Luna Trail 24hr Ultra Race Report
We had this Ultra in the diary for a long time but, with one thing and another, training has not gone to plan for either of us, see my earlier post. Even getting to the event was more drama than needed, my youngest had her end of year party and I didn’t want to miss it. So I dropped her at the party in Cardiff, stayed for half an hour before driving down to Beth’s in one straight shot, it was 10:30pm when I got there.
There aren't many people I can spend over 24hrs with and still have things to talk about but thinking about the race, I suggested if we needed time that we should have a safe phrase, “I just need half an hour”. I think I was worried I would talk too much about what’s going on for me and she would need a break from it!
We tried to put a bit of a race plan together and talk about what our goals and worries were. Luckily our goals were aligned; there are four loops of varying difficulty and we both wanted to do one lap of each loop, making sure one of them was run at nighttime. I would have loved the gold (Luna trail works on a points system) but Beth was slightly more realistic about the training we had put in so we decided we would be happy with whatever we achieved, even if it was just one loop!
The initial idea was to start with the hardest (longest and most elevation) and finish with the easiest. The weather was very warm; so on the starting line we decided to start with the "easiest" lap. While we both normally obsess over details, and luckily different aspects of racing too, this time we embraced the Susie Chan method of just turn up and go. This led to our first of many OMG moments. I always talk in miles but Beth is used to KMs so she thought we were out for 4km run not a 4 mile (6.4km) one, so she didn’t have enough water for the heat, luckily there was a tap about halfway round to fill up.
After the first lap we took about a 30mins ish break, for a bit of re-fuelling (Lidl protein balls for the win!). This is one of my biggest worries as I often struggle to eat and end up feeling really sick and lacking energy. But I was hungry after the first lap and happily munched away on food (pepperoni, apple and caramelised peanuts and lots of fizzy flavoured water). Luckily this continued throughout the event and I managed to eat, I think that running laps suits me - perhaps if I try and end-to-end ultra I should think of it as laps to make sure I fuel.
Total after loop one = 5 points, 4 miles and 182m elevation.
We set off for the red lap (second hardest for distance and elevation), which I thought was the hardest - an absolutely brutal hill, but this could just have been the heat. It was a beautiful lap, with a lot of woods at the start and we stopped for a rest at the top of the hill before going back to the run/walk strategy (4min run / 1 min walk) as well as walking all of the hills. We stopped to fill up water again and soak my hat to cool down, but the water from the tap was warm at that time of the day. We had a lovely chat with a man doing the team relay who pointed out deer to us - unfortunately no photos as they were just that bit oo far away. At the end of this lap we planned for a 2 hour break so we could do the black lap at dusk. We had delicious pizza and tried for a nap (but it was too hot) before heading back out.
Total after loop two = 14 points, 10.25miles, 378m elevation
The black lap was definitely my favourite lap, this could have been because running at this time it was much cooler. Although the elevation was more than the red, it didn’t feel like it, the ground was a bit uneven but ironically this was not where Beth fell.
We’d just walked through a really rough field where Beth had said, “this is such an ankle risk!” As we walked through some beautiful woodland, in the dusk, Beth mentioned that she’d wished she’d worn glasses. A moment later she yelled, “Ankle!” as she tripped and slid in the dry dirt. My first thought was that she’d hit her head but thankfully she was just covered in soil!
While Beth was still recovering from the initial shock a couple of people (men!) stopped and both asked if we were ok, if we needed help and if it was ok for them to carry on - this is what being an ally looks like. After a couple of attempts it was clear that Beth wouldn't be able to run so we settled into a (very) slow walk/hobble back. After a while she succumbed to the fact she needed extra support and we found a distance stick so she could be Gandalf. Here is where our lack of planning caught us out again, we weren’t sure how long the black lap was, maybe we would have called for help if we realised quite how we had to walk back. But like a true Badass Mother Runner she made it back, over all obstacles that presented themselves. She even scaled a wire fence, with what we now know was a chipped ankle (she didn’t get an x-ray for 11 days, utter numpty). As we were walking we noticed more and more people on the route, initially we thought everyone must have planned a dusk run too - we hadn’t seen this many people all day after the initial start of the event. After several people running (very quickly) past us asking if Beth was ok, we discovered this was the dusk 10K/half marathon event…maybe we should have known this was happening.
Total after a very slow loop three = 26 points, 18.25miles, 378m elevation
We got back to the event village and got Beth to the first aid and some help. Ever the optimist, I thought after a rest she might be able to make it out for the dawn run. Beth knew that she was done. We had some hot chocolate and some comedy moments of getting Beth up to the top bed in the camper for a well deserved rest. I set my alarm for 2.30am to head out for 3am to run in the dark and catch the sun rise.
3am and I headed out for the green lap, still hopeful that we could do the blue together when I got back. It was very dark when I set off and cool but my jacket didn’t stay on long. A few people passed me going up the hill but I enjoyed the night run, it didn’t feel creepy (another fear - but I know the route by this point as the loops all shared parts) and it wasn’t long before the dark turned to pre-dawn and then the first colours of dawn. What a privilege it was to be in such a beautiful place(Eridge Park) and to see the sky change colour and even catch some deer on the trails before my head torch scared them off. When I got back I had a chat with Beth, who hadn’t been able to sleep because of the pain, and would not be able to join me on the blue lap. I had an hour nap before trying to get Beth more comfortable on the camp chairs with a book and a blanket. I headed out on the blue lap.
Total after loop four = 31 points, 22.75miles, 886m elevation. (qualifying for silver!)
The blue lap was tough, I was tired and starting to hurt. I was glad I did one of each lap and ran in the dark, dusk and dawn but after finishing it, I knew in my heart I was going back out, my watch was too close to 30miles and I couldn't leave it so close. We went to check out the "Live Well" area, I had leg compression treatment and Beth went into the ice bath for her painful foot (I had to pull her out, hilarious!). We then had some breakfast and I broke to Beth that I "needed" to go back out. She truly is my Partner in Ultra; tired and in pain she supported me being crazy but did send me out with my coffee to walk with on the lap…
Total after lap five: 37 points, 27.15 miles, 1073m elevation
As I started my last lap, I bumped into the guy next to me in the live well area. Thinking he was heading off on the red lap I started a conversation with him, but he was doing the blue and I the green. Which meant I talked his ear off up to the point we split off. I walked the lap till the top of the hill and then ran/walked the rest of the way. Whether this was the coffee, I don’t know, but I truly felt I could keep going - not like on the blue lap - but poor Beth would never forgive me (neither would my body the next day) and when I returned I found she had pretty much packed up camp.
So my total for the day was 42 points, 31.15miles and 1255m elevation
I finally saved the run on my Garmin which showed 32.9miles, 11Hrs10mins 44s1122m elevation.
We packed up, and drove back to Beth’s. My onward drive home was a little sketchy but made it back and was asleep by 8pm.
Will we do it again next year? Maybe, we’re currently putting together a team for Endure24, so that might be enough - if you want to join us at Endure24 Reading in June, email us or join the event in the facebook group!
