The Tring Ultra is a 50km race that takes place in and around Hertfordshire. It’s a fantastic event which is run by Humanity Direct, a charity which helps to provide quality medical care for kids in Africa. Amazingly, the event is completely free to enter if you pledge to raise funds, or you can opt to pay a very reasonable entry fee instead.
I arrived at Tring train station at 8am, where I was picked up by the event minibus to the race HQ at the cricket club. Registration was very swift, and I recognised a couple of R86 runners here too. Before long we were at the starting line for a race briefing. Nick, the race organiser and charity founder told us about a bit about the charity, why they are hosting the race and that the proceeds from the day’s event would go towards providing glasses for the children they support. He also said that the event is totally non-profit. 100% of every entry fee and all money raised go towards the charity, which I think is incredible.
Soon after the briefing we were off. There are three starting times for this event and I chose the 9am start for runners. The course follows a kind of figure of eight path, looping round towards Wendover before coming back towards Ivinghoe Beacon (Where the R86 started) and then back to Tring for the finish. It’s a mixture of hilly trails and flat canal towpath which keeps things interesting and makes this a good challenge.
After making our way out of Tring along the Grand Union canal, we joined the Wendover arm for a few miles which is new to me and very picturesque. From there was a rather steep climb through Wendover woods with some very beautiful trails. We caught up with some of the walkers here and I got chatting to one of the runners for a bit who had done this event before. He told me he tore the ligaments in both his knees in June while training for a triathlon. I was amazed to learn that after a couple of months rest, he not only managed to complete the triathlon but here he was running 30-odd miles.
Not long after Tring Park, we arrived at the first checkpoint at roughly the half-way point. I was still feeling fresh, and despite the steep terrain, I found the race quite manageable so far. I quickly checked in and continued, back onto the canal towards Berkhamsted. After that was a long climb towards Ivinghoe. The checkpoints were spaced every 6 miles or so now, and I refilled my water bottles as I went on. At about mile 20 one of the 10am starters caught up with me, running like a man possessed. He absolutely sped past all of us, and I think he was the same guy who holds the course record for this event. I didn’t even attempt to keep up.
I did manage to catch up with one of the R86 runners I spotted at the start. We had a good chat about the Ridgeway and some of the other local running events that I might look at for next year. I was still feeling pretty strong at this point so I carried on ahead over Ivinghoe Beacon and enjoyed the view through the wet drizzly weather. It had been raining steadily for a while now and the ground was getting quite slick and muddy.
After the last checkpoint I was still feeling really good. There was only about 4 miles to go from here and looking like I might finish in under 5 and a half hours which would be a result. I trucked on confidently but managed to make a bit of a navigational cock-up. The trail split in two on an uphill section with no obvious markers, so I chose the more heavily worn path with the sheep. Even though I had the route on my GPS watch, it took me a while to realise I was on the wrong path. Luckily I didn’t have to backtrack much (sorry to the other runners who followed me here!) and we were soon back on the right path.
I started to run out of steam a bit at this point and had to slow down a bit, letting a few people pass me while I made my way back along the canal for a final time before the finish. It was a bit of a shame to slow down as I was running quite well up until now but the race had still gone better than I expected, so all good. I finally made it in at 5 hours 32 which I’m pretty pleased with. Not overly fast but a very enjoyable race with some fantastic scenery and great company along the way.
I would absolutely recommend this event to anyone who has run a marathon and fancies trying out an ultra distance event. It’s very well organised and excellent value for money (especially if you raise money for the charity and enter for free). There are frequent checkpoints with plenty of food and drink options, and a minibus that collects you from the train station, and drops you back after the race. There is also a bar at the finish line which I made full use of, and shower facilities as well! Also, you get a free t-shirt. Honestly, I can’t think of anything more you could ask for.
A massive thanks to all of the fantastic volunteers helping at the event. They couldn’t do enough to look after the runners on the day. In fact everyone here was brilliant and made this a really special, enjoyable event that I would definitely take part in again.
