It has been a while since I last wrote a blog. I returned to work from maternity leave on the 2nd September and life got pretty full on after that. I am happy to report that on the 1st September I successfully swam the English Channel in 12 hours 24 minutes 59 seconds. It was a tough swim and I can’t say I enjoyed the whole experience at the time but I am so happy to have finally been able to walk up the beach in France. Chart can be seen at www.cspf.co.uk
Having been immersed in swimming for the previous 9 months, I had no intentions of doing any more swimming for a while and so I did a few parkruns and promptly decided that I was ready to run a marathon in November! I completed the Thames Meander (www.hermesrunning.com)in just under 5 hours and a few weeks later did the Saxon Shore Deal marathon in 4hours 37 minutes (www.saxon-shore.com. ) Last weekend I completed the Pilgrims Challenge which is 66 miles over 2 days and I have just entered the Portland marathon for this coming weekend, 15th February.
When I tell people what I have done at the weekend, they mostly shake their heads and mutter something about being crazy. They ask me how I train and when I tell them I actually have very little time to do much more than a few miles round the block once or twice a week, they mutter some more. In the ultrarunning community what I do is very normal, but from the outside it looks like a crazy gathering of lycra-clad fanatics who run incomprehensible distances whilst eating jam sandwiches.
I want to explain my logic and beliefs about ultrarunning and explain to you why it really is just another way to spend your weekend.
I started running ultras in 2013 when I was pregnant with Indie (I think I did 6 in about 5months) and realised that you need very little running talent or skill to be able to complete one; all you need is the right mentality. The first ultra, and only second marathon, I did was the Country to Capital 45 mile race from Wendover to Little Venice. www.gobeyondultra.co.uk. The year before I had been training to swim the English Channel and, as some of you know, my swim was cut short about 150m from a French beach due to zero visibility in fog. I had been swimming for 14+ hours, much of it in darkness and 3 hours of it in fog. The Channel scared me because of all the worst case scenarios; hypothermia, shoulder injuries, vomiting and, as I found out, failure due to weather conditions.
Let’s skip forward 5 months to the start line of the C2C. It’s 7am, I’m eating a bacon sandwich in a pub and the aim of the day is to get to London by foot. Worst case scenario: I get too tired/injured, unpin my number and go and get some lunch whilst waiting for a lift home. It’s not really comparable is it? It’s for this reason that I don’t get daunted by a long run-comparability.
Once you get over the fact that you are going to be on your feet all day, it’s one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things you could do. I love the feeling of pushing myself to the limits. I love the mutual respect that all competitors have for one another, from the 7 minute milers to the 20 min mile walkers. I love the checkpoints, full of homemade goodies and marshals who smile and encourage all day. I love that when you stand on the start line you feel the support of the other runners around you, not the competitiveness. I love the war wounds. I love that when you cross the finish line, you could have come 7th or 107th, no one really cares- all that matters is that you had a good day out. I love the coffee and the cake. I love running ultras.
So have I convinced you? Come and join me- you know you want to.
15th February – Portland Marathon www.bustinskin.com
2nd May – ‘The Pony Express’ 60 miles/2 days http://www.xnrg.co.uk/events.aspx
Lucinda Bayliss 