Kent 50 Mile Challenge

On Sunday the 22nd I took part in the Kent 50 mile Challenge which is really a double Marathon (52.4miles) around a 8 x 6.55 mile course in Kent near Canterbury. This race is one of my favourites as it was my first 50 miler and only my second ultra when I first did it back in 2005.
It’s a flat loop on a mixture of grassy trail, gravel/hardcore road, tarmac and some concrete farm road, it is run by a guy called Mike Inkster who is one tough Guy who has lead a very interesting life. If you want to know more about him then read his book “Unstoppable” available on Amazon.

I did not have the best build up for the race as on Friday I started to develop a toothache which it soon became clear was a dental abscess and by Saturday was quite painful and disturbing my sleep. I also had not really tapered for the race as I had run a 50k the Sunday before and had hard club races over shorter distances on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and a recovery run on Thursday and only rested on the Friday and Saturday but did some Mountain Biking. so I cant claim I was well rested but I thought I had the potential to get a PB on this course. I needed a sub 9hr 50 miles to give me confidence that when I go to Spartathlon I can run the first 50 miles Sub 9 and have enough left in the bank to complete a further slower 103 miles! My PB on this course was 3 years ago when I did 8:55 and my A target time was 8:30 if everything went my way.

I travelled down on Saturday night and set my tent up in the camping field and then went to chat with some other runners who were doing it, I bumped into Derren and Julia who are regulars at this event and it was nice to see them. I then went to the pub for a bit of light carb loading namely a pint and a burger.

Carb Loading – Summer Swallow (Cask Ale)

I ate my food and drink and chatted to a couple of locals for a bit then went back to my tent and took some more painkillers to try to hold off the pain in my Jaw which was quite sore now but I could not get to a dentist on Saturday and would have to wait till Monday for treatment or medication. I settled in and tried to sleep. My sleep was broken by pain and also a family in one of the other tents had a little boy who must have had a nightmare and woke crying, it took a while for his mum to settle him again. Before I knew it 4am had come and gone so it was not worth trying to sleep again so I got up and started preparing for my race. I ate some sandwiches and drunk some juice and carried out the normal rituals of checking kit and Vaseline up various parts of my anatomy. I then went down to register for the race and chat to Mike the organiser. it was really good to see Mike again and chat with him. I bumped into a few others who I know from Fetcheveryone and other races such as Ruth and Kaz. Then Mike gave his usual speech about it not being a race and it being a personal challenge and simply to do your best then he lit the firework in a welly and off we went.

Me at the forefront with the belly (175)

As I said earlier I had a target for this race so my intention was to run about an hour per lap and have minimal stops for food/drink etc. I soon settled into a nice comfy pace around 9mm and found myself running on my own. I completed the first lap in about 58mins which was spot on and I only stopped at the start/finish to top up my water bottle with coke/water mix grab a gel and run off. I was running with my bum bag that I will use in Greece and my new Raidlight Sun Hat so everything will be as I will wear in Greece. I plodded round the second lap in good shape in 59ish minutes again and felt comfy, it was already starting to warm up even though it was only 8am. On this lap I met Audrey coming the other way and said hi but other than saying hi’s to other runners who I pass on the two way section I ran on my own. Third lap again in about an hour and only the odd pause for topping up water at the water stops and running everything apart from the small hill at 3 miles in where I used it for a walk break at to take on fluid. By the start of the fourth lap the day had really warmed up and must have been in the high 20’s and getting warmer. I started the fourth lap still on target for a 4 hour marathon and feeling ok, I finished the lap in just a bit over an hour and completed the Marathon in about 4:04 so nicely on target.

I could then back off the pace a little and started taking a walk break out of the start/finish for a few minutes to drink and down a gelt and another at the hill at 3 miles this still meant I was completing the 5th lap in about 1:05 which was still ok. The heat was really building now and I was having an effect on my speed and effort levels so I was having to work quite hard now to keep a good pace up. Lap 6 was even hotter and I slowed a bit again on this lap but was still on target for about 8:30 if I could maintain this pace. As I finished lap 6 I spoke to Allan Rumbles who had come down to support a few Fetchies such as Speedy mel and others I mentioned earlier plus Matt Mahoney who along with myself and Allan was running Spartathlon this year and had finished it last year. I really found it hard in the 7th lap and had to walk a bit more and really drink a lot to keep cool plus pouring water over my head and body to keep my temp under control as best as I could. The temperature must have been in the 30’s now and I knew 8:30 was not on the cards as I finished the 7th lap and sub 8:45 might be possible but would be hard. Allan made sure I had some cold coke for the start of the 8th lap and I ditched the bumbag and went off trying to chase sub 8:45.

During the last lap the race leader finally caught me up to lap me and looked really strong, I expected it to be Matt Mahoney but it was another Matt who was having a cracking run on his first 50miler and I think his first Ultra! In about a mile or so he had a bad patch and I managed to catch him up and unlap myself which I was pleased about. I really felt the heat on my last few miles and had to put in a few more walk breaks and crossed the line with a small 100m sprint in 8:50 which was a bit slower than my target but considering my toothache and the amount of painkillers I was taking to cope with that and the lack of sleep, no taper plus the heat I was pleased with a 5min PB.

I changed and packed my stuff away into the car and then phoned Sue to say how I had done. Then I watched a few people finish that I knew and helped a couple of runners who were going out on their last lap to change socks and get food/drinks etc. Then I said my goodbyes to all and headed back home in the car.

All in all a good day in the heat and I ran fairly well and certainly inside the pace required for the first 50 at Spartathlon. Once rested and tapered I should be able to do that pace much easier even if its hot.

Oh and somehow I came 4th overall!!!! Though it was a smaller field than usual.