Well after returning home from Suffolk BYU I slept most of the next 48 hours, hopefully speeding up my recovery from whatever virus I had been fighting for the previous ten days. It ended up being three weeks before I finally felt myself again, making me even more certain that stopping when I did was the right decision.
After Cardiff to London four weeks previously my full focus was on recovery and the weekend before Suffolk I was feeling really strong and ready to give it my all. Then Saturday morning I woke up with a sore throat – one of the kids has been ill all week coughing and spluttering. Not to worry! I went for an easy run with Iain at backyard pace and felt fine. I was sensible and took it easy the rest of the day. Sunday was a repeat of Saturday and although I was a little concerned it was still just a sore throat so I figured I would be OK. By Monday I was feeling pretty grim and had developed a cough – I was beginning to suspect it could be COVID, so no running this week and rest as much as possible, Unfortunately work still had to get done and our eldest needed to be moved to their new rental flat in Edinburgh, so not the quietest of weeks. However I had managed to run KACR 9 days after COVID in 2022, so I was still hopeful all would be well for the weekend. Thursday I went for a 2 mile tester run – it felt OK but I was exhausted afterwards. By Friday I only had a slight cough and was mainly feeling OK so with the train and hotel booked (both non refundable) I decided to go and see what happened. I was hopeful that I was over the worst and would still be able to put in a big performance but knew it was a big risk and the wheels could fall off.
I travelled down to Thetford on the Friday after work – seven hours (4 trains and 3 connections). The journey all went smoothly apart from one delayed train that left me with a four minute connection in Peterborough – running up and over a railway bridge with a full bag was not much fun! It was a short walk from the station to The Bell Hotel where I was staying and I picked up dinner on the way. I was all checked in by 8.15pm and after sorting my stuff and eating I was asleep by 10pm.
I had a good night’s sleep and had no rush in the morning thanks to Vic Owens who was for crewing me and Luke Carter agreeing to get there for 8am to set up the crew tent etc. Race Director Lindley had asked for nobody to arrive before 8am but many had and when Vic arrived at 8 there was already a long queue waiting to be allowed on the field to get the best spots closest to the corral. This meant our crew tents were a little way back from the start. With 275ish starters it was a large field of tents and there were plenty of people further away. It just meant I had to be out of the tent on the 1 minute whistle to ensure I was in the corral on time. Saturday morning was very wet so I had a slow get ready in the hotel room before heading to High Lodge.
I got a taxi from Thetford station to High Lodge in Thetford forest and arrived about 9.30. I soon had all my bits organised, had registered (a very straight forward process) and was able to get a chat with some old friends. I was feeling good and looking forward to the race start. I don’t like midday starts as the morning tends to drag and by lunchtime I always feel a bit lethargic, but I tried to relax, had a coffee and very nice double egg bun from the catering van. They were very helpful in catering for gluten free and other dietary requirements. The rain had gone off although more was forecast for later in the day. It was finally time for race briefing at 11.30, I ended up near the back which made it a little challenging to hear the race briefing but I had thoroughly read the race pack and know the backyard rules well. One that I hadn’t seen before and was a little concerned about was the following:
There are no toilets on the route except the start/finish funnel, please do not go to the toilet on the trail, if you do and you are spotted you will get a DQ. You can use the toilets in the funnel on the way in or out of the laps or between loops.
Now I am a stickler for rules, it’s just my personality and it makes me very anxious if I think I have accidentally broken one. So this for me meant no wild wees on the course full stop. I therefore decided to use the portaloos at the end of nearly every loop to ensure I didn’t get caught short. However with only 8 portaloos and 2 urinal blocks this lead to a 2-3 minute queue after several laps – it doesn’t sound much but when you only have 7 or 8 minutes to get turned around it was not ideal. I suspected the vast majority of runners took this rule very loosely and were quite happy to nip into the bushes especially overnight and the second morning. This was frustrating as I felt penalised for sticking to the rules but also knew if I did deliberately wee in the bushes I would feel guilty about it. I just had to make the most of it.
At 11.57am the 3 minute whistle sounding and it was finally time to get started. We were all in the corral and at midday exactly we were on our way. I had already decided I was going to chat to as many people as possible during the first laps as I love hearing people’s stories and it helps pass the miles. I wasn’t sure if the course would bottleneck, especially at the only ‘hill’ at the start of mile 2 but actually it was fine. You did end up in a queue and had to walk at others’ paces but it wasn’t a big problem. Once at the top there was plenty of space for everyone again. The course was far more enjoyable than I remember from October (always a good thing) and the first few laps flew by. I chatted to friends old and new, tried (and failed) to remember faces and names – sorry if I tried to have the same conversation with you more than once. It was all good fun. My legs felt great and running didn’t seem to irritate my cough or throat so all was good. I took it easy and by the time I had nipped in to the portaloo at the end of each loop I was crossing the line at 52-54 minutes. It did feel a quick turn around by the time I had walked to the tent and back again but it was enough time to eat, drink and do what I needed to.
Annoyingly after a few yards my period started (I’m not having much luck this year) so I had stomach cramps and bloating to deal with but neither was a big problem thankfully. Vic Owens was fantastic at crewing Luke and myself, calm and organised and a lovely person to come back to at the end of each lap – thank you 🤩. I did a quick lap at tea time so I had an extra couple of minutes to wolf down some cheesy chips, they were great and gave me a boost going into the evening. During the evening there were a wet few yards but it wasn’t cold and by night time it had dried up so I could swap into a dry t-shirt for the night. With the cloud cover we were asked to take headtorches from 8pm but didn’t actually need them until the 9pm loop. As night fell more people had headphones in and there was more of a hush over the runners. I love night running and it was great seeing all the headtorches strung out through the forest.
Up to midnight I was still having fun and chatting with different folk – people were quieter as darkness fell but there were still enough people without headphones in that I could chat to. The legs were feeling good with no real niggles and I was still enjoying myself. Unfortunately other the next few loops I was aware that everything had suddenly become really hard work and much harder than it would normally be at this stage and distance into a race. I felt like I had run 30 loops not 12! I suspected the nasty virus was to blame as everything else was going to plan. I decided to listen to an audiobook for a few laps and see if things improved – it was a short night and not long until morning and then I would reassess. Unfortunately things didn’t get better and I was roasting hot and working far harder than I should be – I was beginning to accept today was not going to be my day. I wanted to get to daylight and see if things improved. I got my temperature checked and it was normal but I still didn’t feel right. At 5am I gave Iain a call to chat things through but had already decided to stop sooner rather than risk and even longer recovery. He was really supportive and agreed and when I spoke to Vic she was also supportive and helped me make the right decision. Ultimately health has to come first and I still wasn’t well.
I went out on lap 19 but knew I wasn’t going to continue so from mile 2 I walked the loop taking photos and enjoying the early morning. George Parkin surprised me by catching me up at just over 3 miles. He was really tight on time for getting around in the hour so I told him to hurry up and get a move on! He was also having a tough time so soon after GOBYU (3 weeks earlier). I timed my loop perfectly coming in just after the runners had gone out on lap 20. I was able to ring the bell and collect my DNF dog tag. I was disappointed as it was a year I would have had a good chance at the win but it was out of my hands and I was pleased I had made the sensible decision – 80miles was still a good effort!
Vic was great at making sure I was alright and putting out my bed roll and sleeping bag for me and once changed I had a lovely couple of hours sleep. I was then able to sort out a lift to the train station – thanks Ruth and Gav. I didn’t have loads of stuff so soon was packed and able to go and have some chats with folk and clap the runners in for their 24 hours and 100 miles.
All in all it was a great weekend and I am glad I travelled down. It is a lovely course that has the potential to go a really long distance and that is exciting for future years. It was all well organised, with great volunteers, personally I would have preferred more portaloos and am still unsure about the no weeing on course rule as it just penalises those that stick to it (and a large number of people didn’t) but all in all a great race and a great weekend.
Thanks to everyone who supported me especially Vic for being an amazing crew and Iain for looking after everything at home. Thanks to all the other runners for the great chat and great atmosphere and Lindley and all the volunteers for a great event.