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| The 52m Route |
It’s the first of GB Ultra’s
series of the year and as such, the training took place over the hardest of the
winter months. It’s been pretty grueling training in rain, sleet, snow, ice,
darkness and everything else Winter has to offer but on the upside it did shake
off all the Christmas indulgence!
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| Start Line @ 6am |
Race morning was a very early
get up at 4am to get to Waverton Village Hall in Chester for the pre-race
briefing at 5:30 and a mass depart at 6am just as dawn was breaking.
The weather forecast all week
had been for light rain all day but we weren’t complaining that it hadn’t yet materialised
(although we were to find out that it had already done it’s damage over the preceding
few days!).
Leaving Waverton we set off
along quite lanes and a very well marked and signed course towards the River
Dee. The mood and atmosphere were great and the trails a bit soft underfoot but
good running! An hour or so running saw us arrive at the first pit stop just as
the heavens opened (but a good opportunity to don the rain jackets whilst under
the pit stop gazebo). We stocked up and continued along the River Dee into
Chester passing the racecourse to the second pit stop in city centre Chester
alongside the ancient walls. The rain had stopped so we were able to stow the
rain coats in the running packs for the remainder of the day. 
From Chester we
picked up the canal to head out towards Frodsham, crisscrossing the M56 before
heading into Dunham Hill Village and our 3rd Pit Stop (and
opportunity for a very welcome hot cup of coffee!). The pit stops on the GB
Ultra events are fantastic! So far, so good! The route had been muddy, I’d had
a fall, but nothing really holding us up and we’d covered at least 20 miles in
under 4 hours.
From Dunham though it all
changed! Here was where the climbing started (which was still ok) and the mud
became thicker and more troublesome (which was really not ok!)...
The views atop
of Helsby hill overlooking the Dee Estuary and the Wirral were fantastic! The mud
became progressively thicker, deeper and prolonged! At our slowest point we
trudged just 2 miles through plowed muddy cornfields in 50 minutes. It had
stopped being fun and was becoming a bit frustrating.
A brief respite as we dropped
off Dunham hill into Delamere Forest followed before the final 10 miles or so
in the worst of the mud, the pace and progress really slowing. A final, six
mile trudge along the canal in the dark to return to Waverton just about
finished us off! That was our quietest darkest moments. A couple of miles from
the finish and my wife Karen and our dog Ollie appeared unexpectedly out of the
darkness!?! Karen had been ‘live tracking’ our progress and had come to give us
a morale boosting cheer on… Priceless! J
A final couple of miles and we
hit a hardcore path and were finally able to run again. 
The frustration turned
to elation as we crossed the finish line at 7:25, 13 hours and 25 minutes after
we’d set off! We finished joint 159th out of 250.
The thick, clay-like or liquid
mud slowed people’s progress to a walk and there were several falls and quite a
few DNF’s. The last of the days runners finished in 18.5 hours which is an
indication of just how tough the conditions were.
GB Ultra’s organise superb
events, and other than the mud which was outside of their control this was no
exception! The team and volunteer marshals really couldn't be more helpful and
attentive! Absolute starts every one! Definitely worth doing and glad I have another Ultra under my belt (All thanks to Dave McD for spurring us on!) J
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