The Lake Balton Supermarathon is significantly different to anything I've done previously. It's held over four days and covers around 194.2km. The longest day is 52.9km and the shortest 43.6km - the race was measured in kilometres so I'm afraid the blog entries for this event will be in metric. It is run almost entirely on paved and tarmac surfaces. It also has check points at approximately every 5km and I would get to spend each night in a hotel and eat real food. All things considered this was going to be the height of luxury compared to the MDS!
With such regularly spaced checkpoints I would be carrying very little, a camera, the 'bin liner' OMM windproof that I took across the desert, a packet of Shot-Bloks and a few painkillers. these all fitted in a waist belt so no need for the hydration vest or a rucksack. As the surface was good and my load was minimal I was expecting to run somewhat faster than I would on a trail ultra. My target was to try and complete the event in under 20 hours, not a pace that would trouble the timekeepers but one that I felt should be sustainable for 4 days and which would keep me comfortably within the cut-off times.
As I wasn't going to have to carry my own kit I could take lots of it, and I did. Clean tops and socks for every day whilst pairs of shoes and shorts were taken in the style of Noah's ark, two of each. I did repack slightly so that I was carrying a complete set of running kit in my hand luggage just in case my bag rebelled and decided it would rather spend a week in the Bahamas rather than travel on my flight. My other main item of running kit was my 'Run For Your Life' running vest. 'Run For Your Life' (RFYL) is a Facebook based running group that I'm very happy to be part of, consisting as it does of very supportive runners of a wide range of abilities. I think I'm allowed to be part of it for my curiosity value as I do tend to be the one participating in the slightly more unusual events, of which this was one. One of the slightly more unusual rules for this race was that numbers were to be worn front and back. My plan was to use my RFYL vest (with my name emblazoned across the chest) as a number bib so that if I needed to wear the 'bin liner' for instance I could slip the vest off, put the 'bin liner' on and put the vest back on over the top of it. As my regular readers will know usually I'm happy if I've managed to not stab myself with a safety pin so this was a significant improvement on my normal level of planning. A foam roller, various food items and a large pack of medical supplies completed my run-related packing.
The process of getting to the Magistern, the first hotel and race headquarters, passed off quite smoothly and I was given a pair of numbers, a guide to the stages, a bus timetable and a sponge - I didn't really find a use for the sponge...
The hotel was clean and friendly but desperately in need of some TLC. However my room did have fantastic view of the sunset across the lake and was perfectly fine, the only shortcomings being in the bathroom. I'll skip quickly over the toilet. It was clean, functional and a fine example of its type. Unfortunately 'it's type' was the European variety that require you to examine your 'output' before you can flush it away... The bathroom did have a bath. This was a good thing as hot baths were going to figure in my recovery strategy. The bath didn't have any taps, the plug was too small and it appeared to have been painted inside with a sort of sand textured non-slip paint. In practise, although it looked like a bath, it was intended as a very deep shower tray. however I am an engineer and this looked like an engineering problem. A quick experiment revealed that, although the plug was a bit small, the shower attachment (fed from the wash basin taps) could put water into the bath faster than it drained out. I fitted the shower head into the holder over the bath and left it to fill while I got undressed. About 30 seconds after I left the bathroom a loud wooshing sound indicated that the water was possibly not exactly all going into the bath any more. The shower head holder had come loose and the shower head had spun round to face the ceiling creating a sort of internal rain storm over the entire bathroom including a not very well waterproofed looking light on the bathroom cabinet. I managed to retrieve the shower head and dry up the bathroom without either electrocuting myself or fusing the hotel lights and held the shower head to finish filling the bath. I found that if I sat perfectly still the non-slip paint would leave most of my skin intact and that some sort of bath should be possible.
Anyway, more about the bath later, onto the day of the race. I identified enough things at breakfast to suitably feed myself and went back to my room to get ready. The start was at the hotel so I felt going down at 10:30 would be more than early enough for an 11 'o' clock start. The sky was clear blue and the temperature around 10 degrees so I decided that shorts and t-shirt (with the RFYL vest of course) would be fine with the 'bin liner' in reserve if I did get cold. As it was sunny I also wore my cap so I didn't finish the day looking like a strawberry flavour lollipop. Many runners had chosen to wear rather more than me and, as most of them were Hungarian, I wondered what they knew that I didn't. One thing they definitely knew that I didn't was Hungarian and so they almost certainly understood rather more of the pre race announcements than I did. I have no idea why I was clapping at one point other than it seemed to be the thing to do.
After a slightly poorly attended warm-up we gathered on the path along the side of the lake and pretty much spot on eleven we were off. However due to the narrow nature of the path and the point I had started at I actually crossed the line slightly before 11:01 but I didn't think that was likely to make a huge difference over the next 121km, or even the 48.2km of Day One.
I had been told that although the race is around the lake, much of the lake shore is privately owned and so the course is somewhat 'inland' for much of the race. As a result I wasn't surprised when after less than 2km we turned a little away from the lake. The road was still almost completely traffic free and the one or two cars we did see treated us very courteously and caused no problems. Support was intermittent but generally quite enthusiastic, especially, I found, if you waved back - it helped having my name in big letters across my front too.
There were seven checkpoints on the course, two of which were relay changeover points. All the checkpoints were well stocked with all the food and drink in exactly the order given in the race guide. When I first read about the ordering of drinks and snacks in the race guide I thought it was a little over the top, however particularly as days went on it was quite handy to know exactly where to find my favourite foods and drink. Mainly I was powered by coke and some savoury snacks which I can only describe as straight pretzels.
The distances along the route are marked every 5km, the marathon point is also marked each day. I found the distances almost spot on to those recorded by my Garmin and passed the marathon marker in a few minutes under 4 hours. From there it was another 6km to the finish. I felt very good over the last 10km or so and overtook several runners that were struggling with the distance. I also had a bit of a sprint finish (well, I ran a bit quicker anyway) since - despite the extra 45 seconds at the start - I was on for a sub four and a half hour finish. The timing chips we carried meant that we could be given a print-out of our result and split times at the relay points instantly. The first leg, Siόfok to Fonyόd took 4 hours 29 minutes and 24 seconds. What was very pleasing also was that my pace had been fairly consistent across all three legs.
We had to get the bus back 48.2km to the Magistern Hotel for the night. I guess this was because the race is held completely out of season and many of the hotels around the lake are closed. I didn't mind though since I had been given a large polythene 'blanket' at the end of the race for which I had plans...
However since you probably need a break from reading my ramblings I will leave Day One with me on the coach heading back to the hotel and pick up the following events, and Day Two in the next blog entry...
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