Have you ever sat in front of the TV during the Olympics and thought ‘I would love to be on that track’. You might not stand a chance, but you’d be toeing the line against the likes of Mo Farah or Usain Bolt.
That’s exactly what I felt like when I heard that the National 100K Champs in 2014 was effectively an ‘open competition’. The best 100/50K runners in the UK were there to showcase their talents and running enthusiasts were able to take the best seats in the house, shoulder to shoulder.
Ultra running isn’t for everyone and a road 100K even less so. So when it’s a road ultra that’s 48 laps of a 2.1km course you know there’s only two types of people who sign up – those that are there to bury themselves in pain at the prospect of getting what could be a PB and those that want to see if they have what it takes to make the 100K mark – without the risk of breaking down 49K away from the start.
This race brought together national-class runners from Wales, Scotland and England in the Anglo-Celtic plate. I was excited to say the least to see how these guys and girls attack this kind of race. For me, this was my first 100K; I’ve run further but never that specific distance. Usually ultra running is a pretty sedentary affair that consists of building miles with your own company for the most part. Laps changed the whole dynamic: obviously the front-runners were going to be ‘long gone’ from the start but I’d be able to witness how they were running throughout the day. And yes, it’s a worrying prospect that Steve Way’s demeanour didn’t change in the slightest.
You may have heard by now that Steve set a new UK National 100K record of 6:19, an absolutely staggering result. It took almost exactly five laps before Steve lapped me…I didn’t bother counting until the next time he came round. I won’t tell you Steve’s story too much – if you want to read about it first hand, read his review at http://www.steveway.co.uk/?p=1243
The second half of the race was tough for me. I know now that it was hot from what can only be second-degree burns on my forehead but at the time it didn’t always feel warm. The tarmac was hard – seems like a silly thing to say but I’m used to running trails and well, I definitely remember thinking ‘this tarmac is hard’ at several points. It was a bit of a slog to make the finish line and there was definitely several moments when I was crossing the Start/Finish 2.1K loop that I thought to myself that I should stop. Never the less, somehow I persevered and when it was over I was more than glad I did.
The race was brilliantly organised. The venue had great facilities, registration was effortless, the fuelling areas were clearly labelled and Ian from TZ Runs who was hosting the event was on hand with a microphone to point people in the right direction at the right time. It sounds strange when I hear myself say this but I’m definitely doing this again next year. I was there when that record was set…even though Steve had gone home and the champagne bottles were all empty by the time I crossed the finish but I WAS THERE. I loved it. I didn’t get lost once. I had one focus all day, and that was to move as quickly as possible for as long as possible. That’s exactly what I did and, to be honest, if anyone asks me if I heard about someone setting a new 100K record, I just say ‘yeah, 8:41 is my new PB’.
