade on the route which was very welcome.  But it wasn't really a trail.  It used a lot of back roads, so very quiet, but only a little bit on trails until I got closer to Petersfield.  

 

Because I was crossing fields and woodland I got a nice mix of lark song and woodland bird song to keep me company.  Lovely.  But the nettles are getting a bit much on some of the trails now - particularly when having to push through small gaps in hedges to access footpaths.

It was quite a nice route in general, again until I got close to Petersfield.  I came out at Stroud which I've run through before so expected to be routed to one of the bridges over the A3, however I came to what looked like a deadend, with a high hedge screening me from the A3.  On further inspection there was a tiny gap and a stile and then a scary crossing of the A3 to a similar tiny gap on the other side, only to pop out in the industrial estate! 

Seeing as the rest of the route had been quite pretty it seemed a shame to end here.  I'll be suggesting the end is changed to follow a sightly different route.

But that was 16 miles completed.  All seven Slow Ways run.  And a little bit more exploring of my local area logged.  I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful area and love running these routes.  I fully intend to do more after my race. 

Lets just hope it cools down a bit for race day...

South Downs Way - Part Four

 

 Having run most of the South Downs Way I just needed to do the last little bit - 20 miles from Falmer to Beachy Head.  But while I've been very lucky with the weather so far this one was REALLY hot and sunny and this part of the Way is very open with very little shade.

 

Added to this it was also very busy.  I get the impression that this part of the Way is pretty busy anyway but this week I got caught up in the Macmillan Mighty Hike - 26 miles from Brighton to Eastbourne and mostly using the South Downs Way.

Weaving round walkers who were mostly unaware of your presence was hard work, as were the hills in the heat.  The first one which got me was at the 8 mile point.  I got up there but I felt very faint at the top and had to have a little sit down.

Can you spot all the Macmillan walkers?

 

Somehow I kept going but by mile 15 there was a lot more walking than running.

How I expected most of the Way to be

 

Getting to the Seven Sisters was a major achivement and I only had a couple more mile to complete my distance target.  If I'd thought the hills before were bad, these were crazy.  I was so tempted to go down to hands and knees, but with so many people around didn't think it was quite the done thing.

I ended up stopping at Birling Gap, just missing Beachy Head by a couple of miles.  But I was exhasted and running on empty.  I'd finished all my water and had nothing more to give.  'im outdoors picked me up and took me up to the Beachy Head car park where we had ice cream and a well deserved sit down.

 

So there we go, I've managed to run pretty much the whole South Downs Way.  It was a great experience, something I'm really pleased I managed to do.  It was amazing to see the landscape change as I went.  And I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful place.   I am also grateful that there are only 3 more weeks until my race and I can cut down on the running and get back to a more 'normal' life.

South Downs Way - Part Three

 

 With only four weeks until my race I've still got three long runs on my training plan.  So this week I was back on the South Downs Way.

I finished at Amberley last time, so this is where I got 'im outdoors to drop me off.  A fast walk up a hill to get to the 'start' was a good warm up as there was still some cloud and a chilly wind.  But there was even more hill past this point so it felt like ages before I actually started running.

 

Although this weeks part of the Way was still hilly, it is the South Downs after all, it wasn't quite as bad as last time, so I could get a bit of rhythm going. 

It was also more open than the last section, with less trees.  This wasn't a problem, but did mean that the wind tried to steal my hat a couple of times!  It was also pretty busy with a mix of dog walkers and day trippers, so I had to keep an eye out for cyclists and walkers.

 

I also came across the South Downs Way 100 Miles Relay.  It was very interesting to run past one of the points where they change runner and see the row of mini buses waiting to take everyone onto the next point. 

And I ran past Devils Dyke where I did my Silver Map Reading course last year.  It was lovely to see the view this time rather than the driving rain we had in November.

 

After 24 miles and five and a half hours of running I came off the Way at Plumpton.  You don't quite realise how high up you are until you spend 10 minutes coming down on a very steep track.

It was a good run but hard.  I'm finding the chalk hard underfoot compared with the sandy soil and leaf litter I'm used to near home.  And the wind was really strong and constant, trying to steal my hat and making my nose run.  But I'm getting closer to the sea now and one more run should see me to the end.

 

When it's hard I keep reminding myself how lucky I am that I live in such a beautiful place and that I am capable of running these sort of distances.  I know many people who'd love to do something like this but just can't for so many different reasons.  I intend to keep going for as long as I can.

 

 You can read what happened on part four here.

South Downs Way - Part Two

 

This weekend I continued my run of the South Downs Way and the training for my race with my longest ever run of 26.4 miles.

'im outdoors dropped me off at QECP and I joined the path where I had stopped last time, and followed it all the way to Amberley where he picked me up 6 hours later.

 

It was a cold start and I thought it would be another one like last week, however by mile 5 my jumper was off and I was starting to wish I was wearing shorts rather than leggings and as I started to run on chalk paths I also wished for my sunglasses to deal with the glare.

It was a beautiful day and a great day to be running this famous path.  It helped that there was about 99% less mud than last week!

 

While there had been some big hills in the first part, there were some monsters on this one.  The sort where you have to be careful going down then have to walk back up the other side.  But the countryside was stunning.  A mix of woodland and farmland and towards the end hazy views out to the sea.

 

The other thing I really enjoyed was crossing roads that I know quite well, to finally find out where the path goes.  I've looked at those signs saying South Downs Way for years and promised myself I would do it one day and here I am doing it.

 

Compared with many of the trails I've done there were a lot more people on this one.  Many bikes and walkers and the odd runner.  I'd have loved to be able to ask each one where they had come from and where they were going.  Some I'm sure were just walking their dog on their local track, but others were obviously doing the same as me, but I wanted to know details.  Did they have a whole week to do it or were they using their weekends like me?  So many questions.

In theory 2 more long runs will finish it, but the start and end points will be much further from home now, so I will have to speak very nicely to 'im outdoors to see if he's willing to drive that far and spend hours waiting for me. Fingers crossed.

 

 You can read what happened on part three here.

Slow Way - Altpet

 

 Another long run training day and seeing as we were already going to be near Alton, I asked 'im outdoors to drop me there so I could do the Alton to Petersfield Slow Way.

 

It was a cold grey day and not very inspiring.  It was quite mild until the wind blew and then it was proper cold, and the wind didn't really stop, so I kept my jumper on.

The route was actually quite nice except for a short bit on a fast road near Chawton.

 

However we've had a lot of rain this week and the mud was terrible in places!  To the point where it stole my shoe!!  And there were 2 miles where I had to walk for pretty much the whole thing (40 mins) and I found that really hard.  I just didn't seem to make any progress and just had to squlch through all this mud - soul destroying!

 

But where the mud let up the route wasn't bad.  I did get covered in yellow pollen as I followed footpaths across bight yellow fields of rapeseed.  And I saw lots of runners coming the other way doing the Emsworth to Basingstoke charity relay.  And I went up and over the Shoulder of Mutton using the Hangers Way.  No way you can run this in either direction it's so steep, but the view from the top was very impressive and the sun was just starting to come out too which helped. 

 

Once I got to Petersfield I then continued home to take my miles up to the required 20.  I was tired and moving slowly but that didn't stop it from hurting when I tripped and hit the dirt.  I was very close to calling 'im outdoors for a pick up at that point.  But with only 2 miles to go, I somehow found a little energy to pick myself up, dust off the worst of the mud and keep going.  I'm glad I did now, but it was a very hard call at the time.  Luckily as I was going so slow at the time I only scuffed my arm a bit and bruised my knee.

So another long run ticked off and only 4 big runs left until race day.  I look forward to getting them ticked off my list. 

South Downs Way - Part One

 

I've wanted to do the South Downs Way for ages.  Walking or running, I wanted to try completing the full 102 miles.  It would be an epic adventure.  But I could never work out the logistics and so I kept putting it off.

 

But now I'm getting into some really long training runs for my race in July, it seemed like the perfect time to do it.  So this bank holiday weekend I made a start.

Where Google says it officially starts

We were up nice and early and 'im outdoors dropped me off in Winchester next to the cathedral and off I went.  It's really well sign posted, but you have to be careful as there are slightly different routes in place for walkers and for cyclists, and it's not alway clear which one is which.  Saying that, most of it is a shared path so I did have to very aware of those around me as the cyclists I encountered didn't always give you any warning and could come by very quickly. 

This route also included a bit I'd run last week for Slow Way Corpet.  It was interesting to see what difference a week and some sunshine could make.  It was much busier than last week and the fields had turned yellow as the rape seed flowers came out.

 

23 miles and nearly 5 hours later 'im outdoors picked me up from QECP and I was very glad of the sit down.

 

It was a lovely run, if a bit hilly (but to be expected) and to run in shorts and t-shirt for the first time this year was wonderful.  And I even managed to keep my feet dry for once, although there were a few muddy puddles to contend with. The veiws from the top of the hills while a little hazy were fab and it was wonderful to hear so many larks singing.  

I really enjoyed this run and so I'm looking forward to doing more of the South Downs Way in the coming weeks.  I'll be interested to see how the landscape changes as I go.  

 

You can read what happened on part 2 here.

Slow Way - Corpet

 

 This weeks long training run was a little shorter so I used a Slow Way for my route.  

I started in Corhampton and ran to Petersfield, then just kept going to get home and my desired mileage.

 

If I'm honest I'm not really sure why it starts in Corhampton.  There isn't much there except a pub and a reasonably well stocked Post Office.

However the route was really nice, helped along by a lovely spring morning.  By mile 5 my jumper was off and I was wondering if I should have gone with my lighter leggings or maybe even shorts!  And I saw my first swallow of the year.

 

The route uses a chunk of the South Downs Way, which was nicely sign posted, I just had to look out for when to turn off.  And I don't think I really got lost at all.

 

There were lots of sheep and some new calfs who were very bouncy, and I did get wet feet which was annoying, but I'm still in black socks so could be worse.

This week I was trying out Bloks energy chews, which were ok, but took a bit more chewing than jelly babies.  I also had some of my homemade flapjack, which didn't seem to mind being frozen at all, and some trailwind. 

 

So a good run, and one I may do again.  My only concen, that I'm starting to get a tan even though we haven't had any proper sunshine!  Maybe it's just rust.