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Ridgeway Challenge 85
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On the maps issue, Mrs UB is having one in the car so she can find where to meet at the CPs, we will have a laminated copy of the Harvey map so if we do go off the path at night, it might help us back on course. Plus there are pubs marked on the map
Robby, if you want to join our merry band then please do. I think we are aiming at about 21 hours for the round.
i have cut and pasted the racepack for those who need it:
http://www.runningahead.com/groups/UKUltra/forum/d574dc06157348c5a6453dac1409681b/0
Cheers for that - useful reference.
Stuart - I will work it all out this weekend and let you know. Last time I looked at trains, they looked to be exactly the sort of thing I didn't want to be doing after 85 miles.
One final long run this weekend after a couple of weeks of nowhere near enough mileage. If this goes well, I may up to the midday start but otherwise, I'll be the fox to your lot of hounds
Avebury Social Centre, opposite the church, which is about here: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=410119&Y=169963&A=Y&Z=115
Or here: http://www.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=SN8+1RF&sll=51.428163,-1.856577&sspn=0.000572,0.001184&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Marlborough+SN8+1RF,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.428048,-1.857231&spn=0.001186,0.002368&t=h&z=19
(Can see it on street view.)
The avebury social centre is I believe the start for the Neolithic marathon. I recall there was a pub in the vacinity but that is about it.
I thought we finished at the top of the hill nearby?
No, you tear down the hill into Avebury and finish at the Social Centre - i.e. last mile-and-a-half or so is not on the Ridgeway. It does seem a pity to branch off but the Ridgeway finishes in the middle of nowhere and they don't want people running (staggering??) along the roads back to HQ.
Email Anthony (RO) with your train arrival time at Tring. I don't think there will be transport for every train - he hasn't decided yet. I intend to catch the 0924 from Euston getting to Tring at 1000.
I'm aiming for about 21 hours too - managed 21:47 last year.
Thanks T Rex for your research, I haven't done any preparation so far as I'm still in denial. The 09:24 sounds perfect for me - time to get ready and (possibly) pick some sloes.
@Stuart - if you're still in need of a lift back to Tring after the event, then I can offer one. Can't message you here so get in touch and we can discuss.
My last LSR yesterday was an absolute disaster - so I'm still hesitant about moving to the midday start even if the maths appears to work out. One question I have at this late stage is what other unsupported runners carry with them. My pack seemed hugely heavy yesterday but half of it was the 2L of water - how much do other people take between CPs? (On MMs I carry half that and a cup but I don't think there are too many fast-flowing, drinkable streams on the Ridgeway).
Is now a good time to panic?
DraconianOne,
I wouldn't panic. I've always run unsupported but have nearly always found I carry too much. Checkpoints on ultras are usually pretty well stocked and, though I've not run the Ridgeway before, I hear the checkpoints are in fact something of a highlight...
If it's any help at all, I usually carry one or two bottles of water (between 650 and 750 ml each), one with a nuun dissolved, the other plain. I usually find this more than enough. I shall be taking both bottles on the Ridgeway. I also carry 4 or 5 clif bars, a bag of chocolates, nuts, maybe a couple of bananas or malt loaf. Like I say, checkpoints often have much more enticing food so I've actually got a couple of clif bars that are about 2yrs old sitting at the bottom of my pack.
Other than that I'm taking a spare t-shirt and a couple of pairs of socks (i hate running with wet feet), a featherlite montane jacket, plus a hat, wallet, a few first aid items (plasters, tape, very strong dissolvable pain killers in case my ITB makes an unwelcome return) bog roll and disinfectant gel (oh yes, been caught out without those before... ), a bin liner (more effective than those silly reflective blankets according to uber explore Mike Stroud - plus doubles as an anorak!), ipod, phone, headtorch and spare batteries.
I can fit all this in to my 5l Raid Olmo with plenty of room to spare - it's a front mounted bottle design but has holes for a bladder tube too; I put one bottle in pouch, the other with a bladder attachment in the pack and use the spare bottle pouch at front for things I need to keep handy - ipod, snacks etc. I find it's a much better weight distribution than using a bladder
Most of the stuff in my pack goes unused but, since the weight is very low, I'd rather carry in case of emergency than be caught out at 2am wishing I had a plaster for my blister and somethign to keep the sheeting rain off...
BTW, I did my last LSR yesterday and took in the section of Ridgeway between Nuffield and Goring. Very nice running and a well-marked, clean water point on Grims Ditch. I also stopped in Goring and popped to the newsagent for a chocolate and orangina breakfast!
Anyway, I'm also now feeling a rising mixture of panic and excitement. Feel undertrained but 33 miles yesterday and feel pretty good today so perhaps fitter than I thought...
See you all in Tring/Ivinghoe where, no doubt, we'll all be searching for toilets…
Robby
Glad your last LSR went well Robby, i started my 3 week taper last week so only did 52miles in total and 14miles as my log run (if you can call it that).
I myself have always run Ultras unsupported and it is always difficult to know what to carry food wise, and i have nearly always carried too much. I think once you have done a couple you have a pretty standard safety kit that goes in the bag (plasters, tape, blister kit, space blanket etc) but food will need to be based on length of event, time of year, location etc which i find makes it quite difficult to pack accordingly and you always have the possiblity of having a craving for something that you didn't bring!!This time myself, Bobban and Jerry will be supported by Mrs Bobban and friend, so this should make things easier, but i will probably still pack too much.
Going to enjoy the very easy week this week and eat plenty of food as all the hard miles are behind me, well apart from the small matter of 85miles next weekend
It is like going on holiday. Pack too much, and of the wrong stuff. I am running the first 30 or so with a Low Alpine bottle belt with my phone, nuun, water and some buzz bars. Later on in the day I will pick up the salomon rucksack. I have fitted a raidlight bottle carrier on the front but am just storing a water bottle in it as the straws keep poking me in the eyes.
I bought a little first aid pouch that is about 100g with plasters and blister kit. That will go with me and like you Robby, I this bizzarre marmite bar that has gone with me to about 10 marathons and ultras and has stayed uneaten!!! Perhaps a lucky marmite bar??? I'll be packing Tikka XP headlight and a spare battery, waterproof if the weather looks bad, Windstopper if it is cool and a 100 fleece in case. Spare socks are a must and a hat. That and the harvey map.
I have made sure that I have left plenty of room for the inflatable hammer that Jerry is giving me.
Miss Sunshine! Great to see you and sorry I didn't spot you without the red beanie!! Why the hell was I running a 5 miler and a sprint relay 2 weeks before the Rideway. That was the first summer league I have been to in a year. A good run there though. What we do for our clubs, eh?! Had a nice run there and a few Pimms afters and 18 miles today and I am about 3 days from the start of that thing they call the taper. euuurrrghhh
Ciders in the boot of the car at Avebury then? I think it would be rude not to have a long cold strong apple juice at the end?
Trains from Euston arrive at Tring at 1000 (the one I'm hoping to be on), 1017, and 1047. RO has not decided which train(s) to pick us up from, yet. From last year's experience a number of us were on the last of these trains and with a long wait for transport, registration and getting to the start were rather hurried affairs.
In my opinion the enjoyment of long ultras can be marred by having a bag that is too heavy. So I would keep extra clothing to an absolute minimum, carry only "emergency" food (the CPs are good), and only 1L max water should be enough between top ups (although you can lose valuable time getting your water system topped up, especially if fiddly like my Inov8 "waist" system - so I will probably be topping up to 2L). Use the Harvey map, or A4 printouts of OS 1:25000 covering the route only, rather than carry whole maps.
What is a "blister kit"? I often get terrible blisters - I'm nursing a huge one at the moment after Wednesday's 60-miler. I changed my socks and powdered my feet at 30 miles but to no avail.
Small thing, but forgot to mention compass. Personally I think this is a must. I've almost never had to use it as you can usually follow maps without one, but I've had a few cases in woodlands where unmarked footpaths cross at all angles and it becomes very easy to get lost and disorientated. A compass is then invaluable - and doesn't run out of batteries like a gps.
My blister kit really is just a few different sized plasters. I don't usually suffer from them too badly and when I do I usually sterilise, puncture and tape. Keeping fairly dry socks helps, if possible.
Bobban - thought it was only me that had the problem with the RaidLight bottles. They're continually poking me in the face and I thought it was because I was so short! I usually opt for a camelbak bottle with a shorter mouthpiece instead but I want the extra 100ml that the Raid bottles give.
I'm also using the Tikka XP but my little bag always has a Petzl e+ emergency light attached to it - weighs nothing and attaches to rucksack straps.
As goring is fairly close to home for me, my missus has arranged for the kids to be with nan and she's going to meet me there. I'm going to put in an order for anything I crave when I get to about Nuffield. Recently had a hankering for coke. and I hate coke. Have also given her strict instructions not to try and talk me out of the next 43 miles if I look like death.
T Rex - can't believe you did a 60-miler. Did you have to take a day off work to do that on a wednesday? That sort of one-off distance so close to the big day would completely wipe me out I think. Don't even know how I'd support myself for such a long distance...
Robby E - I work mainly unsocial hours so it permits me often to have weekdays off for jaunts like that, although that distance was extreme for me. It was an out and back route with about 7800' ascent. A couple of days before I cached 4L of water at a the 17-mile point and which would be the 43-mile point on the way back. OK at 17 miles but by the time I returned someone had pinched it
. Everything else I carried.
Just got my new Petzl Tikka XP2 in the post this morning - £5 off at likeys.com. Looks great - the main LED is extremely bright - but at 88g starting to get a little heavy on the old forehead. But it does include a whistle cleverly built into the headband so that saves a few g carrying one! I also take the e+lite as a back-up and so that I can see to change the batteries of my main torch!!
Agree about compass. On the Wessex Downs there are many crossings of paths and bridleways and the acorn signpost not always easy to see in the dark.
Looking at last year's results (which are amazingly comprehensive) I spent a total of 1h07 at CPs including 24m at Goring. Will have to see if I can trim that down a bit. Looking forward to doing this one a lot.
Good going on the 60 mile run - that makes me feel totally underprepared.
Not easy to see the Acorn signpost in the day in some spots, let alone in the dark! I nearly missed the way at Chivery Hall Farm the other day which is only about 6 miles from Ivinghoe. Anyway, I always have my compass in my pack and this may prove to be a good chance to practice for the OMM in October - not that I'm planning on getting lost on the Ridgeway!
Great gear tips - especially bog roll. Would probably have forgotten that although I think there's some kicking around in my kit bag. This might be the time to replace my "emergency rations" too - a 5 year old bar of Kendal Mint Cake. As for blister care - I don't normally worry about them as if I get one, by the time I get to it it's beyond salvage anyway. Taking a pack of Compeed, industrial strength Ibruprofen and my usual supply of vaseline and sudocrem.
this is a race i've hoped to do for a few years but friends keep getting married that weekend
good luck all, very impressed with the alpinist philosophy you're all applying to your kit selection
That was a 60-mile run on the back of ... practically nothing. I'm the underprepared one.
Yes, no siege mentalities with us lot. Talking about weddings, the Wendover CP was at the church last year and we all arriving at the same time as a rather posh wedding I seem to remember - rather surreal. I notice they've moved the CP half a mile before the church this year ...
Book this for 2011, TMW.
Where's WhichWayNow - you OK?
T Rex, after your 60miler you must be feeling pretty confident as this is only an extra 25miles, so mentally you are v v ready, so this will seem a doddle
. Maybe i should have delayed my taper which started last week, as everyone else seems to be still doing fairly long runs. Oh well too late now to go back, although have had plenty of months of good mileage weeks, so must trust the training.
Not a doddle exactly but I'm cool about it. Those last few miles will still seem endless.
For those of you who haven't run this before I need to advise you of something you may not want to hear! 85 miles is an undermeasurement. The Ridgeway proper is 87 miles, and we branch off it at about its mile 85 point and then do a further 1.5 miles to Avebury = 86.5 miles. The last leg is more like 6.6 miles not 5.1. I brought this up with the RO after finishing last year, but I think he feels 85 miles is a nice, round number.
Dino - so did u enjoy the TR24? I thought it was an awesome event. Would do it again for sure. Great mental training for other ultra events.
My foot still isnt 100% so Shall just have 2 see how we go.
Hi Stuart,
Yes it is (although advance fare for a tenner is not a bad deal! I just don't want to deal with having to change in London. Or other people.) Times are all on the late side at the moment though - I've arranged to meet her between 1pm and 2pm dependant on a) my finish time (I will not be as quick as you!) and b) lunch.
Message me direct and I can give you more details.
Hope your foot eases up.
T Rex - what's a mile and a half between friends eh?
Thanks for the heads up though - psychologically that will make quite a difference! And yeah, you're still prepared. I didn't get beyond 20 miles in my training (although that was two 20 milers back to back) but I'm used to being the one held up as an example of how not to do things.
Hi Stuart,
Yes and no. I thought the event itself was great - well organised, excellent turnout, varied course, good facilities etc. I'd prepared pretty well and was confident of going 16+ laps, but my preparation in the last week was derailed by the arrival of my second child (2 weeks overdue, so shouldn't have been so close to the event), a protracted job interview and associated travelling, and two nights of very poor sleep prior to the event (one at home and one in the tent on the night before).
They all sound like lame excuses now, but at the time I was knackered on the start line, and by midnight I started to struggle. I kept going until 06:00 but my pace dropped badly, I started to walk and stopped to eat a few times. At 06:00 I couldn't stay awake and was mentally defeated so crawled into the tent for a bit before driving off about 11:00 that morning (nealry nodded off on the motorway which was pretty stupid as well). My tactics could probably be better for this kind of event as well - only done point to point before, but laps are more demanding.
In future I think some kind of support would help, and I'd probably take some smaller breaks throughout - I only stopped for the first time after 12 hours. Hydration was also a problem.
Anyway, enough excuses - on with the Ridgeway. On the plus side, I felt ok physically. In fact I was back running the next day and have put some decent miles in since. My main concern at the Ridgeway is hydration and navigation.
Great display (and haircut!) at TR24. Impressive performance. Hope the foot heals up ok...