Last weekend saw me complete my final ultra race before heading out to the Marathon des Sables. It was another back to back weekend covering 58.6 miles along a the grand union canal which was organised by Rory and Jen from Ultra race. The race went incredibly well especially as I had increased my pack weight (although not entirely sure how much it did weighed) and I was testing out some injinji socks which are kind of like gloves for your feet. The first day was an early start waking at 5.30 am to reach the start line on time followed by a quick drive to Colgrave. However the day passed quickly with a plentiful supply of 9bars and energy drinks. I finished the day strong partially helped by some of the very strong runners that I met along the way including a hugely inspiring cancer patient who runs marathons and longer almost every week! In the end I finished in 18th, and quickly made my way to book a massage and order a huge plate of food. Following this I had to have my ecg as it is required byt the marathon des sables organisers, it was certainly a different experience being wired up to a machine on a couch whilst in the middle of a hotel.
The second day started much better than expected as the weather improved from a rather damp previous day and a couple of us settled into a great rhythm. However I did feel the building of a nice blister on the arch of my foot, the 1st for the race which given the state of my feet in previous races was fantastic news. In the end I finished 18th overall which has bumped my ranking in the UK championship to 16th overall.
Pictures are to come...