This is another race report I didn’t think I’d be able to write! I booked this way back in January when I was having an optimistic moment, but I knew I’d need to do a lot of training to be ready to take on a 30 mile ultra. By May I was still nowhere near fit enough and doubtful I’d actually take part.
Luckily that turned around in June when I started to build up into more structured training, running more miles each month. In fact, I’m pretty much back to my pre-lockdown level of mileage so this event has been a great incentive for me. By August I knew I’d be able to make it to the finish line in one piece, even if that meant needing to walk some of it.This is the second time I’ve run the tring ultra. It’s a really great local event that is totally non-profit – all proceeds go to Humanity Direct, a charity that provides medical care for families in Uganda, Tanzania and Somaliland. Runners have the option to buy a ticket for a reasonable price, or they can enter completely free and raise money themselves.
This year, due to the pandemic there was a staggered start which I really liked because it was nice and relaxed – you just turn up, get your timing chip and start running. It took me a while (as ever) to get the gpx map to display on my watch. Even though the course is well marked I didn’t want to find myself getting lost (more on that later).
The conditions on the day were grey, drizzly and a bit crap. Perfect for running! I decided I’d take it really easy for the first half and then see if I could pick up the pace towards the end. The start wasn’t crowded at all due to the staggered start and I slowly caught up with a few runners on the way to the first few checkpoints.
Last time I ran this I remember Wendover woods being quite challenging, a fairly long and steep section winding its way up to the cafe. I was pleased to find it it wasn’t as bad as I remembered. I still walked the steepest bits but it felt good to run parts of it.
Some faster runners started to pass me by the half way mark, including my friend Will. We said a brief hello and I saw him run off into the distance a fair bit while I kept to my easy 9 minute mile pace. I ended up catching Will up a bit later on and we spent pretty much the rest of the run together, which was nice and kept me going in the later stages while my legs were getting quite tired.
The last section follows the start of the ridgeway from Ivinghoe beacon, and I told Will I remembered taking a wrong turning around here last time, before doing the exact same thing again! I remembered how to get back onto the right path, but I still have no idea how I managed to go off course again. There’s a field with three pathways that split off from each other, and I think next time I need to take the right-hand one.
The course got quite narrow and hilly around here, before heading back down into Tring via the canal. My legs completely cramped up around here so I let Will go ahead while I walked for a while. I think it has something to do with the sudden change from lots of hills going to very flat.
I ended up finishing with an unexpected time of 5:36, only a few minutes behind my last attempt in 2018! It’s given me confidence that I’m back to my pre-covid performance.
I had a really great time running this and will definitely be up for entering again next year.
