Hi there,
A little Intro :
I'm a 43 yr old family man & a keen runner and Tabber though I'm still a novice at it ( TAB it's a military term - Tactical Advance to Battle ). I've never served but I take part in Military Fitness Events - it's moving at speed with varied weights in a Bergen with Boots over distances and varied terrain.
Where do I begin with this Blog I ask myself today, I suppose from the Friday the day before RAW Ultra?! River Ayr Way Ultra ( RAW ) as it's known, your feet are after it I suppose. Well my feet were if I'm being honest, no doubt a couple of toe nails will be replaced a big one especially - anyways let a Podiatrist worry about that.
17th of September trying to sleep in the spare bed as I didn't want to wake my wife at 2:00 am ( fat chance of sleep 3hrs tops ) I had a 3hr 30 drive in front of me leaving from Durham up to Dam Park Ayrshire - I won't bore you with the journey lets just say I drive like I run. I picked up my race number and registered with Anneke a lovely woman who runs the event - I also chatted with a few other runners..
I wasn't sure if they could sense that I was as nervous as a bag of Cats! I'd never run an Ultra before - a couple of Marathons but never an Ultra - said I'd never do one thought they're nutters ( laughing ). Here I was a virgin so to speak I soon found out I wasn't alone on that front. A young man I was talking to just wanted to challenge himself - so he signed up for it.
Me I was doing it for a Registerd Charity I feel strongly about Veterans Lifeline - they help those of our Armed Forces serving and ex serving cope with PTSD & other mental health issues arising from what they've witnessed during conflicts.
The link below if you wish to know more about what they do -
We made our way over to the bus I'd made sure I had everything I needed for the task at hand - Camebak ✔️ - light running jacket ✔️ - Snickers ✔️ - Ibuprofen & Paracetamol ✔️. Arrived at Start point had to go for the obligatory pre run wee it's standard. Mingled talking to other runners - getting our photos taken by the Event Photographer. I was kicking my heels and just wanted to go, I had been warned by 2 members of the Veterans Lifeline March Team not to go off fast...
I could hear my friend big Dave's words in my head ( 5mph Billy ) nothing quicker. Well when you've pushed yourself to go as fast as you can in training it's hard to ease off ( 11-12 min miles not done that since I first started running 5 yrs back ). Line up called and a thank you to all competitors for taking part in the 10th Anniversary of RAW Ultra..Seeing runners fly off from the start was hard but I resisted the temptation well. The link for for RAW is below I'd recommend it to any first time Ultra Runner or seasoned -
My Garmin was beeping more than I'd wanted, that would teach me to arse about with settings when half a sleep the night before. I sorted the issue with some beeping of my own and settings pressed and re start. I carried on running and got talking to a young man called Ben about the 3 mile mark - little did I know then that we'd finish together across the line. Both of us being first time Ultra runners we hit it off straight away - a bromance was born ha ha ha. See running with Ben it was an honour & a privilege - I got to meet his amazing support team ( family ).
I won't mention the getting lost for a bit down a marsh track trough some woodland 🙊 Apart from that little detour which we both agreed would help build the miles up - it was a laugh. The Marshalls and support at the CP's are simply amazing - they do help no end an Endurance Event can't operate without them. We carried on getting high 5's from Bens two children and his wife - a humour that was needed when she told Ben to take more MTFUP pills. I was crying with laughter I like you wife I laughed.
Ben ran a 28 miler in prep for this - I Tabbed Fort William Marathon with 45lbs Bergen & Boots for prep with a good friend. I struggled physically that day but in East Ayrshires stunning countryside I was having fun. Ben was struggling with his hammies from about the 20 mile mark I think - his mental strength to see it out to the end is a testament to him as a man. He struggled in bits but refused to give up - you can't not respect that attitude. We talked about Mental Health and how important it is in life - that's why I was doing the Ultra after all.
I asked Ben if he'd video me at the end of the race as I had to complete my #22 press ups for 22 days Challenge by doing 44 - he said yes! We talked about next yrs events the Jedburgh 3 Peaks Ultra, I explained that I would be part of a special Team doing a 150 mile March in France for Veterans Lifeline. You can find out more about that on this link below -
Both Ben and I owe our Charity's and those who sponsored us 4 miles each, we found out that the course is 40 miles and not 44 miles. It was close to that distance last year, because of diversions in place we found out later on in the run. We hit Ayr and boy was Ben moaning my hammies - he even beats me at moaning and that's saying something...
A couple of shots on the route -
Well it wasn't the sprint finish that I had wanted as I hadn't planned on being with anybody else. That said I'd still be running around Ayrshire now if it wasn't for Ben - massive Kudos to you Ben on not only completing your first Ultra but kicking it's arse!! Will I run the RAW Ultra again - YES.....
Thank you for your time in reading my experience at my first Ultra.
#Scotland #Ayrshire #Running #GetOutside
