Thanks to Kirsty for her event report for The Wall:
The Wall, Saturday 13th June (plus some events along the way)
Grab a drink, it could be a long one!! It may seem a bit rambling but I’m hoping to try and put some perspective into the emotions behind long distance training.
June last year, this Rat Race event was hosted and completed by a member of our running community. Watching her tracker and ultimately her complete it, Kerrie and I decided (I can’t remember who suggested it first but it was a quick agreement!) to sign up for this years event, and so did Andy and David – not sure if there was a bit more persuasion on this one 😂.
Knowing that this event was a distance neither of us had done before, we thought of all the lovely long training runs we could do as we ‘had a whole year to train’! Spoiler alert – life happens and long training runs do get done but not always as planned!!
For me, doing some events that were originally my big race turned into training runs and being cautious, although I’d always much rather finish an event and feel good rather than kill myself getting round and then am out of action.
A new event for me this year was the Wymondham 20 miler – 22nd March. One that I always wanted to try and I was lucky enough to get a transfer. This is a great event if you’re on the edge of wanting to push more than a half marathon but not quite ready for the full. It’s also a good training run as part of a back to back run which is what I done having done 33 miles the day before. I hadn’t particularly enjoyed it but I was really proud of what I’d achieved by myself – running with friends is much nicer. At Wymondham, I ended up running with a lovely lady from Dereham Gazelles and we ran it together, all bar the first mile or so.
Next event was Brighton marathon – 12th April. A firm favourite for me!
Norfolk marathon – 19th April.
A new one for me and I was very lucky to be running it with Kerrie and Marie. The medal is fabulous 😍 A very hilly route but well marshalled.
GEAR 10k – 3rd May.
A great local event with a big crowd of not only runners but supporters! Really enjoy this one as it’s fast and flat, closed roads – really well organised.
Fighter 5k – 17th May.
I really like this one, another local event – also flat with closed course. Fab turnout of club members cheering and running.
As well as all these events this year, we have had some great Sandy Lane sessions to prepare for the hillier terrain and some really lovely long social runs at the weekends. It really is all about taking the opportunity and spending it with the best people.
And then before you know it, it’s nearly time for the big day of travelling before the big day itself! Unfortunately Andy wasn’t able to do the run with David as planned, but in true team player mode, he kindly still gave up his weekend to join us and track along the way, also with Sean – a lovely surprise!
We spent most of the day travelling and then once there, we had to collect our trackers. It was quite funny seeing all these people walking around with their backpacks so it was quite clear who was there for the event. We then checked into the hotel and in the girls room, Kerrie and I done a whole bag re-check so we were assured that we were well prepped and ready to go. We didn’t go to sleep until late and with an alarm beginning with a 4 for Saturday morning, it was a sleepy start to the day bit here it was!
Saturday morning. We loaded the car up with all our bags and belongings and headed off for the short drive to Carlisle Castle. Unloading the car, we had to remember to take our backpacks and the two dropbags, one for the Hexham pit stop and one for the finish. Standing outside the castle felt a bit surreal and we then went into our starting pen. There were five waves, the first went at 6am and then every 15 minutes after that. Entering the pen, they were carrying out random bag checks and they chose Kerrie. Luckily she’d packed her bag well and knew exactly where the item was they were asking for so a very minimal delay. Our start time was 630am.
Lots of people were wearing jackets and layers at the start but within the first couple of miles, there was a lot of them stopping to take them off! It was quite mild but we had dressed appropriately so were ok. This is the first time of many where all our practice runs with kit and clothes came in handy and we felt prepared.
The first 15 miles to the first pit stop was all road. We got there and it was big! A line of portaloos, a water station leading to squash and hot drinks, then on to the food 😋 A feast and so many options! A pecan and maple slice went down a treat, plus some fruit. We had quite a quick turnaround here and were soon on our way.
More road for the start of the next section and then we finally saw part of the Hadrian’s wall! And the hills started 🤣
The first half of this event is the hillier part and some of it made Sandy Lane look like a pancake. I had seriously underestimated this but we took it steady and kept going, stopping when needed to catch our breath or just to let people pass who seemed to be powering up there! Along the way we also met Al Pepper (check out his YouTube!), Kerrie recognised him and he was filming parts of his run – he interviewed us…did we make the cut?!
We made it to the highest point of the course and it was amazing! Windy but amazing. The views were incredible and I truly felt so proud of us for making it to that point. We then continued on to the next pit stop (there was 5 in total) called The Sill. Finally they had some coke and I had a cup of tea and a biscuit. Simple but needed. Off we went again and somewhere along the way, we saw Andy and Sean again. They’d been tracking David who was steaming along but had time to come and see us. They also had some more coke which was in short supply at the previous stops. Sean ran with us for a bit which was lovely too.
It gets a bit hazy memory wise, I remember we were chatting to a chap as we approached pitstop 4 – Hexham. The biggest pitstop where a lot of competitors change into fresh clothes and road shoes for the final 26 miles which is all road. So much food to pick from including boiled potatoes, pork pie and soup. We had a proper rest here and I think we left about 8pm. Another mandatory kit check to show we had the items required to continue and I also gave the volunteer my last few squashies. I’d eaten so many they weren’t enjoyable anymore 🤣
And off we went, being quite near the longest day we didn’t need our head torches until around 10pm.
I’m sure by the time we left here as well David had already finished, an incredible run 👏🏻
The last two sections were physically demanding. Not in the same way as the hills were as we were fresher then as it was earlier in the day, but with all the time on our feet and carrying all the mandatory kit plus everything else we thought we might want or need along the way, shoulders and back was aching. Feet were getting blisters and food was getting harder to enjoy and swallow. I remember it being quite dark and I’d had a couple of crackers and they were just going round and round in my mouth. I ended up spitting them out as I just couldn’t swallow them.
We got to the last pitstop and it was quite small, especially compared to Hexham. The volunteers were amazing though and definitely were a good boost. On leaving here, there was a lady sitting on a bollard. We stopped and checked on her and she wasn’t feeling so good. She was on her own so between us we supported her and carried her bags back to area so she could get some medical help. It was so dark we had nearly missed her, I’m so glad we were able to help her though.
More darkness in what felt as quite a country and lonely area. And then as we were getting closer to what felt more like civilization, the dawn started breaking and we didn’t need our torches much more then. The last 2-3 miles felt like they were never going to end but with determination and perseverance they did and we crossed the line, hand in hand as always – official ‘Wallers’! And a huge thanks to the guys who got up to see us over the finish line. I felt very emotional and really, now writing it down I can still feel it.
Some things from the event. Despite the distance, most of the time there was always another runner nearby. It was really reassuring and nice. We would catch up with them and then they’d catch up with us, exchange a few words – chat or support, and then be on our ways again. The worst bit was when it was dark and there wasn’t quite so much vision to see who was there and all the senses are heightened.
The most important and amazing thing was the support. We supported each other through all our training runs (and Marie – thank you!), so many people tracked us – when we crossed the finish line, my auntie messaged me as she’d been tracking us through the night! Amazing support from Andy, Sean and David.
And on the way home, at the service stations and stops we could identify everyone else from that event. Wearing huge smiles, their medals and walking the stiff legged walk, either from blisters or muscle ache!
It’s amazing what our bodies prove we are capable of. For me, on finishing I was totally spent. It takes a lot to break me and that truly was a challenge and a half. I think for most of us, we finish a race and get that runners high. I was so pleased we’d completed it and within the cutoff times. But in the following weeks I think I have had a bit of runners low. The big event that we had spent weeks and months training for is now gone. The medal has been worn to work, the shop – wherever it could be flashed off! The feet are healing but I felt like I’m a bit lost with nothing to train for. No big training runs. The direction is coming back though and so is my running mojo. So very proud to be part of this amazing and supportive club. And well done if you made it this far! Thank you ☺️ Kirsty x
