So Day One didn't go as well as I would have liked but it was time to forget that and try and have a good Day Two. I felt OK in the morning, even better after a couple of Weetabix and so was prepared to get out there and go for it.
'Going for it' didn't mean setting off at stupid miles per hour and falling apart after a dozen miles or so a la Day One, it meant starting steadily and keeping a steady pace to the end. Day Two starts with a short road section back to the Ridgeway so I used this to establish my pace and settle into my running before it all got uppy and downy again.
The seven and a half miles to Checkpoint One passed fairly uneventfully, the golf course crossing was accomplished without any need to dodge errant golf balls and everything was generally going well. I had a few cocktail sausages and cups of squash, more sausages, and continued on.
My Day One blog was fairly introverted and concentrated quite a lot on what went wrong and as a result did miss a couple of important good things that happened every day, so this seems a good point to rectify that error and mention one of those good points. The Druid Challenge has three start times each day, each one an hour later than the previous one. The first start is for the walkers, the second for the average paced runners and the third for the faster runners. I always start in the middle group. This means I start to pass the walkers from about mile 7 onwards. The walkers are always a very cheerful supportive bunch and none more so than Su, one of my fellow 2014 MDSers. On Day One I caught up with Su at CP1 and she tried very hard to motivate me, which was appreciated and did work for a short while but by then I was already in trouble. Today I passed Su somewhere along the Thames and once again she urged me on and today I made a bit more of an effort and pushed on to Checkpoint Two.
After CP2 the route continues along the Thames path to Streatley where it crosses the Thames and starts to climb away from the river. I mentioned earlier that I generally caught up with the walkers at about seven miles in but about ten to twelve miles after that it's my turn to be caught by the fast runners. I mentioned how supportive the walkers were, well so are the top guys too. Nathan, last years winner and an absolutely awe inspiring runner, was unfailing every day with words of encouragement which I naturally returned. I'm OK at this ultra running stuff, I don't exactly trouble the record keepers but generally my times are reasonable. However when someone like Nathan comes storming past me I can only admire his speed and technique and wish him well as he rapidly disappears into the distance.
I got to the final checkpoint of the day, CP3, in fair time and was feeling quite good. I had a chat with the marshal who had encouraged me at CP3 on Day One, explained I was feeling much better today and he wished me luck as set off on the last leg...just as the heavens opened. Fortunately the last section of Day Two requires no navigation and so it was just a head down charge to the finish. It actually reminded me of the Saltmarsh 75 as it was a similar sort of wind driven rain and was even hitting me from the same side. About half a mile from the finish another of the fast runners caught me up and I was aware that some of my start group were not far behind either. As a result I picked up the pace and flew into the finish some 20 minutes faster than I had been the previous year. One of the runners 'chasing the poppy' as she put it was Sarah who finished no more than minute behind me. In case anyone is now thinking that Sarah was snorting heroin to help her along I should mention that as the final day of Druids was on Remembrance Sunday I had attached a large poppy to the back of my hydration vest for the event.
Day Two finishes on the Ridgeway so a minibus took us to the Wantage leisure centre where the lucky ones (me) got a warm shower and no-one slept on the crash mats, honestly Mr. Leisure Centre Manager, if you happen to read this. A good day was rounded off with a very pleasant chat with Colin and Elisabet of Racekit who had come over at the last minute to give an excellent lecture on the MDS, assisted by Stig, their huge and very affectionate Great Dane.
What a difference a day makes. 24 hours previously I was just hoping to survive Druids and not DNF. Now I was re-energised and planning a really storming finish. Was this going to happen or would I lapse into Day One territory? All will be revealed in the final instalment...
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