Round Rotherham 50 mile Trail Race Report 2011

Rotherham this year was part of and the last race in the Run Further UK Ultra Championships 2011 series with allot of points at stake for some of the runners involved but I had not entered the UK Ultra Running championship series this year.
The Rotherham Trail race was my first introduction to ultra running in 2008 and since then I have fallen in love with the trail, fell and off road ultra running.

On Arrival.

I arrived at Dearne Valley College at 6.20 am just missing the walkers start at 6 am. The weather forecast today was for clear blue skies and 17 degrees but it was only 2 degrees on arrival. Again their were familiar faces to last years entries and with over 300 entrants it was shaping up to be quite a competitive race.

The Race.

Start to Checkpoint One - Grange Park.
At 7am after the final instructions the race started and I deliberately go off fairly hard for the first two miles but unlike last year no one has been tempted or more like silly enough to follow, so I back off at this point and get into a steady pace. I navigate through Elscar wood at the six mile mark no problems, take my first gel and drink ( I had planned on one gel every 30 min's and just filling my water bottle at checkpoints minimising wasted time) I pass through Wentworth uneventfully and head up to Keppels column and arrive at Grange Park the first checkpoint.

Grange Park to Treeton - Checkpoint Two
Everything is running smoothly at this point and I was regularly going past the 6 am starters and keeping to my race plan, staying positive and trying to enjoy the day. Through Tinsley then Catcliff and on to checkpoint two at Treeton.

Treeton to Harthill - Checkpoint Three.
Filled my water bottle, grabbed a banana and off on my merry way past Treeton dyke lake and on to the turning at the joinery works on the A57 to rejoin the trail. "Holly Cow" or should I say "Holly Bull" and to my surprise!! their blocking the trail, was a bull with very big horns protecting three calf's, I took evasive action jumped into a dense undergrowth banging my arm on a tree stump and lacerated  my legs ( the joys of ultra running ) and managed to maneuver my way around the fierce looking bull. Pheeeeew close shave.
and then on to the long slog through Rother valley country park, through Norwood and on to the 25 mile mark at checkpoint three Harthill.

Harthill to Woodsetts - Checkpoint Four
On leaving Harthill I had been steadily running for three hours 6 mins and was starting to feel a little tired especially with the constant glare of the sun and the temperature steadily rising.  Some people cope better than others in warm weather but for some reason I have always struggled despite trying to use the correct hydration and fueling strategies. Up to Netherthorp past the airfield through Turnerwood past Lindrick golf course occasionally checking behind me but not a competitor in sight and on to the Woodsetts checkpoint at the 30 mile point.

Woodsetts to Firebeck - Checkpoint Five.
On leaving woodsetts I had the first hint of a possible problem I could feel my right hamstring starting to have slight spasms "oh no not the dreaded cramp coming on" so I had another gel hydrated myself a little more and slowed my pace a little and this seemed to do the job in getting me to the 35 mile checkpoint at firebeck.

Firebeck to Maltby - Checkpoint Six.
Filled my water bottle had a gel and banana extra water and on my merry way but shortly after leaving Firebeck the spasms in my right hamstring started again but this time brought me to a brief stop, so I stretch the hamstrings and legs out and tried to get rid of some of the lactate acid, again I decided to slow my pace right down and hopefully the gel, water and banana would kick in which it did but I was now emraging time but at least I was going Forward. A brief look behind me going into Maltby and I could see a competitor in the distance.

Maltby to Old Denby - Checkpoint Seven.
On leaving Maltby I was unaware that while I was in the checkpoint filling my water bottle and taking on some carbs, Ian Symington had run straight through the checkpoint without me noticing, so when I headed out I thought I was still leading the race. The next 6 and half miles was a real battle against the cramping issues I was having and at this point my only thought was on completing the race and trying to get under the 7 hour mark. About half a mile away from the Old Denby checkpoint, just past Hooton Roberts, a relay runner informed me I was now over three and a half minutes away from the leader, well I was a bit surprised and realised that he must have passed me while I was inside the checkpoint at Maltby, so I plod on to the last checkpoint at Old Denby where they inform me I was over 5 and a half minutes behind the leader and unknown to me at the time, Kevin Doyle was breathing down my neck in third place just over a minute behind.

Old Denby - Checkpoint Seven to Finish.
A quick drink of water and a gel and I am off on my merry way. With just over three miles to the finish I decide to try to push on despite the constant irritation of my spasming tired legs but to my surprise they allow me a good pace to the finish in which I made almost three minutes on the winner Ian Symington and importantly 2 minutes on third placed Kevin Doyle. The winning time was Ian Symington 6 hrs 47.14 secs, Ian Bishop 2nd place, 6 hrs 50.04 secs , Kevin Doyle 3rd 6hrs 53.05 secs.

To Conclude
Although it was quite a tough day for me especially from the 35 mile mark I was elated to finish the race 2nd and in a very respectable time.
My congratulations firstly go out to all the people involved in making this flawlessly organised gem of a race take place, now in its 29th year.
I would also like to congratulate all the finishers and Ian Symington who was a worthy winner.

Round Rotheram 50 Race Report 2010

I will start at the end.
This is my first ever blog, following the end of the Run Further UK Ultra Championships 2010. Although a month late, I will start with my Round Rotherham 50 account.

On Arrival.
I arrived at Dearne Valley College at 6 am catching the walkers early start to the race, there was familiar faces at registration for the 7 am start, that I had seen at the High Peak 40, the Long Tour of Bradwell and the Lakeland 100 and it was shaping up to be quite a strong field with the likes of Duncan Harris (3rd in the series) and winner of two races in the series.  Martin Beale (4th in the series) Martin Inge (5th in the series), Paul Hart who has come close to winning this event on a few occasions and who has had a great 24 hour track season reaching the UK qualifying standard, who are just a few to mention.

The Race.
Start to Checkpoint One - Grange Park.
At 7am after the final instructions the race started and in my traditional start to a race I go off fairly hard, leading the race until the blue footbridge which I made my first navigational mistake forgetting to turn off to the cycle track that leads up to the blue foot bridge, I have to go back and four runners are now about 30 seconds in front of me, looking at the positives I tell myself it is better chasing than leading so I settle in to a steady pace and try to relax and enjoy it.
At the five mile mark at Elsecar station I can see one of the runners in the distance about 2 mins in front of me. This section at Elsecar station leads into a wooded area and can be quiet tricky to navigate through but I was familiar with this part of the route because 4 weeks prior I had done a full recce of the course.  After successfully navigating myself through this tricky section and heading into Wentworth I hear someone call my name and I look behind to see Duncan Harris behind me, he had taken a wrong turning in the woods after Elsecar and had gotten lost, as we were both going at a similar pace and I felt very strong, it looked like we were going to be running together for a while. For me this was a good thing having somebody to share the pace with and a bit of company as well, although going off the results of the Ultra season Duncan was having, I knew he would prove really strong in the latter part of the race as I have had the experience of being dropped by Duncan a few times already this year.
As Duncan and I get chatting he tells me that his legs still feel alittle tired from a 50 mile cycle ride he did 3 days prior to this event, which does not surprise me, as a week before the Lakeland 100 he did a 50 mile recce of the second half off the course. When we reach the First Checkpoint at Grange Park we can see the three leading runners setting off about 2 mins in front so we are quickly in and out and in pursuit, but with no great urgency as we were only 10 miles into the race, averageing a 7 to 7.30 min mile pace.

Grange Park to Treeton - Checkpoint Two.
Every thing is running smoothly at this point and we were both running comfortably strong and on a long stretch we could see the leading runners in front which Duncan had told me was Martin Beale, Martin Inge and unknown to both of us a runner from Norway called Harald Has (which I read about after the race, was using the round Rotherham as a qualifier for the 100 mile Western State race in the United States, after his performance I am sure he will be a strong contender for that race). As we get into Checkpoint Two Treeton, again we can see two of the leading runners leaving as we are arriving.  At this point we seem to be running at the same pace as the two in front as the gap hasn't changed at the 27k point.

Treeton to Harthill - Checkpoint Three.
We head out from the cricket ground past Treeton Pyke Lake, we stop for a brief toilet break and head along the lengthy grinding stretch through Rother Valley Country Park, I check how I am feeling at this point as I regularly assess my well being during an Ultra Run, remaining focused and positive are paramount during an Ultra event and feel that negative thoughts really do slow you down. I still feel that I am running well within myself and the pace is steady and constant with regular sips from my water bottle and nibbles of carbs picked up at the last checkpoint.  It appears all is well. We reach Woodhall and head for the church spire across farm land towards Checkpoint Four at Harthill 25 miles.

Harthill to Woodsetts - Checkpoint Four
We are in and out off checkpoint three quickly and about four minuites behind the the runner in front of us and still running strong, we pass through top Hill Farm and through Netherthorpe. At the railcrossing at Turnerwood we ask the marshall how far the leaders are in front of us and he says that the leader, Harald Hass was about one mile in front and the other two Martin Beale and Martin Inge, were three to four mins in front.  As we head through Lindrick golf course we see Martin Inge walking as we pass him he runs with us for 3 or 4 mins and tells us he had been attacked by a dog and had been bitten, which I sympathize with Martin as I am sure most runners have had encounters with dogs at some point. We push on to Checkpoint Four at Woodsetts and the 30 mile mark.

Woodsetts to Firebeck - Checkpoint Five.
Duncan and I stop briefly to fill our water bottles and stock up on more carbs, at this point we have been running together for all most 4 hours and I could sense that Duncan was ready to push on so about a mile out of Woodsetts Duncan picks up the pace a little and I was quiet happy to let him go although he was only running marginally faster.  I reach Langold Lake, Duncan is about 200 meters in front of me and heading up toward the track that leads through the woods he takes a right turn missing the woods so fortunately he wasn't too far ahead for me to call back.  He probably lost a few minuites again but at least he was on the correct path. Duncan catches me up and on leaving the woods we get a sight of Martin Beale who was about a minute in front of us and as we were crossing the lane that leads into Firebeck Checkpoint Five, I was surprised to see the leader Harald Has who had taken the wrong turn at the lane. We exchanged a few words and he said he had lost about 5 mins or so but he was looking strong.
So we have a situation at the 35 mile mark at Firebeck where Duncan, Martin, Harald and myself are all in the checkpoint and all is to play for. I could sense at this point that it would take an extremely strong run over the last 15 miles to drop Duncan, which wasn't going to be me today, as this is the part of the race that he really comes into his own.  My focus was to carry on running strong and not get carried away with somebody else's race and my focus for Rotherham was on getting under the 7 hour mark.

Firebeck to Maltby - Checkpoint Six.
I was the last to leave the checkpoint and within half a mile I caught up Martin Beale and we have a brief chat, I comment on the fast pace that he and the leaders had set and wish him the best as I push on. As I am heading towards Roche Abbey Duncan and Harald are about two minutes ahead and I glance behind to see Martin about a minuite behind, at this point I am beginning to tire but I try to remain positive and just focus on my running form and doing a body check (watered, fed, happy days!).
Just before the 40 mile mark after Roach Abbey through the woods and up near the Pylon, behind me I see a runner motoring up the track and to my surprise it was Harald Has, I enquired if he had got lost again but he said he had stopped for a toilet break (the joys of ultra running). Harald moves past me with the urgency of closing a 2 min gap with Duncan. I head up to Checkpoint Six, past the schools at Maltby and the the 40 mile mark, I can't see anyone in front or behind me, I fill my water bottle pick up some carbs and I am off on my merry way.

Maltby to Old Denby - Checkpoint Seven.
Around the 43 mile mark and heading into Micklebring I sense some runners behind me and to my surprise,  (or maybe I shouldn't have been surprised as this is a tricky course to navigate and at this section last year I lost about 15 mins by taking the wrong turn that led me to a motorway!)  Duncan Harris and Harald Has were bearing down on me, I found this quiet amusing I was actually leading the race for the first time since mile one.  I enquired again where they had gone wrong but I couldn't work out which wrong turning they had taken, it was becoming a habit for both Duncan and Harald getting lost.  We ran together for a short while until we reached the footpath that led under the M18 and then they steadily pulled away again.
As I was heading up to Firsby Hall Farm I could see the leaders about 2 mins ahead and would have loved to see how the race unfolded between Duncan and Harald but I was quiet happy with my form and was now running at about 7.30 mile pace and feeling quiet good with the fact that I was only about 4 miles from the finish.  Just one more steady climb up through Hooton Roberts and then down to the last checkpoint at Old Denby at the 47 mile mark.

Old Denby - Checkpoint Seven to Finish.
As I approach Checkpoint Seven at Old Denby, I take a drink from my water bottle and consume a gel and decide to run through the checkpoint without stopping knowing there are only three miles to go and the next half mile to the railroad bridge is down hill and I am trying to push on for a fast finish.
At this point I am still running a steady 7.30 pace and enjoying this last few miles in a very tired, weary manner. I see Dearne Sports Centre and the finish beckoning, and even manage to put in a sprint for a time off 6 hrs and 35 mins 3 secs, just under 5 and a half minuites behind the joint winners Duncan Harris and Harold Hass who clocked up an impressive time of 6 hrs 29 mins 35 secs. (Especially after the amount of time that they had both accrued by going off course.)

To Conclude.
Martin Beale came in at 6 hrs 47 mins 27 secs in 4th, which made it four runners under 7 hours which is a probable first in this 50 mile version of the race and it's 28 Year History.

To top off a fine day of racing, Kate Bailey who ran 7 hrs 38 mins 2 secs set a new womens course record and finished 9th overall. Claire Spencer and Jayne Angilley finished joint 2nd in the womens race in a time of 8 hrs 20 mins 8 secs and joint 20th overall.

247 runners and walkers finished this event, of which I was very happy to be part of.

IB