Many ultra / endurance athletes
will tell you that you can push yourself a lot further than you think you can.
This race was to be my first experience of this.
A few weeks after racing the
Anglo Celtic Plate 100k and narrowly missing the Irish 100k record by a matter
of seconds, I found myself on the 100K European Champs start line with some of
the fastest 100k road runners in Europe. The course was not a usual IAU 100k
course which is usually very flat – this time around we would have some short
sharp hills to contend with throughout the course including a very steep 1km up
to the finish line.
Pre-Race
Ireland would be fielding two
athletes – Keith Whyte (http://keithwhyteultrarunning.blogspot.co.uk/)
and moi. We would be supported by a team of three - John Collins (Team
Manager), Kevin Belton (Physio) and Jeff Fitzsimons (Team Support). Logistically, this course would prove to be
tough, it represented a 100k loop with aid stations every several KM or so. The
first priority for the team was to secure some bikes as they would need to cycle
the entire 100k route to get each aid station before us.
The priority on my list was dealing with a nagging hamstring
issue which I have had for several months caused by an awkward fall on Ben
Nevis (trying to avoid a plodder). The ACP had inflamed the injury but I was
working hard to keep it stretched and the blood flowing. I worked with Kevin
before the race to stretch it out and work on loosening the surrounding
muscles. Spending all day on a plane and then coach doesn’t do a runner any favours
so a very short 1mile or so run the day before also helped shake out the
muscles a bit.
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| A wee jog |
It’s rare not to get some kind of ‘drama’ before an event
and my drama was a lack of water for the race. The event was held in Belves
which boasts 1 Spar supermarket for the
entire village. Obviously this had been absolutely destroyed by other
competitors getting there before us. Time was running out and I had 4 bottles
to my name and 28 or so aid stations to cater for! Thankfully, just before we
were heading in for the night we visited the local camp site shop where we were
staying and noticed some very small water bottles in the fridge. Result! The
shop assistant was a little surprised when we told her we needed an entire case!
As usual for a 100k road race, I would have more than enough
water, breaking it up every 4th aid station with some kind of sports
drink but generally relying on water with Elete added. My gels would be taped
to the side of the bottle for convenience.
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| Team Ireland |
When Keith and I originally discussed race strategy we would
go out with an even split with a view to potentially giving as much as possible
at the end if we still had it in us. This was quickly thrown out the window
when John returned from the course recce to inform us that this was not a flat
course at all! Shit! Race strategy would not be conservative, keep it even on
the uphills and then try and make up for that on the flats. Keep control on the
downhills.
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| Opening Ceremony |
The Race
The race would take part in Belves which is located about 200
kilometres from Bordeaux and is known for its beautiful castles which will be
well represented on the race course. The race is 100km looped course that takes
athletes to neighbouring town of Sarlat in the Dordognes Valley. Racers will
get to see five different castles in the region.
We decided to get up at about 4.30/5am as the race started
at 8. This gave me enough time to shower, cream, destroy a 9Bar, Beetroot juice
and some breakfast.
We jumped onto the bus which took us to the start line.
These events usually always consist of a lot of rushing about to then wait
around. The event would host the top 100k road runners in Europe from 19
European countries with just under 100 athletes participating. In addition,
there would be an open race which would also include some very fast runners (in
particular from France) who presumably didn’t make the team.
The support team immediately got to organising the 50-60
bottles of water we had and placing them in drop bags (not an easy task) we weren’t
quite sure whether we would ever see them again, but thankfully things turned
out well.
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| Getting Ready |
It wasn’t long before Keith and I shook hands with the
support team and wished them well on their 100k cycle ride around the course.
We stood on the start line and waited for the off. I quickly knocked back a
couple of Imodium to deal with inevitable stomach issues.
The start went off well with enough space for us all to run
at around our desired pace. However, it wasn’t long before we were heading
downhill and both Keith and I started to inform each other that we were
knocking out sub 6mm. Easy tiger.
As soon as I started running my hamstring started to present
a dull ache from the top to the bottom. Not enough to affect my running pace
but enough to notice and make my running not as comfortable as I would like.
We managed to get about 10 miles into the race when all of a
sudden I need to make a pit stop. I dived into some cover to drop the kids off,
jumped back up and slowly caught back up with Keith. It wasn’t long after that
that my watch told me I had done a 7mm. I was really proud to have emptied my
stomach while doing a 7mm. Surely that was a new Irish record?
As with most ultra runs the race doesn’t really start until
it gets real painful for the athletes, usually around the last 3rd
of the course. For me this would be about 20-30 miles in. The event was really
uneventful for the first 25 miles or so, generally quite flat following the Dordogne
river and passing the various castles. It was also lovely to see some local
support around cheering us on.
More encouraging was that Keith and I had stuck together
working on our pace keeping ourselves in check to ensure we didn’t go to fast.
It was shortly after the 26m mark that the course introduced some steep
inclines followed by some horrendous down hills (for such as event on tarmac).
This would go on for about 15 miles or so and would see us running up hills at
8-9mm pace and coming down them at 5.20-5.30mm. This was not our desired
approach and we would pay for this later!
By the time I hit the 50k mark my hamstring injury was
starting to complain about the running. I shouted at the team that my leg was
shot, and I would need to hit the ice spray for the next 50k! As we got into
each aid station I would grab the spray, spray the hams and IT, grab my
nutrition and crack on. The spray would generally reduce the pain and get me to
the next aid station.
Keith was a little behind me as I believe he had to make a
pit stop. It was around the 60k mark where I really had a bad patch and my legs
were screaming. I stopped at the top of the hill for a very short while and
waited for Keith to catch up. I thought to myself that I would keep with Keith
for a long as possible and let him run on – I would not DNF but I would jog
back in.
Worse than my hamstring injury were two athletes (one from Russia
and one from France) who were essentially tucked neatly behind us letting us do
all the work. Now, this is fine as it’s all part of the game. However, we were
getting a little pissed off by the how close they were getting. I was waiting
for one of the guys to clip our legs and send us flying and possibly out of the
race. In addition one of the guys was in the open race and had his support on a
cycle – riding right by us – this guy did not have any consideration and continuously
got in our way.
Thankfully, I think this took my mind of the hamstring for a
while and after a couple of tough sections we both managed to drop these
athletes.
After using 3 quarters of a can of spray on my legs, I think
it was having more of a mental affect than a physical one. It was something
nice to look forward to at each aid station.
Keith and I managed to stick to each other for about 65k-70k
or so when he hit a pit stop and I think he started to suffer from an injury.
Unfortunately, I would later learn that this would be the end of Keith’s race
but I am more than certain he will be back in the near future to give the Irish
record a crack!
I had about 30k or so to go and I was sitting in around 18
place. My legs were screaming and I was keeping my fingers crossed that nothing
would go ‘ping’ and cramp would stay away. The tough section was over and it
was essentially a good section of flat. I managed to keep myself at a good pace
along this section picking off places as I went along. I got some really good
encouragement from the team with updates on how the guys were looking ahead. “The
Russians are struggling”; “The Italians are not looking good, Dan”; “You are
flying, Dan”.
These bits of encouragement gave me the incentive to crack
on and see how I was doing. At this
point I went from thinking about jogging back in to the finish line to seeing
how long I could keep this pace going and finish in a respectable time.
After each aid station I could see I was running well compared
to the other athletes ahead. When I passed an athlete I was clearly running at
a pace they could not maintain. I was waiting for each of them to keep shoulder
to shoulder so as to avoid losing a place but they simply let me run past. It
was at this stage that I had to ‘drop the kids off’ again. I had no time for
diving into a bush but simply had to do it on the spot. I apologised to the athletes
running past and also to Kevin who cycled past (I don’t think he will sleep
properly again).
I managed to take a couple of places back that I lost after
the quick pit stop and essentially push on through the ranks. Looking at my
watch a good time was on the clocks and a possible Irish record. I didn’t know
what place I was in at the 90k mark but information coming in was that I was in
or just over 10th place. Good sign!
The last 10k I pushed on as hard
as I could passing a few runners and continuously looking back to make sure I
would not lose a place or two.
I had about 3 miles or so to go
when a spectator shouted, “well done buddy only 10k to go”. WTF, was that right?
I hope not!
It was at this stage I was
feeling comfortable, I could not see anyone behind me and the finish line was
close. I was good few minutes under the Irish record when I hit a massive
incline for about a KM (shit I forgot about that!). The climb was severe enough
to drop the pace around the 9-10mm mark. I was desperate, I could see the
finish line was very close but the road followed a curve taking me away from
the finish line and slowly bringing me back towards it. I was just under a KM
when someone shouted from behind me “C’mon Dan”. It was Keith who had hitched a
ride from some guy in a van. The only response I could master up was “Don’t
shout at me, I’m gonna cramp!” I had been on coke for a couple of CPs and I don’t
think I had enough Elete in the bottle so I had signs of cramp kicking in.
A final push and I managed to get
past the line in 7.05.57 (although time says 7.06). Seconds away from the Irish
record. Twice in the space of a few weeks! Tough luck.
I managed to moan at the guys for
not passing me the flag to cross over the line with to then learn I came 8th
in Europe and 5th in my group. Not bad for someone who was
struggling at the 50k mark! I managed to squeeze in a couple of handshakes and
the like to only be approached by an interpreter. “Hi, I am your interpreter,
this is [x] from the Anti-Doping team. He will be supervising you until a
sample is taken”. Great, it’s gonna be a long day!!
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| The Finish Line |
Post-Race Thoughts
One thing I learnt from this race is that you can push
yourself a lot further than you might think. Could I have gone under the 7 hour
mark if the course was flatter? Who knows. Perhaps the hills kept my pace into
check which allowed me to push on later on in the race or perhaps I was having
a great race and could have put in a great time. I will never know.
The toughness of the course can perhaps be explained by
looking at other results. Usually, I am at least 40 mins behind the winner. In
this case I was about 12 mins behind. The winning time is usually well under 6h30.
This time the winning time was 6.53. Take from that what you will, but I do
feel that one of us in the Irish squad is very close to breaking the 7hr mark
and coming well under this time.
Full results can be found here:
