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Hadrian's Wall 2014
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Party of brufen and ice compresses - we know how to live!
actually looking forward to the Sunday - will hopefully sleep until early afternoon then get hubby to take me for the biggest fattest dirtiest feast ever made!!!
Yeah... i drove straight home from LadyBower 50 and picked up a huge KFC, sat down at home, eat the chips, and just didn't fancy any of the chicken. I was devestated!!
I've just entered this as my first ultra, gone for the mislabeled (in my case!) "expert" option.
Does anyone know how quickly this gets booked up? I am keen for it but have not run long distances for a couple of years so want to up my training volume a bit before I commit?
So how's the training going, are you still at it from last year, or starting fresh in new year
Well slogged out a 10 mile walk and an 11 mile run over the weekend, still full of cold so not bad, I sort of had a plan that begins in the new year, but might be changing it around again!
Ooooooooh I am so tempted by this one. Just can't decide! Help me please?
Err. If you can afford £135 or however much it is and want to run across the country on that weekend go for it.
If you cannot afford it, or don't want to do it, then don't
Man up and decide for yourself!!
Anyone got any constructive advice or can make a recommendation about this event?
It looks great but how can I tell you what you should do?
i've signed up. But seriously how can anyone say you should or shouldn't do it based on what you've told us? How far is your furthest run for instance? Someone doing it hasn't gone further than a half but has lots of appropriate training in mind.
You do know you can do 1 day or 2 day you haven't even said which version you want to do.
stop dithering and just enter
I did it over 2 days this year and have signed up for the one dayer next year
you'll enjoy it
Sorry Booktrunk, Safer came on asking a perfectly reasonable question for help to decide whether to enter. I thought this forum was a place for people to give encouragement and advice to others doing the event and people considering it.
Safer - I did the two-day event this year and I've signed up to do it again next year, altho I'm debating whether to switch to the one day (depends on whether I'll have time to train for it).
It's very well-organised, with the best food and drink stations I've ever seen at an event. There's all sorts of food - sandwiches, bananas, drinks, crisps, nuts etc etc. Some folks were spending half an hour at each stop. There's mini aid stations in between with water and jelly beans.
The scenery along the way is impressive, especially once you're clear of Carlisle, altho don't expect to run alongside the remains of the wall for much. There's probably only two miles of wall, altho at other times you can see it in the distance.
It's mainly tarmac and pavement, so road shoes definitely. There's only a few bits off road, and they're fairly decent surfaces.
It's quite hilly, but I just walked all the hills and ran the rest.
If you're thinking of the one-day, bear in mind that unless you're speedy, you'll be finishing in the dark. If you're taking about 15 hours, that means you're hitting Newcastle Quayside as the bars are busy, so be prepared for lots of drinkers milling about. From what I heard, runners last year got a few drunken comments shouted at them, but it was all fairly good natured.
There's a food station about ten miles from the finish, so a few of the one-dayers hung around there till someone else turned up, then ran in together in pairs as it can be a bit intimidating running in the dark.
If you're doing the one-dayer, you'll be running in company with others till Vindolanda, then it'll thin out. Towards the end of the second day, I found myself running on my own for up to half an hour at a time with no one else in sight, but the rest of the time there was always someone around to talk to.
It's well signposted and you won't need to take a map or anything, altho about seven miles from the finish there's a really long stretch of path where there were no signs because it was straight all the way. After 20 mins of not seeing a sign, I started to wonder if I'd taken a wrong turn, but I stuck to my guns and carried on.
Finish was well organised too, with stacks of food laid on, a proper bar and a place where you can shower.
If you've got anyone supporting you, there's loads of places where they can park up along the way and catch you, but don't expect any support from the general public along the way.
I wasn't convinced it's good value for money overall, but I didn't come away feeling like I'd been ripped off either. It's a good one to do if it's your first ultra as there's a good atmosphere between the runners. If you're worried about camping, there's a few B&Bs around you can book into.
If you've got a running friend, you could always look at entering as a pair.
I lay (just out of bath) corrected.
WEEDY: Wow that's a comprehensive review, thanks very much. The fact that you have signed up again speaks volumes so you must have either enjoyed it enough, or you have a score to settle?
Thanks for confirming the amount of off road running, I don't have a problem with that but living in London I get to train on tarmac most of the time. From what you say it sounds like it's well organised and you are well looked after which I guess goes to account for the entry fee. I ran the "run in the dark" 10km on Wednesday, it cost £25 and they couldn't even provide a chip time for me, apparently my chip was faulty! That's when you feel ripped off!
I think if I did it I would go for the 1 day option. Like you say you can always hook up with fellow runners later on when it gets dark and come in together for company. I ran the comrades marathon in June this year and am looking to step up the mileage but in a race closer to home. To be honest I am toying between this one and the "Stour Valley Ultra". I think I will sleep on it for a few days and make my mind up.
But thanks again for your help.
Pinkbug: You've signed up again as well which says something.
Ummmmm.
No worries Booktrunk
Safer - don't this this will be as hilly a Comrades. I've dug out my Garmins so you can have a look...
Day one
Day two
Go for it - I have signed up for the one day and have, so far, never run more than 13.1 miles.
I am expecting to cross the finish line right on the cut off time but I WILL cross the line in time. Yes you need the physical fitness but I think this has a huge chunk of mental strength needed. I love the dark, I love running alone and i am great in my own company!
Yes its alot of money but sometimes I have paid £40 for a half marathon with not nearly as much support as this. It is my biggest race for next year and paid for hotels rooms as well but I think the experience for a first ultra is well worth it.
Take a look at this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4l0aTv-j7Q
I've caved in... and going for it again. I'm doing the one dayer again
Nice one Cabbey. Are you doing the TP100 too?
I'm marshalling for the Winter 100 and was aiming to do a bit of home cooking at the check point. I'd like to do a vegan option, so any recipes for ultras would be appreciated.
What sort of vegan recipes are you after? I've been on the thrive diet for 2 weeks and feel flippin amazing
I was thinking of something like a sweet potato tortilla without the eggs. I remember you had a lot potatoes on the Wall, which gave me the idea. I will do soup as well probably. Going to be a long cold night that's for sure, may end up eating it myself!
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/salad-days/anya-potato-salad-with-shallots-and-vinaigrette.html
I used pink Himalayan salt so it had electrolytes in it
Thanks Cabbey. Pink Himalayan salt??!! Wow!
I'm loving the fact this thread is becoming more and more used - I'm putting the finishing touches to my training plan for this, my first ultra.
I signed up for the Brathay mara last night and already in the Edinburgh mara as part of my training. Completed 7 mara's this year so looking to better that next year, but the Wall is my main aim.
Cannot. Wait!
Wow Jennifer, you really have got balls haven't you. Respect
.
Good luck with the training and on the day.
Hi All,
Interesting reading all your pointers, I followed your 2013 thread and it convinced me to sign up for 2014. All paid and training has been ongoing with 3 Marathons in 2013. This is my first Ultra and I'm doing the 2 day event with my brother.
I've always trained for speed in the past so having to slow a bit for this will be challenging.
Just keep thinking about that finish line and smile
I have done Comrades, The Wall, and Stour Valley.
The Wall is by far the easiest of the three to finish, because the cut offs are lenient.