So, the Bad Cow weekend arrived and we headed back to Holton Lee in Dorset, where we had run the Bad Cow Saturday marathon last year. We love Dorset, but we had agreed not to do the same event 2 years running.

We broke this promise for 2 reasons.  Firstly, it’s White Star.  We love White Star.  They’re cool, as are their races.  Secondly, with the Chiltern Wonderland 50 fast approaching, this seemed like a good last big training weekend with a marathon on Saturday and Sunday.

It’s 100 mile drive from Sussex, which took me 4 hours.  Lovely Friday rush hour.  When I got there, Nick and the rest of the Burgess Hill Runners campers were there along with Nick’s Dad and his wife.

My tent was already erect and all I had to do was to open a beer and get my vegan pizza from the on-site caterers (MYO – very good you know).

It was pretty cold on Friday night and we soon headed off to bed pretty early ready for an early start on Saturday.  I didn’t sleep well (surprise surprise).  6 foot 2” light sleeper inside pop up tent while the wind is blowing a gale and it’s chucking it down outside.  Recipe for 3 hours kip.

So, I got up.  The first person on the camp site to emerge from their shelter.  If only there were a prize for this.  I’d win at every race where we camp.  Breakfast was good.  The stomach wasn’t playing up (yet) and slowly but surely the camp site came to life (assisted by Andy, the race director driving round the field with music on full blast).

9am and it’s time to go.  The 2 marathons are on the same course, but are run in different directions on each day.   There is also a 10k race at 6pm on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday morning for those who don’t fancy taking on 26-ish miles.

The race is 8 laps of varied terrain and flora/trees and so on.  This is the flattest of the White Star events with only 2 sections that I would call hills.

There is always a sense of fun at WSR races, but I think that they outdid themselves this time.  There’s always fancy dress and there’s always an incredibly relaxed and jovial atmosphere.  The runners are always very friendly.  There is always a ‘Love Station’ as well, which is the feature aid station on WSR events.  For the Bad Cow Marathons you pass it 8 times and it was a joy.  It was ABBA themed.  Music playing all day.  There was singing, dancing and booze.  It really was quite amazing.  I don’t know how they kept it up all day.  They did also have a lovely selection of the usual aid station food and drink.

So, for my races.  I knew that I should have taken day 1 easy, but that would be too easy.  Something inside me was saying to go for a time.  So I did.  Well, a time for me, but it’s all relative.  These races are chip times, so you have accurate lap split times.  One day I decided to set off around 6 minute km pace.  This would give me my second quickest marathon ever and would batter my trail marathon record.  The splits are below (each lap is 5.3km).

Lap 1 – 31.17
Lap 2 – 30.55
Lap 3 – 30.56
Lap 4 – 30.22
Lap 5 – 31.07
Lap 6 – 33.10
Lap 7 – 38.33
Lap 8 – 38.57

I’m getting pretty good at running even splits, although I ran out of gas on the last 2 laps.  There was a lot more run/walking involved, but a finishing time of 4 hours 25 minutes and 7 seconds.  That’s my third quickest marathon ever and quickest trail marathon by a distance.

At the end of day 1, I must admit that I was pretty reticent about doing the same thing the next day (but in the opposite direction).  It turns out that there was nothing to fear.  In fact, day 2 was much more fun.  I ran with Nick and Philippe for the first 3 laps.  We took lots of photos and had a real laugh.

I set out at 5 hour 25 minute pace (an hour slower than the previous day seemed like a good arbitrary target).  My pacing on day 2 was spot on.

Lap 1 – 39.40
Lap 2 – 39.02
Lap 3 – 38.38
Lap 4 – 39.41
Lap 5 – 38.11
Lap 6 – 38.15
Lap 7 – 37.12
Lap 8 – 36.12

That’s 5 hours 6 minutes and 51 seconds.

Almost constant until the last 2 laps when I speeded up.  I felt strong and really loved day 2.  Very unexpected.

I fuelled on baby food, tomatoes, crisps and fruit.  I took a salt tablet every hour and used Zero electrolyte tablets in my drinks.

As far as confidence boosts for my second 50 miler go, this could not have been better.

So, what did I learn from this weekend:

1. Pacing is king. Choose a pace that you feel you’re going to be comfortable at and keep to it.  Even if you’re feeling good at 10k, 15k or 20k, don’t speed up.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  Literally.
2. If you wear a head torch in bed and there is a moth in your tent, it will constantly fly into your head until you turn the torch off.
3. Learn from the professionals. Having read about the meticulous preparation of the Team GB cycling squad and how they take their own pillows with them everywhere they go, to aid with better sleep, I decided to take my own pillows with me.  This was clearly a step up from rolling up my bulky clothing to fashion a pillow, which is what I did at Giant’s Head.
4. Philippe is forgetting how to speak French.
5. Get smaller bags to pack different types of things in, rather than putting everything in one big bag. This will make it easier to find things.  In conjunction with this, get everything ready the night before the race rather than rolling up, cracking open a beer and saying ‘I’ll do it in the morning’.
6. The weather always sounds worse inside a tent than it actually is outside.
7. Runners are brilliant. Volunteers, photographers, fellow runners.    Just amazing.  This community is the business.  It doesn’t matter how quick or slow you are.  Everyone cheers.  Everyone encourages you along.  Big hugs to you all.
8. ABBA can make you happy. I know that the circumstances were slightly strange, but ABBA actually made me happy.  My only regret is that I didn’t get the chance to sing ‘Knowing Me Knowing You, Aha’ in an Alan Partridge style at the aid station.
9. Hokas are sooooooooooooooooooo comfortable. I ran the first half of day 2 in my normal Adidas road shoe, but changed back to my Hokas for the last 3 laps.  My first ever pair and I love them.

So, that’s the Bad Cow by White Star running.  In a nut shell, great race, lovely place, wonderful people, amazing medals, free photos (yes free photos – free – yes free, and they’re really good.  A huge thank you to Rob Hannam for these) and the best aid station on the planet.  There is only one thing I’d suggest as an improvement for this event and that is the flavour of the crisps in the goods bag.  Would have loved veggie friendly crisps. You can tell that your £30-ish has been well spent when that’s how deep you have to scrape the barrel for something you’d like to change.

Thank you Andy, the Race Director.  Just amazing.  You set the standard.

Thank you all of the White Star crew, thank you to all of the volunteers, thank you to my wonderful fellow runners and finally, thank you to my Burgess Hill Runner friends for being in the best running club there is.

So, what’s next.  Oh yes, East Farm Frolic.  See you next week White Star people.

Take care, Neil.

#fuelledbyplants

I nearly failed to start the Giant’s Head Marathon for a couple of reasons, but I’m now sitting here on the sofa watching the cricket, eating the left off munchies from the weekend, reflecting on 2 days in the Dorset countryside.

The Giant’s Head Marathon was voted the best marathon in the UK in 2014 by Runners World magazine. Quite an accolade. This has got me thinking about what are the ingredients for a good marathon for me.

There are several reasons why we like an event and I am going to base my race report around the important factors for me.

The setting is a huge for me. I love being in the countryside. I will do very few town/city road races from now on. They’re dull, tend to be expensive and I’m not that bothered about setting records.

Giant’s Head is based in Sydling St. Nicholas. It’s in Dorset. It’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s a lovely little village with lots of flint cottages, old style stone walls, a stream running through it and it is surrounding by hills. It is very green. There is a village green and quaint little village hall.

The camp site is a field. That’s it. They have removed the cows and added some toilets. It’s simple and absolutely perfect for what we need. It is a 1 minute work to race HQ and the start/finish of the race.

It is a real skill to be able to create the right atmosphere at a race. I’m using up my weekend and taking holiday to run 26.2 miles, so it’s important that I feel relaxed and comfortable with my surroundings. Well, registration took 2 minutes. You don’t have to worry about turning up with driving license, passport, 15 utility bills and a note from your Mum to get your number.

They serve very nice home cooked food in the race HQ, prepared by the local WI and there is a beer tent outside serving lots of local booze. There is even a chap in the corner playing music on a tape deck.  ‘Always look on the bright side of life’ was playing when we walked in.  Nice and apt.

Everything is relaxed and runners are sitting around chatting over food and a few beers, before making their way back to the camp site for a crap night’s sleep (I have never heard so much snoring in my life).

This atmosphere is all down to Andy and his team. From his social media videos to the most relaxed (outwardly at least) attitude to race day and the dedication of the marshals and aid station volunteers, Andy and the WSR team nail this every time.

Running is our hobby and hobbies are supposed to be fun. I think that runners (and probably other amateur sportsmen) can often forget this. WSR don’t and Giant’s Head is proof of this. Shamelessly, there is a penis theme to everything. Race number, t-shirt, buff and the spinning willy medal. There isn’t some weird fetish thing going on. It is because the race passes the site of an ancient fertility symbol carved into the hillside, the 180 foot high figure of the world famous ‘Rude Man’, the Cerne Abbas Giant. So, keeping with the theme, the marshal at the check point at 10 miles made a huge penis, complete with hair (fake (I think)) for the runners to sign.

So, the course. Never, ever to go to WSR event expecting or hoping for a PB. That’s not the point. This is about testing yourself against something that is beyond a road marathon. Something that challenges you with hills and changes in terrain when you least expect or want them. There are 10 hills. At times, the incline is above 20%. This can also be said for some of the down hills.

The terrain changes from road (not for long), to short grass, to long grass, to dry soil with flint in, to rutted fields, to paths of loose flint, to mud. Some of the climbs and descents are on a camber too, adding to the difficulty and the stress on the ankles. These sections require serious concentration to avoid any mishaps.

The countryside is beautiful. There is no other way to describe it. One of the great things about walking up the hills is that you get to look around and take in the sights.

When I go away for a race, I’m dipping into my pocket. For me, this is quite deep as well, given that 2 of us take part. I don’t like to feel like a race is taking the p*ss. At £33 for the entry for GH, I can’t think of many races that give you better value for money. First of all, the race is 27-ish miles. That’s 3.8% more distance for your money. The medal is a thing of beauty. There are no other medals like it.

The free technical t-shirt is well designed and high quality. You get a free buff. The aid stations are well stocked.

The facilities are excellent and the merchandise is all well priced and excellent quality.

I can never afford to buy photos after a race.  It just never happens.  The only ones I have are from the London Marathon.  If you’re in the same boat as me, WSR has the answer.  They have people out on the course taking photos.  They are volunteers and they are amazing.  The 2 photos below are from Jane Tearle, who picked the most fantastic spot to see us fighting up one of the hills.  Thank you so much to all of the photographers.

So, what more could I ask for? Well, perfect company from my wife, Philippe, Karen and Francesa. Lovely, chatty, happy fellow runners. Oh yes, cracking weather.

That’s it really. I now know why it won this award. I’m also really happy I didn’t stay at home nursing a grumbling stomach. A perfect way to spend 2 days in fields. 2 days that felt like a week (for all of the right reasons).

For me this was the second marathon in a week and was the last long run before the Endure 1250. Having been a doubtful starter through illness, I’m seriously impressed with my physical and mental effort. I ran all of the flat (there isn’t much) and the downhills and was still strong in the last 25% of the race, even though the hills continually sapped the legs. I’m getting the hang of fuelling and watering myself and the salt tablets seem to be making a real difference.

Can’t wait for the next WSR event and I have 4 to come for the rest of the year.

Thank you Andy and the team. See you soon.

Big love.

#fuelledbyplants