Last time I blogged about the Saltmarsh 75 it was as a nervous newbie who had just completed his first ever ultra. This is only a year on from then but I do seem to have done quite a bit of running since then - if all went according to plan I would cover my 2000th running mile in 2014 just before the end of Day Two.
Despite having now having a bit of experience of ultras I was still a little unsure about whether I was particularly qualified to actually give advice on them - those of you that have followed my adventures will know that being lost figures quite highly as one of my running activities. I'm also not entirely sure that I've really fully sorted my kit or strategy out for ultras yet so should I be telling anyone else what to do? However I'm part of an excellent running group called Run1000 on Facebook and received a message from another member, Shawn, who was doing it as his first ever ultra and was asking for advice. Probably the most important advice you can give anyone running the Saltmarsh is 'don't turn right' (you'll end up in the sea) but I suspected he wanted something a little less obvious. Anyway over the course of several FB messages I bombarded him with various thoughts, suggestions and ideas which probably left him more confused than before he asked. I also passed various hints and tips on to Simon, one of the Chelmsford Parkrun core team members who was also embarking on his first ultra. I won't tell you how they got on, you'll have to read on to find out...
In 2013 I went to Marsh Farm, not sure about what lay ahead, not sure what I was doing there and not knowing any one there. This year I knew exactly what lay ahead, more or less why I was there and when one of the organisers said 'Oh, its you again' I felt very much like I belonged! I chatted to people I met the year before as well as Simon my MDS colleague and Simon from Parkrun. Both Simons were sporting luxuriant facial hair - I'm not sure if that is a particular characteristic of people called Simon or just a coincidence - I suspect the latter. I checked in and got my number. As with previous events it was to be pinned to my shorts and as with previous events it took more than one attempt to get it right, although at least I didn't get it upside down this time.
We all gathered round for the safety briefing. I'm not sure whether Roy (the man in charge) forgot he was holding a megaphone or he just didn't want to wake up the adders (one of the reasons Saltmarsh is later in the year is to avoid disturbing the adders too much) but it was one of the quieter briefings I've attended - alternatively I'm getting a bit hard of hearing in my old age, which may be the real answer. Anyway once Roy had briefed us on the hazards of the course ('assume every stile is broken, assume every time you put your foot down you are going to twist your ankle') and told us about the truly incredible amount of support on the course (take a bow RAYNET and Essex Rover Rescue, plus the medics and checkpoint crews of course) we had a few minutes to get nervous before the Mayor said a few words, blew the horn and we were off!
This year we were straight into the running from the farm rather than being bussed to the sea wall as in 2013 and I was trying very hard not to get swept up in the general excitement and end up running too fast as I did the previous year. This didn't really work but I kept an eye on my heart rate and tried to keep it under 150 bpm as I thought I could run quite far at that rate, a marathon at least - which would only leave just over 12 miles that I would have to stagger to the finish. Sometimes I think I really should come up with better race strategies...
Anyway thanks to some very kind landowners the first stage still involved crossing a railway line twice but not the road - it also made it a mile shorter so getting to Fambridge was achieved fairly easily and I was still feeling good - however I had run slightly less distance than I do most lunchtimes so lets not get too cocky about that.
Apart from the huge climb to the top of Creeksea Cliff - a massive 15 metres above sea level - Stage 2 was reasonably uneventful too. However Stage 3 was next (obviously) and this was unlikely to be straightforward. This was the stage I started to have problems on last year. It's over 13 miles long on the most exposed part of the whole course. Last year I was worried (with good reason) that his was the stage on which I would pass the marathon distance mark and step out into the unknown. This year it was the fact that at some point it was likely to absolutely chuck it down. Anyway I was making good time so I hoped to get a significant part of the distance done before the rain started. The Dengie 100 Runners Club had once again added a water stop at around 6 miles in and I stopped briefly to drink some water - had I known how much I would be soon soaking up I might not have bothered...
A couple of miles later I spotted a familiar figure on the sea wall. Sharon is training for the Stort 30 and had run from Steeple to the sea wall along St Peter's Way, got bored waiting and run down the sea wall to find out what was keeping me. We ran together back to St Peter's Way where she turned off to go back to Steeple (supposedly on St Peter's Way, however she navigates as well as I do...). It was just before we parted that the rain started...
I saw a few people drop down off the sea wall and run at its base and also stop to put waterproofs on. I ran at the base of the seawall for a short section but as the wind was coming from the west it didn't really help. I also didn't yet feel the need for a waterproof so I carried on as I was to Checkpoint 3 where I had my obligatory navigational error and broke the one rule of Saltmarsh navigation and turned right. Fortunately I ended up at a child's swing rather than in the sea. I resisted the huge temptation to have a go (if it hadn't been raining I may not have been able to resist) and retraced my steps and found the checkpoint.
Stage 4 was fairly uneventful apart from the mud around Bradwell power station. I collected so much of it on the soles of my trainers that for about half a mile I found out what the world would look like if I was average height. Stage 5 was quite uneventful except I was starting to get cold so I decided to deploy the bin liner at the next checkpoint. For those that didn't follow or don't remember my MDS blogs I should say that not even I take a bin liner as a running waterproof, what I have is a very lightweight black smock which Sharon took one look at and said 'looks like a bin liner' and the name stuck.
I ran out of Checkpoint 5 wearing exactly the same as I went in with. I do have a memory like a...one of those things with holes in...my socks?...no, you use it in the kitchen..no, its gone. Anyway as the stage was only 3.1 miles I was fairly sure I would stop shivering once I was running and so I carried on regardless.
I arrived in Steeple after a little under 7 hours running, nearly an hour quicker than the year before! I was also frozen. Much tea, some beans on toast and some warm clothes later I had thawed out and set off to the pub for food, refreshment and a night in a tent. Simon and I sat and chatted over a salmon pasta bake and we retired to our tents. Day One had been quite successful and much better than last year, how would I fare on Day Two?
In 2013 I went to Marsh Farm, not sure about what lay ahead, not sure what I was doing there and not knowing any one there. This year I knew exactly what lay ahead, more or less why I was there and when one of the organisers said 'Oh, its you again' I felt very much like I belonged! I chatted to people I met the year before as well as Simon my MDS colleague and Simon from Parkrun. Both Simons were sporting luxuriant facial hair - I'm not sure if that is a particular characteristic of people called Simon or just a coincidence - I suspect the latter. I checked in and got my number. As with previous events it was to be pinned to my shorts and as with previous events it took more than one attempt to get it right, although at least I didn't get it upside down this time.
We all gathered round for the safety briefing. I'm not sure whether Roy (the man in charge) forgot he was holding a megaphone or he just didn't want to wake up the adders (one of the reasons Saltmarsh is later in the year is to avoid disturbing the adders too much) but it was one of the quieter briefings I've attended - alternatively I'm getting a bit hard of hearing in my old age, which may be the real answer. Anyway once Roy had briefed us on the hazards of the course ('assume every stile is broken, assume every time you put your foot down you are going to twist your ankle') and told us about the truly incredible amount of support on the course (take a bow RAYNET and Essex Rover Rescue, plus the medics and checkpoint crews of course) we had a few minutes to get nervous before the Mayor said a few words, blew the horn and we were off!
This year we were straight into the running from the farm rather than being bussed to the sea wall as in 2013 and I was trying very hard not to get swept up in the general excitement and end up running too fast as I did the previous year. This didn't really work but I kept an eye on my heart rate and tried to keep it under 150 bpm as I thought I could run quite far at that rate, a marathon at least - which would only leave just over 12 miles that I would have to stagger to the finish. Sometimes I think I really should come up with better race strategies...
Anyway thanks to some very kind landowners the first stage still involved crossing a railway line twice but not the road - it also made it a mile shorter so getting to Fambridge was achieved fairly easily and I was still feeling good - however I had run slightly less distance than I do most lunchtimes so lets not get too cocky about that.
Apart from the huge climb to the top of Creeksea Cliff - a massive 15 metres above sea level - Stage 2 was reasonably uneventful too. However Stage 3 was next (obviously) and this was unlikely to be straightforward. This was the stage I started to have problems on last year. It's over 13 miles long on the most exposed part of the whole course. Last year I was worried (with good reason) that his was the stage on which I would pass the marathon distance mark and step out into the unknown. This year it was the fact that at some point it was likely to absolutely chuck it down. Anyway I was making good time so I hoped to get a significant part of the distance done before the rain started. The Dengie 100 Runners Club had once again added a water stop at around 6 miles in and I stopped briefly to drink some water - had I known how much I would be soon soaking up I might not have bothered...
A couple of miles later I spotted a familiar figure on the sea wall. Sharon is training for the Stort 30 and had run from Steeple to the sea wall along St Peter's Way, got bored waiting and run down the sea wall to find out what was keeping me. We ran together back to St Peter's Way where she turned off to go back to Steeple (supposedly on St Peter's Way, however she navigates as well as I do...). It was just before we parted that the rain started...
I saw a few people drop down off the sea wall and run at its base and also stop to put waterproofs on. I ran at the base of the seawall for a short section but as the wind was coming from the west it didn't really help. I also didn't yet feel the need for a waterproof so I carried on as I was to Checkpoint 3 where I had my obligatory navigational error and broke the one rule of Saltmarsh navigation and turned right. Fortunately I ended up at a child's swing rather than in the sea. I resisted the huge temptation to have a go (if it hadn't been raining I may not have been able to resist) and retraced my steps and found the checkpoint.
Stage 4 was fairly uneventful apart from the mud around Bradwell power station. I collected so much of it on the soles of my trainers that for about half a mile I found out what the world would look like if I was average height. Stage 5 was quite uneventful except I was starting to get cold so I decided to deploy the bin liner at the next checkpoint. For those that didn't follow or don't remember my MDS blogs I should say that not even I take a bin liner as a running waterproof, what I have is a very lightweight black smock which Sharon took one look at and said 'looks like a bin liner' and the name stuck.
I ran out of Checkpoint 5 wearing exactly the same as I went in with. I do have a memory like a...one of those things with holes in...my socks?...no, you use it in the kitchen..no, its gone. Anyway as the stage was only 3.1 miles I was fairly sure I would stop shivering once I was running and so I carried on regardless.
I arrived in Steeple after a little under 7 hours running, nearly an hour quicker than the year before! I was also frozen. Much tea, some beans on toast and some warm clothes later I had thawed out and set off to the pub for food, refreshment and a night in a tent. Simon and I sat and chatted over a salmon pasta bake and we retired to our tents. Day One had been quite successful and much better than last year, how would I fare on Day Two?
Great report! Looking forward to your report of Day 2! (Don't forget about that flipping cockerel that woke us all up at 5am!!! ;)
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