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Stour Valley Path 100km ultra 14th September
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Good luck to all those running this, see you at CP2
Beer you say ? Hmmm I think that may work, but it will all have to be fully tested by the CP crew, as it may not agree with runners ...
Good luck tomorrow folks. My kitchen is full of jelly babies - in fact I don't think anyone will be allowed past checkpoint 3 without taking some - I'm not carrying them home!
The hardest and most challenging thing I've done in my life! but I finished my first ultra!
My thanks go out to the organisers for putting on a great event.
It was gruelling tramping through the ploughed fields and getting lost in the mist along the river at the end... All I can say is it was the most enjoyable pain I've ever experienced!
Cant wait until next year.
I could write exactly the same as you Bradley, was totally shot by the last checkpoint but just had to finish. Was like something out of a horror film walking by the river, woke me up a bit.
Thank you to all those manning the checkpoints, was greatly appreciated.
Overall a very solid inaugural event.
The support and organisation were superb. The checkpoint staff were all very good, and we wanted for nothing at the checkpoints. The course is very beautiful. Black Suck did not turn up to guide me when I got lost, but as the mist descended over the River Stour after dark, I got some idea about how these stories got embedded in the suggestible mind.
The event turned out to be tougher than anybody expected. It rained the night before the race, which made the terrain hard going, although the weather was good during the event. Some of the fields were ploughed over, and the soil stuck to peoples shoes like toffee.
My one constructive criticism, would be that the time limit and the cut offs were too tight. The race director extended them, as this became apparent. For next year, I would suggest that the time limit be set at 15 or 16 hours, and the cut offs be set around this.
It was a shame as I knew it would be tight as I'm not fast and the going was slow in places and this with a few wrong turns had me get into CP2 with 10 mins to spare.
I pushed on and kept looking at the watch making sure in was under 13 min miles. I ran into CP3 at 33 miles and I'd managed an bonus mile! On my watch 7:17. I was surprised to hear I was well over the time especially as the RD had said they would extend times?
I know safety is main issue so didn't complain but kicked myself as I was on finishing pace and running steady. Just seen the results and I take my hat off to everyone that started but again was surprised to see people that started same time as me finish in nearly 14.5hrs?
Again I knew I'd be up against it time wise and generally the race was really well run for first time out, I just wish I'd read the times as many other events have a flat pace for cut offs and there seemed to be a little confusion. We'll done again though and nice to see some amazing staff on CP's with some of the best food I'd seen
I will be recommending this event to people next year, however who I recommend it to will depend upon what the organisers decide to do with the cut-offs.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Nic and I are currently discussing plans for next year, so hopefully we will be able to communicate something soon. At present, we are talking about potentially bringing the race forward one month. Whilst it may be warmer, there is a good chance that fields won't have been ploughed, plus it will also provide one more hour of daylight running, which should help people towards the latter stages.
Regarding cut-offs, we are currently thinking about two starting times, one at 7am and one at 9am, with a definite cut-off of 15.5 hours from the earliest start time (i.e. 13.5 hours from the later start). This year, approximately 90% of runners completed the route in under 15.5 hours, so with an hour of extra daylight and easier field crossings, hopefully 15.5 hours (average pace of 4mph) would be adequate for all but a few.
In any case, please follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates and we hope to be able to accounce details for the 2014 event within the next week or two.
Thanks again for the positive comments. We are glad that the majority of runners that we've received feedback from enjoyed the event.
Entry for 2014 is now open - www.svp100.co.uk
Hi Matthew,
I'm currently having a dither about whether or not to enter this. I want to, sounds like a cracking event. But the odds of me making the cutoffs are small. Not impossible, but sufficiently tight that any hiccup (having to stop to tend feet, slow down to allow the stomach to settle, getting lost, whatever) would mean I won't make them. That means I'm running with one eye on the watch the whole time, which isn't fun.
I suspect you don't sppreciate just how slow shit people (i.e. me!) really are!
In an ideal world I'd like to see 15.5 hours as the standard time, and 17.5 from the early start.
Your race, your call, but given you're posting here I thought I'd seize the moment to give (hopefully constructive) feedback.
Thank you for your message and the feedback. We have thought long and hard about the cut-off. Fortunately we now have a dataset of finishing times from the inaugural race to help us.
When setting the cut-off time, we have tried to strike a balance. The cut-off needs to be fair for both runners and volunteers. Whilst it's a very long day for runners, it's also an incredibly long day for many of the people involved with the event, and also supporters.
With the current cut-off, the course can be completed at an average pace of 4mph i.e. a fast walking pace. As such, we believe this is a fair cut-off, and the majority of competitors completed the route within this timeframe. Next year, we are bringing the race forward one month to provide an extra hour of daylight as well, which should help runners with navigation in the latter stages, and help ensure faster times.
For the 2014 race, the cut-offs will be strictly enforced at the checkpoints. We are currently calculating cut-offs so that the majority of competitors have a fair chance of completing the distance within the 15.5 hours (for those starting at 7am).
Why not just have one start time and make it 15.5 hours for everybody?
I attempted this and it was a great event. I didn't have it in me to finish on the day and I was constantly thinking about the cut-offs. However, it's a race and a challenge so I don't see a problem with cut-offs. I do think 13.5 hours was tight in the conditions (1st female I think was outside of that?).
I agree with Ben. Keep it simple with one start time.
We have thought about having one start time. However, there are a couple of good reasons for spreading the start over two waves. Firstly, the first couple of miles of the route are particularly narrow, so it seems sensible to spread the load on the early part. Additionally, if we were to start everyone at 7am, there could potentially be capacity issues at the starting pub (particularly as the race grows). Getting everyone registered in time would prove tricky, as the pub would probably need to open at 5am. If the race started later for everyone e.g. 9am, this would provide plenty of logistical issues at the finish line, with runners coming in around midnight. The trains would have stopped running and taxis are difficult to obtain later in the evening. We also have our volunteers to consider, as well as our runners.
As such, we felt that two different starting times were a good compromise. This has worked well in other races e.g. the Marathon des Sables has something similar during the long stage. During the aforementioned race, I enjoyed seeing the elite runners overtake, and I'm sure they enjoyed catching up with the slower runners.
For now, we will stick with the two start times. It worked well this year, and unless we have very good cause to change things, we will stick with that approach for the time being. We ensure that we continually review things though, so if we think things can be improved in the future with a single start time, we will definitely seriously consider that option.
I agree with Matt. The 2 starts work well as it's narrow & can be tricky at the start on Devil's Dyke. I started in the early wave and was really glad of the full use of daylight hours. Got in at about 21:30 in 14.5h, and I know the finish line crew didn't finish up & get away till after 1am, even with the split start. But then they were very nice with the cutoffs. Time for Mr Nasty in 2014?
Fuck it, I'm in. Just going to have to get faster is all. I suppose rollerskates are cheating?
I don’t want to sound negative about this event, because the director and marshals did a superb job.
I will say however that it took me 30 minutes less to complete this race than the Hardmoors 60.
It certainly wasn’t my best showing, but I am not sure how much of this is due to the conditions, as opposed to the course.
I think that next year will still be experimental.
Looking at last year's results, I think it's quite telling just how many DNFs there are. And that the first woman finished outside the standard cutoff, and the third outside the 15.5 hours. Seeing that, it would be a brave entrant that signed up for the 9am start!
I'm hoping that at least some of the timing issues are navigation. I say that because I live 10 mins away from one of the checkpoints, so really have no excuse not to recee the course.
I may well (probably will?) time out, but what's the point of only entering events which are within your ability?
( What I'm hoping is that the intermediate cutoffs reflect the 4mph. If they're faster, I'm screwed!)
I like the attitude Peronel, and I suspect you will take care of business in this one!
The ploughed fields definitely made it tough going for people this year. I ran the route in March and found it almost impossible to run across some of the fields, so had to circumnavigate instead. This definitely adds to the overall time...perhaps half an hour or so I'd say, as it's possible to run across the fields in late summer, post-harvest. The route is also much easier to follow across the fields before the farmers plough them.
The extra hour of daylight will definitely make a difference too, as it will be easier for people to navigate in the latter couple of stages. This year, the mist also made things particularly tricky towards the end, as it minimised the effectiveness of headtorches.
I'm not sure how the navigation elements compare with Hardmoors 60, but the SVP100 has 2,500m less ascent and is 3 miles shorter, so in theory should be a quicker route.
Having said that, it's certainly not an 'easy' route, given the total distance, elevation gain / loss, and the off road nature of the terrain. Hopefully the scenery makes up for it though.
Indeed, we will continually look to improve the experience for our runners. We will certainly closely evaluate the race next year, and will make any changes that we believe will benefit the participants in future years.
I did my first jaunt out on the course today. Someone's spent a lot of effort putting little signs on posts but, because the area is a mass of crossing paths, you have to keep stopping to double check you're on the right one. Lots of potential to go wrong.
(Also, flat and fast my arse. Although I did find a good spot for offroad hill training only 15 mins from home. So I might actually have done some appropriate training before the SDW50!)
Matthew, if you aren't starting a '14 thread you might want to change the title on this for the date ? What are the chances of one day being a Western States qualifier ? Local options would save lots of money and guarantee you would sell out every year
Thanks Kevin. My friend started the thread, so I'll see if they can modify the title. If not, I'll have to get someone to start a 2014 thread, as I'm not allowed to do this myself as Race Director.
Yes, I tried emailing the Western States organisers, but it seems that they're quite picky about races they choose. They only link up with a limited number of races in the UK, as I guess their main focus is US races. I'll keep trying though...
Kevin, it appears that we are unable to modify the title of this dicussion. Would someone kindly start up a new discussion called "Stour Valley Path 100km ultra" and put a link in this discussion to the new thread (being Race Director, I'm not allowed to do this myself). Many thanks in advance.
OK, done. Lets consider this thread closed - the new one is here ;
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/ultra-/-adventure-racing/stour-valley-path-100km-ultra---svp100/269690.html
Great, thanks Kevin. I'll let people know about the new thread on the SVP100 Facebook page! Many thanks