Hello, its been a while ...
It's GUCR this weekend and in the build-up to my 8th race I've been re-reading a few of my old race accounts so I thought I'd copy them here starting with my PB back in 2007. Hell, was that really 9years ago?
Anyway, 2016 hasn't been bad so far. After the Spine slog I did eventually manage to get some speed back and in one week back in April managed my fastest 10k for 7years (43.06 - Derby 10k), my fastest 5k for 14years (21.13 - River 5k) and my fastest marathon for 13years  (3.32.16 - London). I should be chuffed but since my watch said 3.28 at 26.2miles I was annoyed that not running the 'blue line' meant I actually had to run 26.62 miles to get over the line, hence a 3.32 finish time. Still, I blew my Belfast 2009 and Nottingham 2015 times away and reckon I can still do it.
As to GUCR and after taking some recovery time following London I'm feeling fat and unfit, so we'll have to see ...

GUCR 2007.

Well, where to start? A weekend that went to plan, whatever next?

There were 75 starters this year. A night in a less noisy hotel helped me to get at least some sleep, though I slept on the floor because the room was so small!

I got down to the canal a couple of minutes early to try and get a GPS signal and found myself towards the back of the pack at the start as all the other runners then flooded down. I started off with a new guy, Scott and ran with him for a mile or so before trying to catch up Mike and Mark. Both were setting a pretty good pace but I decided to try and keep up with them.

My GPS at this stage had a little hiccup and after 25mins said that I'd done about 45miles at an average speed of 117mph! Not entirely sure how that happened but I had to zero it all off and start again, and after that had to try and remember to add about 3miles to the total distance and 25mins to the time at every split.

I had thought earlier that since I'd done this race three times I ought to press on and see just how fast I could actually finish at the risk of blowing up but it’s not easy to do that once started. Nonetheless more unconsciously than anything else I kept up a fair pace leaving 1^st Mark, when he stopped for a dump and then Mike when he stopped to walk a little. He was on a 55mins run/5mins walk routine to my run the 1^st 25miles/then run ¾ mile: walk ¼ mile routine.

At this point the weather was better than forecast. The surface was dry and it was even sunny at times. Almost perfect running weather. It wasn't to last though!

I made it to 25miles fine. After that I started to run/walk but was still ok. I was even running a mile/walking for ¼. Mike caught me back up just before the 36m CP and Mark caught me up whilst at it. I was starting to suffer a bit here. A couple of runners had caught me up by about Braunston so I knew I was slowing down a bit. I had missed the bridge change again before the 50m point and had to retrace my steps again for a few hundred yards. Having to repeat this bit of the towpath caused yet more depression… again!

By 50m I felt that I was getting a little too old for this run but arrived at the CP just in time to pick up my waterproof. I carried it in my hands for a few miles as it started to drizzle but as it got a little heavier I put it on – to stay warm as much as anything. It stayed like that – a bit heavier than drizzle but not heavy till about 4am. By 60-70m I was however really struggling. I was becoming depressed. A couple of other runners came past and it was at about here I really hit my low point. I just couldn't run. I had to walk a good 5miles and my hips and knees were both giving me some grief. I had probably been in the top 10 earlier but now was more like 16^th or 17^th. Louise called but I must have been a bit depressed. I was still up on my previous time but not by a lot and I really felt like calling it a day. I even felt that I was never, ever going to do another Ultra again. I really felt that my ultra days were over. It was just too hard now and I just couldn't imagine wanting to put myself through anything like this ever again. The mind (…and despair!) is however a very funny thing. Just two days on I can only now recall very faintly feeling like that!

At the 70m CP I decided on a full kit change. I had had a leaking Sealskinz for a while now and I knew if I left it it might cause my feet to remain too wet/too long. It was hard stripping off in the cold/wet but I knew it had to be done. I put on my night gear and changed my rucksack so I could carry more kit – previously I had just had my Camelbak which had worked well but I now needed to be able to carry more gear overnight.

One potentially big difference from previous years was beginning to have an effect though. I was able to eat.

I am not absolutely certain why I seemed to have more of an appetite because usually by here I am struggling to get anything down. This year however I had got down a rice pudding at 50m and devoured a plate of cold beans at 70m easily.

The one thing that I did do differently was use the Succeed tablets I'd bought. I am not certain but these may have been a great help even though it was not hot! I was trying to take at least one an hour and it may be that in keeping all the bodies electrolytes topped up hot or not they were of benefit. This is a distinct advantage for me because I have found that I start off with good intentions with my Isotonic drinks but after a few miles I just can't stand the taste of them any longer and just don't throw in a sachet when topping up my water, obviously this will have along term detrimental effect on eating/energy etc but it is so difficult to get down stuff that you can't palate even though you know you should. Usually I get to the stage of gagging etc when trying to force down gels/food etc but this time I didn't. I was getting down my Honey gels and H5 gels/fudge OK too.

However, I didn't immediately see the benefit and plodded on into the gloom. It wasn't immediately dark though (even with the rain) so I knew I was a little up on last year still. As it got dark I tried to run but it wouldn't happen and in the end I consoled myself with using the time to try and recuperate. I was passed by more runners and slipped into a half-life of only just being aware of my surroundings. Caffeine failed to work yet again and I just couldn't stay awake. At times I just dropped off, veering into the hedge especially after Milton Keynes but surprisingly even when swapping sides of the canal I still veered into the hedge so there must have been some unconscious survival instinct still operating!

Karen Rowntree and another guy came charging past with their support pre-dawn and I hoped that if I could just hang on till the light returned I would recover a bit. I was walking ok though. I slowed down in nodding-off sessions but kept up to a better pace I think than last year when trudging behind Mark with his bad ankle.

Between 4-6am the rain eased off. As light returned I was indeed able to start to jog again – though it was painful at 1^st and before GJA I was surprised to catch up the runner who had overtaken me in the night. I had stopped to check my map at the junction and he said I was going the wrong way. I crossed the canal because he was so definite but as it turned out both ways would have been fine (I was 90% sure I'd gone the way I was about to in previous years but it isn't easy to be 100% when so tired). Anyway, annoyed that yet again I'd lost a few hundred yards I jogged past up to the CP. There I was surprised to find Karen Rowntree still at the CP. Though both runners left before I did (the other left to join his own support up the road) I realised I must have been hanging on better than some. In fact although I to-froed with KR the rest of the way I never saw him again and he must have dropped out at some stage.

It started to rain again not long after. I stayed at the CP for a while to get some food down but on leaving felt quite reasonable. The rain was heavier on the 2^nd day and didn't let up till between the Springwell-Hamborough section.

The section after GJA is a long one. It’s a good 20miles and hard work. KR's support crew were a great help on this stage since they were cheering me on at most points with me either being just behind or just in front of her. Eventually under a bridge somewhere along the route to Springwell and though she arrived at the Springwell CP before I left she didn't overtake me again. In fact knowing she was just behind did keep me motivated. I kept up a good religious running/walking split. I was doing about ½ mile on ¼ mile off and it seemed to work well. By Springwell however the effort had an effect on me and I went through another despairing phase. 24m only to the end now but it was still so hard.

I overtook Ed Milbourn at about the point I overtook Anke Molkenthin last year and it spurred me on to keep my pace up to Hamborough. At about Hamborough it started to drizzle again but I kept my waterproof in my bag (heavy pack though with bladder/food/waterproof) till the end. There were not as many runners on the last section as last year to overtake but I was surprised to find my pace was better. It may have been trying to stay ahead of the runners behind but I was doing about 4.2mph as opposed to 3.8mph (which includes time at CP's)

As usual this section really dragged but nearing the end I did see a runner up ahead. I wondered who it might be as I gradually made up the distance and was very surprised to find it was Mike. I was feeling great now but Mike was struggling. He was slurring a bit and had not been able to keep any food down (or even painkillers) since dawn. I think he said he'd been through GJA about 1am – about 5hrs before me, which if correct, is very fast – perhaps too fast and resulted in him blowing up. I pressed on anyway but didn't see any other runners till the finish. It was about this time a mile or so from the finish however that I changed my GPS from av speed to normal time to find that I seemed to have about 30mins to get in under 36hrs. I could not believe that and thought that my watch must have stopped somewhere. I knew I was a bit up on last years time but my vague calculation had made it an hour at most and though I was chuffed at that I was almost ecstatic at a possible sub 36hrs! In all my previous calculations I have never seen a likelihood of ever getting in under 36hrs although that has been my long-term ambition. As a consequence I trogged off with renewed enthusiasm and powered to the finish (but further away than I wanted it to be again) in 35.43.

I was elated. There were times on this years run that I was in despair. Yet again I thought my ultra days were over but against the grotty weather I had somehow knocked off over 2hrs from my PB. I now never need to do this run again. 36hrs was my most optimistic target and having achieved that I can really let it lie. I've now finished 4/4 and as I promised Louise I definitely won't be running on a BH next year. After that at this stage I'll say probably not. There is just creeping in a couple of 'what if's' though. Had I kept it together between 60-70m and done some running or at least kept awake overnight then I could perhaps have knocked a good 30m more off but it may have had a knock on effect on my 2^nd day with which I was very pleased. Yet again I felt quite good all day.

Everything else went ok too. My knees/hips weren't too bad on the 2^nd day. I was able to eat and I got no blisters other than a small one on my L foot caused by my orthotics rubbing a bit. My toes were fine too. The toe guard on my L little toe (usually the worst toe) worked a treat and the R little toe is only a little sore today.

The only blip was a fainting session at the finish (…getting to be a bit of a habit on this run!). Finishing 2hrs faster than last year meant that far from being in danger of missing my train I actually had time to kill instead. I changed and spoke to JT feeling fine and remarkably chirpy but after about an hour I started to feel as if I might be sick & asked Dick if he had a bag. Then the next thing I knew I was sitting in a chair – a bit like a repeat of 2004 when I fainted back at Sainsburys/Alperton. Steve Partridge took pity on me and gave me a lift back to St Pancras where I caught the train and slept most of the way back.

Mike finished about 30m behind and KR about 13mins. Mark had a great run and did 34.44 – 59mins in front of me coming 8^th to my 9^th. Jackson pulled out as did Kathy Hearn. Stan Dolan didn't start nor did Mark Reynolds (he was doing it only a few days before so not sure what happened there). I met JT at the finish to find that KR was a friend of his and after 2004 he is thinking of perhaps a return in 2008 even if just to get Jackson to the end.

And finally, to make the weekend I got back down to Wembley the following day and Derby won too!