Dorset Invader - Half Marathon #4

Friday afternoon we travelled down to Dorset, a journey that my car is beginning to know too well. On Saturday Team Um Bongo would be taking on the Dorset Invader, given the earlyish start time for the race we thought it would be wise to stay a little closer in a cheap Travelodge. This would be our third White Star Running event we've attended this year and it was probably the most eagerly anticipated. After we'd run the Larmer Tree Half Marathon back in March we were straight onto the WSR website to see what other events of theirs we could attend. We'd seen the Dorset Invader event and thought that it looked like a great deal of fun. Described as an out and back race, 95% trail and hilly it appealed to us! Paul was instantly sold on the medal alone, given his training goals I had fully expected him to want to enter the marathon. Paul however thought the half marathon medal which was in the design of a Roman Legionary shield was cooler than that given for the marathon. We entered the half marathon and also convinced Chris with little persuasion to join us, after all we'd run together for the previous two WSR events.

Unfortunately Paul didn't make it to the start line. The weekend before, his back went and he had spent the week leading up to the race laid up resting at home. It had been touch and go whether he'd even be able to make the journey with us so running was going to be out go the question. By Friday he was just about able to sit in the car with the help of some strong painkillers. I was absolutely gutted for him as this race had appealed to him in every way. We had also convinced Gary (he ran with us at Endure 24) and his Brother-in-Law Matt to join us for the race.

Saturday morning we'd been blessed with some delightful weather, the sun was out and it was going to be a hot day. We arrived at East Farm in good time to register and go through the usual pre-race faff and port-a-loo queuing. We met up with Gary, Matt and his wife Amy who'd camped the night before. Matt had chosen to run the marathon. WSR are no strangers to fun and had encouraged people to wear Roman themed fancy dress, there were many Roman soldiers and togas in attendance and Chris who'd dressed as the Roman God Neptune. Paul and I had toyed with the idea of fancy dress but had decided against it as we thought it may have got uncomfortable especially if it had been a hot day. A special mention has to go to fellow Essex person, Justin Horrocks who had come dressed in full historical reenactment armour and was attempting to walk the half marathon route complete with helmet, shield, body armour and some very uncomfortable looking leather sandals!

Team Um Bongo and God

As 09:45 approached we made our way over to the start line for the race briefing. There was approximately a field of 250 runners in the half marathon, not too many which added to the friendly atmosphere of the event. The race was started by a guy dressed as a Roman solider on a horse, probably the first and only time I will be able say that! Chris, Gary and I decided to run together, our only intention was to have a good time and just enjoy the experience. One thing we've learnt from previous WSR events is that there is little point in trying to beat a PB set on a road course, the aid stations were to be stopped at, graze and chat and along the way there would be photo opportunities and the hills are for walking! Whilst not going for a time we settled on the idea that we'd like to better the time we's set for the Larmer Tree Half Marathon back in March.

The race starter

The race started in the main field and took you out onto a dusty farm track and more or less immediately into a steady climb. The legs didn't feel too bad, I had been a bit concerned prior to the race as I was still suffering with some leg soreness from the mid-week running club sprints and I was a little out of condition over distance. Since the marathon back in May I had been resting various injuries and had not run more than about 8 miles so the prospect of running 13 miles was a daunting one. The sun was beating down on us and after the first km I was already feeling quite hot, the one thing I had managed to forget was a sweat band so I just had to put up with the beads of sweat rolling down my face. Whilst I was hot I imagine it wasn't a patch on Chris who's fancy dress costume was complete with beard. Needless to say it wasn't long until the beard was lost!

The 2nd km took us through a farm storage area before we joined fields. The ground was pretty uneven, this was probably the roughest trail terrain I'd run on before. We were slightly caught out by a gate between fields, we'd each taken it in turn to climb the gate when we were passed by a lady who informed us we could have just run around it! From then on when we found a gate we checked if we could open it first! The course took us through a section of wheat fields, which was reminiscent of the scene in the Gladiator film! I chose a path through the wheat rather than run across the wheat stubble. The last section of the wheat field was downhill, we cashed in on this whilst we could as we'd no doubt be punished by more hills very soon.

It's a hill, get over it!

At around the 3 km mark mark we encountered part of the 5% considered as not trail, a road crossing! This section was well marshalled and the traffic was held up so we could safely cross the road. The other side we ran alongside some woodland which provided us with some very welcome shade the sun was becoming quite oppressive. Where there are trees there are roots so I spent much of the time with my eyes fixed on the ground ahead of me listening out for the call of "root". In places the foliage was a little over grown so after being slapped in the face a couple of times I decided I had to drop back a little from Chris so I had some warning to palm away any branches myself! My confidence when running through woodland has certainly grown since the Dark Ox races. I am much more aware of the dangers and do not find the underfoot challenges a reason to slow down, I'm able to manoeuvre obstacles much more efficiently side stepping tree roots and rabbit holes. We had a brief moments rest whilst we queued to cross a stile which took us through a field before entering the adjacent woods.

Just past the 5km mark we reached the aid station. Now WSR know how to do aid stations, they're by far the best I have encountered at any event! At this point in the race I was doing OK so didn't really want for much. Massive props though for providing some veggie friendly sweets, whether this was planned or purely luck it was greatly appreciated by this herbivore! I usually miss out on jelly sweets as the vast majority of the time they contain gelatine or other nasties so it was a breath of fresh air when I checked the box of the Haribo jelly beans and discovered a lovely green 'V' marking them as suitable for vegetarians. I grabbed a few and a cup of water and we were on our way again.


We had been keeping the pace fairly consistent, trying to run steady when the conditions allowed and conserving our energy on the hilly sections by walking. The only problem with the walking is that the boys take a far longer stride than I do. I was struggling to keep up even power walking which was doing my already tight calves no favours so found it easier to do bursts of running followed by a quick walk to ensure I didn't drop too far behind, not ideal but it meant I didn't hold the group up.

We'd briefly studied the course profile prior to the race an knew that there was a challenging section about mid distance where we'd be hill climbing for approximately 3 km. We came across a welcome sign "Lovestation Ahead", for those unfamiliar with WSR events a Lovestation is like their fantastic aid stations but even more awesome! We were met by a friendly bunch of volunteers dressed in togas who'd laid out a real feast of goodies. I was a bit overwhelmed by the choice as there was so much to choose from. After a cup of water I spied the cider, the drink of all good athletes and partook in a little drinky (it'd would have been rude not to). I washed that down with a flat coke and then spotted Gary eating watermelon. Oh my never did I think watermelon could be so refreshing, it was the perfect accompaniment to a hot half marathon. We posed for a quick photo, grabbed another handful of jelly beans and were off on our way again.

Lovely selection of goodies on offer at the Lovestation

Enjoying cider and watermelons at the Lovestation

Once the course flattened out we encountered our next challenge. We were running between two fields and the foliage on either side of the path was coming up to my shoulders. This is where I could have done with my own Roman solider to clear the path with his sword. Unfortunately the best I had was a Roman god aka Chris who didn't seem to have any special path clearing powers, disappointing. We did our best to continue with the running but found it too difficult, we were barely able to see the path underfoot and the grass and brambles were doing their best to slow our progress so we walked again. I was grateful to be wearing compression sleeves on my calves, this offered some protection to my legs but my arms on the other hand were getting scratched as we fought our way through the undergrowth!

Battling our way through the foliage

As soon as we were out we hit a single file track. We got stuck behind a few slower runners but stayed behind as there was not really a point we could pass. Once the course widened out we passed a handful of runners and Chris gave me the option of leading the group for a bit. I opened up to what felt comfortable and stretched my legs out a little, the course was feeling nice and flat but it wasn't long though before Chris recognised that I had taken us off too fast. I had been running at an average pace of 5:30 km whereas we needed to be closer to 6:00 km. I think it was the frustration of having been slowed down by the earlier foliage and slower runners.

Brian May or Roman God???

At 18 km we reached the final aid station on the half marathon course. We briefly stopped to fill up water bottles followed by a quick customary Team Um Bongo high fives before pushing on to get the race finished. This section of the course took us back along part of the route we'd started on so we had a rough idea of what stood between us and the finish. We were soon walking up the hill in the wheat field which I had very much enjoyed running down. By this point my calves were feeling pretty tight and unforgiving. I did my best to keep up with Gary and Chris but found myself walking and dropping further back. At this point I had kind of wished that they'd carried on and left me behind but true to the spirit of Team Um Bongo they stopped and waited for me. Apparently they'd only just realised that my shorter stride meant I had to run to keep up with their walk!

Trying to catch up with the boys!

At 19 km we were back on familiar farm track, whilst slightly uphill we were able to push on as we knew the finish was not far away. We entered a field and could see the finish line and crowds of people at the bottom of the hill. A very steep descent followed, it was a job to manage the speed for fear of falling down the hill head over heels. Longer strides worked better than shorter ones but I still struggled to keep up with the boys who were bounding down the hill. Once at the bottom it was through a gate back into the main field for the finish straight. Chris kicked on for a sprint finish but noticed whilst I was doing my best to keep up I wasn't going to be challenging him to the line so slowed down and the three of us crossed the line together. We crossed the line at similar times with my gun time registering at 2:19:51 which was under the target of 2:20 we'd hoped to beat and much quicker than our Larmer Tree time of 2:27:56.

Badger man aka Kevin waving the runners in

Sweaty Team Um Bongo embrace

We were presented with our awesome medals and made our way over to the goodie bags where we were also given a homemade Dorset apple muffin (which was delicious). The goodie bags were pretty decent, they contained a bag of crisps, some biscuits, a bespoke Dorset Invader neck tube and a jar of strawberry Dorset Invader jam. Other races ought to take note, this was actually a goodie bag worth having rather than the bag of usual random crap and leaflets you get at most events.

Fantastic goodie bag and not a leaflet in sight!

We caught up with Paul and Amy who had spent the time investigating the farm shop and sampling some homemade cake. Paul had also decided to mix some of the local ales with his painkillers, I was a little concerned but he seemed happy enough! I had already changed out of my race kit when we stumbled across the Roman baths. A pool had been constructed out of hay bales and lined with tarpaulin, in hindsight I wished that I had gone in for a dip. I imagine the water was cold and would have helped my sore legs on their way to recovery. Instead we headed back to the farm shop to pick up some fudge and some gifts for our cat sitters before making the journey back home to a much flatter Essex.

Posing with the most epic medal ever!

In conclusion I had a great time. WSR had done it again! This race was an inaugural event for them and they got everything right, I can say without a doubt we'll be back next year (Paul wants his own medal). The WSR experience is a unique one, every event we have attended has left us wearing a smile. The races are small enough to still feel personal and we have already started to recognise people from other events. The organising team and volunteers are all fabulous, the event organisation is spot on and they've thought of every last detail which makes their races stand out. Each course we have run has provided us with the opportunity to run through some amazing countryside, sure it is challenging, there will be hills, sometimes mud but it's all part of the experience. We don't enter these events to run a good time but to have a good time!

Well said!

Thank you to everyone at WSR, you've been the highlight of our 2015 race calendar and we'll be sure to be back in 2016. We may even have to buy a season pass and relocate to Dorset!

     

Endure 24

I have never been one to conform to convention so when Chris approached Paul and I gauging our interest in entering a 24 hour team race I was immediately interested. The race in question was Endure 24. As the name suggests it is a 24 hour race which takes place in Wasing Park, Reading over the weekend of 12-14 June. You can enter as a solo runner (if you're nuts), pairs or teams of 3-5 and 6-8 (mixed or male/female). The course is a 8km loop of a woodland trail, the idea being you run as many laps of the course as you can over 24 hours.

After many months of waiting, hundreds of Facebook group messages and spreadsheet filling, the weekend of Endure had arrived. Paul and I had taken the Friday off of work so that we were not under pressure to rush our packing, which was just as well as we'd both had busy weeks at work and were not quite as organised as either of us would have liked to have been. We had formulated a kit list of things that we thought we may need for the weekend so this left little doubt in our packing. Chris, Paul and I were going to get to the camp site early to secure a decent pitch for the team. We set off and met up with Chris on our way before convoying onto Reading. For a Friday the traffic was pretty kind to us only slowing down at the usual spots on the M4. We arrived at the camp site around lunchtime and parked up to claim our pitch.

We headed over to race HQ to register the team with a mandatory stop at the portaloos which had just been opened. This was going to be the last time I could describe the portaloos as pleasant, it was full on horror from that point on (may be this is why the event has been likened to the Glastonbury of running)! We picked up bib numbers, timing chips and event t-shirts for the team. The t-shirt didn't blow me away, it was a nice colour but the design seemed a little plain and didn't even have the event date on it. The events main sponsor was Mizuno so I was a little disappointed that it was not a Mizuno t-shirt. I was however quite impressed that they had women's t-shirts, this may actually be an event t-shirt I end up wearing. Being a petite person (polite word for midget) I find that small men's t-shirts are still too baggy and end up just sitting in my draw with hundred of other overly big race t-shirts / nightshirts.

Team Um Bongo L to R: Chris, Me, Paul, Fergie, Joel, Gary, Sean, Emily M

We headed back to the camp site to pitch our tents. I had been studying the weather forecast daily, it had been changing frequently, we could be expecting heavy downpours, thunderstorms and temperatures of up to 25 degrees celsius! With potential rain and thunderstorms in mind we decided to pitch our tents a distance away from the tree line bordering the field! We had decided to buy a new tent before the event, whilst we already had a 2 man tent it didn't allow much room for all the kit we were taking and it would be nice to be able to stand up whilst changing (which we'd be doing a lot of over the course of the weekend). Paul found a pretty awesome tipi tent which allowed ample space for sleeping and kit storage not to mention some head space. I wasn't going to mention it but there may have been a little incident involving tent pegs and poles being thrown around and diva-ish outbursts which occurred as a result of someone (Paul) being hungry and not wanting to wait and listen before setting the tent up. We made sure Paul was well fed for the rest of the weekend! Once pitched we got out the camping chairs before being greeted by the first rain shower of the weekend. Unfortunately all we had for shelter was a couple of golf umbrellas so we huddled under and did our best to stay dry. We sent out an S.O.S message to the rest of Team Um Bongo pleading with someone to buy a cheap gazebo for the weekend as it didn't look like this was going to be an isolated instance.

When the rain stopped we headed back over to the race village to have a look around. Mizuno the main event sponsor had a tent selling their wares which offered a slim choice of merchandise. They missed an opportunity not having some Endure 24 branded goods, I am pretty sure people would have bought hoodies etc. Sports massage was being provided by North Hampshire Sports Massage event team, they were in for a long shift with a 30 hours non stop service for the runners! I stopped by their tent and introduced myself as a likely customer and jokingly asked if I could make a down payment for the weekend! I had been suffering quite badly in the week leading up to the race with a bad plantar fasciitis flare up and my calves were both solid. I spoke to Steve who runs NHSM and we chatted about running and injuries, I mentioned that I would be starting a sports massage diploma in September. It's a small world as he knows the tutor on my course! He has kindly offered me the fantastic opportunity to join the event team at Endure 24 2016 to get some practice hours under my belt.

Back at the camp other members of Team Um Bongo started arriving. Joel and Fergie were officially my heroes as they'd come armed with a gazebo. Chris hung our national flag (Congo of course) with pride from the gazebo frame and Camp Um Bongo was ready for the weekend. We waited for the next members to arrive, Sean and Emily M. In the hours that passed we prepared like all good athletes would, ate most of our supplies and drank cider (had to drink up whilst it was still nicely chilled)! We had a thoroughly pleasant evening despite the on/off rain, discussing race tactics and generally taking the piss out of each other. This was to be a constant throughout the weekend, despite all being a mutual friend of Chris, some of us had only met once or twice before yet I felt like I had known everyone for years. At around 11 we turned in for the night in the hope of getting some sleep before the big day.

Preparation for a 24 hour race begins with cider

Saturday - pre race

We woke up around dawn, turns out tents don't have blackout curtains! I'd not had the best nights sleep, it had rained more or less throughout the night and as such a nice puddle had formed in the entrance to our tent. We emerged to a grey and dreary morning and prepared some breakfast. We'd picked up some porridge pots and bananas which were probably the most nutritious things we'd eat all weekend. Gary, the final member of Team Um Bongo arrived and joined us for breakfast. Chris had abandoned the camp for parkrun that morning, I did question his sanity as it meant an early start and running an unnecessary 3 miles on top of what we'd be running over the course of the next 24 hours. All was forgiven when he returned with another gazebo so we could build an extension to Camp Um Bongo and a box of Krispy Creme doughnuts. We continued our elite preparation with a doughnut and a coffee.

Paul and I pre-race

At 11:45 am we headed to race HQ for the briefing. Chris as team captain would be running our first lap. We'd previously drawn up a running roster taking an educated guess at how long we'd be a lap and adding 2 minutes onto our times per lap. It wasn't an exact science but would at least give us an idea of when we'd each be up. We wished our team captain good luck as he disappeared off into the crowds at the starting line. There was a real buzz in the air as the 400 runners set off for their first lap. We'd toyed with various race strategies but decided on running 1 lap before handing over to the next runner on the roster.

The National Anthem of the Congo was observed before the running shenanigans begin!

Lap #1 - Saturday 2:58 pm 

I was 5th up on the running order following Emily M. Reports back from the team was that the course was drying up under foot so I thought I would risk my slightly comfier road shoes. With the various injuries I was carrying, I knew that the right choice in footwear could end up being the difference in managing my aches and pains and squeezing out an extra lap. I waited nervously in the transition pen for Emily M, being my first hand over I wasn't too sure what to expect. I spotted Emily M running into the home straight and waved my arms so that she could spot me, she handed over the baton which was one of those luminous charity wrist bands. My first steps as expected bought pain, I decided to try my best to ignore it and try and quickly find a good rhythm.

I was so focussed on handover that I had forgotten to start my Garmin. It took forever to find a signal and I was eventually connected after the first km. The course started on grass and then transitioned briefly onto tarmac for the first km. At half a km into the course was the first climb, it wasn't too menacing but did present a long steady drag. I rarely walk so early in a race but not knowing what the next 7 km had in store I decided it would be sensible to conserve my effort at this point and wait for the ground to flatten out.

At 2km we entered the woods. The ground here was mud and the overnight rain had left it a little spongy in places. I could instantly tell that there was an unpleasant camber to the ground which gave my Plantar Fasciitis cause to complain. From previous experience of running woodland trails I knew there would be a likelihood of exposed tree roots so kept my gaze at my feet. The course could be described as a technical trail so concentration was required at all times to ensure you stayed upright. I prefer this kind of running as I feel connected with my surroundings. Approaching the 3km mark was a downhill section made up of mud and loose surface gravel. Usually I would welcome a bit of downhill speed but the runners knee made it quite clear we'd not enjoy this bit!

Downhill loose gravelly bit

At around 5km there was a beautiful, still and tranquil lake, I took my eyes off of my feet long enough to gaze across at the woodland the other side. Then positioned just off of the trail was an aid station (called Ali's Bar) offering some water and a few goodies for the solo runners. I'd decided not to carry a water bottle on the course as it was added baggage and I'd decided it wasn't hot enough conditions to warrant one. I welcomed the brief stop and gulped down a cup of water. More or less immediately after was a VW camper van playing some music and offering bottles of Luzozade to the runners, already hydrated I decided not to stop. Then there was the hill, it wasn't a little hill by any means, I tried running but my legs slowly stopped so walking was the only way up. The hill over the weekend became affectionately known as the 'Bastard' by Team Um Bongo.

Ali's Bar a welcome sight at 5k

The final 3km of the course were by far my favourite, not because it was nearer the finish but because the trail was particularly interesting. The trail cut through the woods and weaved in and out of the trees, there were some tricky downhills and ditches to jump. For the final half a km we emerged from the woods back into the main event field. This provided a real boost, you could hear and see the finish line and the course was lined with the tents of the solo runners and supporters cheering on the runners.

One of my favourite sections of the course

I ran down the home straight to the finish line and looked for Paul. He wasn't difficult to spot, a 6 ft guy wearing an Um Bongo vest is pretty easy to spot. I handed over the baton, gave him a sweaty kiss and wished him good luck for his lap.

Lap #1 time - 00:47:40

Once Paul had finished his lap he passed the baton onto Fergie. We met back at camp and got changed out of our race kit. I wasn't feeling too bad after my first lap, as expected my foot hurt and I could feel a little tightness in my calves so I decided to put on my compression socks. I felt completely comfortable walking out in public wearing shorts and my compression socks pulled up to my knees, it's what runners do, right?

Man down! 

Joel appeared at the camp looking a little panicked, to begin with I thought that he'd forgotten to take something to the start line with him for his lap, he was next on after Fergie. Instead he said that Team Um Bongo had a call out over the PA system and something had happened to Fergie. All we knew was that he's taken all fall and was being bought back by the medical team. Paul and I volunteered to go down to the medical tent. There we met Sean and Gary and waited for Fergie. It felt like we were waiting for a long while which was probably made worse not knowing the extent of his injuries. Eventually, an all terrain vehicle appeared with a muddy and bashed up Fergie sat in the back clutching to gas and air. He seemed in good spirits despite being covered in mud with some nasty cuts to his hands and legs and being in some visible discomfort with his shoulder. The medical team looked over him whilst we decided what we should do next. It was quite clear at this stage that he would be taking no further part in the weekend.    

Fergie had fallen shortly after 2 km on a downhill section where the surface was mud and gravel, it was also fairly undulating. he'd landed on his shoulder as he went over. 

The medics were fairly sure that he'd dislocated his shoulder and despite having put it back in the joint they suggested it would be wise to take him to A&E for an X-ray. After some discussion it was decided that I had probably the most practical car for taking Fergie to A&E. We waited for Joel to return from his lap to update him before sending Chris out on lap 2. Whilst Fergie seemed quite capable of getting in and out of the car I wasn't entirely confident on going to A&E alone so asked if Joel would join us. Joel and Fergie are work colleagues and friends and I thought that Fergie may be more comfortable having someone familiar around. We took a steady drive to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, I was conscious of every corner and every bump in the road to ensure the patient was as comfortable as possible, the suspension in my car can be pretty unforgiving. Fergie's wife Rosie had been told the news and was making her way to the hospital from St Neots so Joel and I waited with Fergie until she arrived. 

Trooper - the gas and air meant Fergie was still smiling from his hospital bed! 

We handed over the patent and headed back to the camp to get ready for our 2nd laps and left Fergie waiting at A&E for further assessment. We later got the news that he had broken the humeral head! I have to hand it to Fergie that was some way to go out!

Lap #2 - Saturday 9:32 pm

We had arrived back at the camp shortly before 8:30 pm, the reworked schedule had me down to start my 2nd lap at approximately 8:55 pm. Paul and I decided to rotate our laps to give me enough time to get changed and have something to eat and drink, it had been a pretty hectic few hours. This also gave Chris the opportunity to test out the glow in the dark face paints on me! If I had a mirror I would have probably insisted on applying said face paints myself, however it was dark and I was going to have to trust Chris not to make me look like a complete fool! Unfortunately my imagination wasn't able to come up with anything so I let Chris and his artistic license loose on my face. I could tell this was probably a mistake as he was giggling at what he'd created whist painting my face. I can say painting your nose is a stupid idea as you can always see it glowing out the corner of your eye which can be quite distracting!

Less than convincing smile and thumbs up for Chris' face painting efforts!

I headed to the transition pen to wait for my lap, my glowing face got a few smiles along the way. I suspect people were being polite and then burst into laughter after I had passed. I took the baton from Paul and this time he gave me the sweaty kiss! I had opted for trail shoes on this lap, whilst they were not as comfortable as my road shoes, the course was still a little sticky and had the footfall of several thousand runners in the time between laps so I wanted to be safe. Plus when Fergie had gone down he'd been wearing road shoes so I didn't want to take anything to chance, especially as it was now night and I knew extra care would be needed out on the course. 

Once out of the well lit field I switched on my head torch. I've done half a dozen or so runs with my head torch (Petzl Tikka RXP) but this was it's first real test. I really like the idea of adaptive lighting and it worked perfectly adjusting to the lower light levels in the sheltered wooded areas. This lap required probably the most concentration if I was to stay upright. I spent a lot of the time looking down at the path in front of me to avoid any potential trip hazards. I could tell that the course was beginning to change under foot, some mud was starting to feel springy and a few holes and divots had started to appear. Whilst not too tired to have hallucinations from lack of sleep I did on two occasions see a broken tree root and at first glance thought it was a lizard and a dead rat! 

The 5 km aid stations were lit up like SOS beacons in the distance. I again grabbed some water and continued. The earlier VW camper van had turned into the VDub Bar and was offering free isotonic shots, this threw me a little bit and being the suspicious sort I decided to pass on by. I think the nighttime confuses me a little bit! When we got to the trail that cuts through the woods the trees had been lit up with fairy lights, it made it feel really magical. Then I got totally freaked out by a fairy and an angel. It was only gone 10 pm so I couldn't be having sleep deprived hallucinations already, it was just two volunteers dressed up giving the runners a little encouragement!

The VDub Bar offering isotonic shots at night

Once back at the finish line I handed the baton over to Joel. I had finished just over 6 minutes slower than my first lap. I was hoping that this was the night slowing me down and not fatigue and injuries.

Lap #2 time - 00:53:55 

I met with Paul straight after my lap and we headed to the catering tent for something to eat as we'd not had a chance to cook dinner earlier. I'd eaten an energy bar and banana before I ran so really wasn't feeling that hungry but couldn't deny Paul the chance of something decent to eat (he gets a bit weird if he doesn't eat properly and I don't mean the earlier 'hangry' outburst). We grabbed a veggie burger each which seemed to be one junk food meal too far that weekend and resulted in heartburn. I suppose 'proper' runners don't sustain themselves on Pot Noodles, burgers and flat Coke!  

I'd had the idea of a shower and massage before bed. However by the time we got back to the tents most people had turned in for the night and the thought of trekking all the way back to the shower blocks was too much so I decided to try and get some sleep instead. In hindsight I should have gone with my original plan as I suspect this would have resulted in some sleep rather than none. I made the mistake of getting into my sleeping bag whilst still a little sweaty, I spent the next few hours tossing and turning whilst feeling cold and sick. I think I should have allowed my body more time to settle before jumping into bed. Paul on the other hand decided to sit up and drink coffee before his next lap in the early hours of the morning. 

Lap #3 - Sunday 3:17 am

I felt a little happier on this lap knowing what to expect although tiredness was starting to take effect. I continued with the tactic to walk the hills and conserve energy for when it was most needed. This lap felt much more subdued as the rest of the campsite was sleeping at this time and those runners out on the course probably wanted to be sleeping too. I spotted a chap wearing a Vegan Runners vest so decided to walk with him for a little while and chat. He was running as a pair and aiming to do 10 laps. I had seen him out on the course earlier in the day so thought that he may have been running as a solo or pair and therefore appreciate the company. We spoke for a short while, he had not been enjoying the 24 hour running experience quite as much as me. I could have quite happily walked and chatted for a lot longer but was conscious I had to keep moving to stay within our race schedule. So I said good bye and good luck for the rest of his race and was on my way again.

At the 5 km aid station curiosity got the better of me and I decided to stop and the VDub Bar to try an isotonic shot, turns out it was nothing more than Lucozade in a neon shot glass. They'd not lied in their description and I don't wish to sound ungrateful but I couldn't help but feel a little cheated and it really didn't sit too well with the heartburn! By this time the fairy and angel had disappeared from the woods, they'd presumably gone home or the hallucinations had stopped! I don't remember a great deal from this lap, it was quite a surreal experience running at this time of night, it was described pretty accurate by another member of Team Um Bongo as feeling as though you were floating on a cloud. Everything seemed to stand still, even me judging by my lap time, 10 minutes slower than my first! By the end of my lap I started to hear the chorus of bird song and the inky black darkness of the sky started to lift as dawn was approaching. I passed the baton onto Joel for his lap.

The finish line straight

Lap #3 time - 00:57:13 

I decided to have another go at sleeping when I got back to the camp and managed all of about 2 hours, it was better than nothing! I got up not much after 6 am and got the kettle on for coffee and porridge whilst we prepared for the final laps. We had a rough idea of our current finish time if all continued to go to plan and realised that we'd need to do an extra two laps to bring us in around the 24 hour mark. Both Paul and Chris put themselves forward for the extra lap taking them to 5 each (25 miles). As Paul would be running a double lap we switched back to our original running order.

Lap #4 - Sunday 8:31 am

I took the baton from Emily M for what would be my final lap. I went out with mixed emotions, part of me was relived to be doing my final 5 miles, my body had just about held up for the course of the weekend and I was feeling tired by this point. I think this last lap was me reaching my limit, I'd already had to dig pretty deep to have made it this far. I was excited to be having a shower at the end, I'd already packed a bag and left it with Paul to hand to me at the finish. A series of bad timing had meant that I'd not bothered with a shower all weekend and I was feeling quite grim at this point. But then I was feeling a little disappointed that this awesome weekend was coming to an end.

I went out feeling the usual pains but managed to persevere. I had taken a bit of a gamble and opted for my new and previously untested Solomon Speedcross to see how they handled the terrain. The course was like a battlefield of the wounded, you could tell that there were some very tired legs out there at this stage especially amongst the solo runners. I managed to pick the pace up and improve on my previous lap time, I was possibly running on a bit of a high at this stage, you could feel the excitement building the closer midday got. Whilst out on my lap I spotted Peter White an 85 year old solo runner, I had heard many people speak of him throughout the weekend but had not yet managed to catch him myself. He is certainly an inspiration to all and if I can be half as awesome as him when I reach my 80's I'll be pleased.

When I reached the field back into the runners village I knew that a matter of minutes stood between me and the end of my Endure 24 journey. I literally piled every last ounce of effort into my 'sprint' for the finish line where I handed over to Paul in the transition area. Paul would be going out and running a double lap before handing over to Chris who would be bringing it home for Team Um Bongo.

Fantastic race bling!

I exchanged my timing chip for a rather impressive medal. I think it may be the heaviest/biggest bit of bling my collection! With my medal proudly worn around my neck I headed off to the shower to get clean and changed to be back in time to catch Paul finishing.

Lap #4 time - 00:54:01 

I tried to convince bananas would be a good food to fuel his double lap but did didn't quite agree!

Paul was under strict instructions to slow down the pace to around 50 minutes for each lap, this would mean he'd be handing over to Chris with enough time for one final lap. For Paul this was an impossible task, he'd run at his previous laps in 35/37/39 minutes respectively. He surprised us all and managed to slow himself by taking selfies and photos of the course on his way round which he shared with our group chat! After my shower I positioned myself on the finish straight in order to catch Paul finishing. He challenged the guy next to him to a sprint finish to the line!

Paul's face here on the sprint finish sums up what a blast we'd had 

Team Um Bongo assembled to meet Chris for the finish. We'd all dressed in our finishers t-shirts complete with medal and waited near the finish for Chris. We were able to enter the course and run with Chris for the final few yards of the race. One runner kindly let us out in front of him so we could run home together. Crossing the line as a team was a pretty awesome feeling, Team Um Bongo HAD conquered Reading even though it claimed a victim along the way. Fergie may have not been with us but he was there in spirit, we'd been able to collect him medal to pass onto him.

Team Um Bongo - completed 29 laps / 145 miles

Team Um Bongo (minus Fergie)

Things that we learnt:

• Running for 24 hours is actually a lot of fun, I'd recommend trying it
• Socks, you can't have enough pairs of lovely, dry socks
• Quality calories, junk food is ok but it gives you heartburn after too much
• Eating all the foods beginning with 'P' is a bad idea: pizza, pasta, porridge, pot noodle
• Paul turns into a right diva when he's hungry (pack emergency Snickers)!
• Solar chargers are rubbish unless you live in the Bahamas 
• Trail shoes are pretty good for running on the trail, buy more pairs for next year
• Toilet paper, you can't have enough of it
• Gazebos no matter how cheap are awesome when camping in British weather 
• Sleep is overrated 
• Coffee is a runners best friend 
• Porridge pots are a great invention 
• Supermarkets will deliver to the campsite, get an Ocado order in next year!

One of our most enjoyable race experiences to date

Conclusion:

What a cracking event, Endure 24 has left a lasting impression on me. Even 2 weeks on I am still smiling when I think about it! Team Um Bongo were awesome, we were a group of friends bought together through our mutual friendship with Chris. A couple of the team I may have only met once or twice before yet we all got on like we'd known one another for years. Endure 24 offers a unique running experience like no other and Team Um Bongo will most definitely be back for 2016!