Chris runs ultras

The Peddars Way ultra is a challenging point-to-point race that traverses the entire 46-mile length of the historic Peddars Way footpath. Commencing in Knettishall, situated in the vicinity of Thetford within East Anglia, the race culminates by the north Norfolk coast in Holme-next-the-sea, where it intersects with the Norfolk coast path. The route, renowned for its rich heritage, dates back to ancient times and was originally redeveloped by the Romans. Its existence was first documented on a map in 1587.

I had a 5 week training block to prepare for this race. Carrying forward fitness I had gained at the start of the year. In this race, like in the race prior to this one, I felt I had very good fitness, but lacked mileage in my legs, as I felt pain in my lower back and hips for much of the race that I hadn’t felt as much of during the SVP100, when I did many 3 and 4 hour long runs. This was the case again in the Peddars Way ultra.

During the training block I averaged 70k of running per week apart from the final week which was 100k. I’m learning that this is really not enough time-on-feet for any race longer than 5 hours and I need to work more on core strength, and specifically strength in my hips and lower back. 

I managed to roll my right ankle just 3 days before the race. Initially, I thought it would be impossible that I’d be able to put any weight on it at all, let alone run a race. But after a couple of days of ice and Ibuprofen the swelling had gone down, it wasn’t looking too angry, and I could walk quite comfortably on it. So I decided the race was on!

The evening before the race I drove the 2 and a half hours to Hunstanton where I had booked a room at the Burleigh hotel for 2 nights. I drove to the end of the race where I got the coach to the start line at 6am. This was another first for me, and it worked out well. I was handed my race pack on the coach, so had plenty of time to attach my bib and prepare my tracker (which died pretty soon thereafter…).

My kit list included:

• Hoka Speedgoat 5’s
• Salomon Skin 12 vest
• Garmin Fenix 6 pro watch
• A thin pair of inner gloves and a pair of wool outer gloves
• OMM chest pod for easy to grab storage

The OMM chest pod was a bit of an experiment and was a bit fiddly and bouncy to start with. This was because I had loaded it with too many gels, though, and as it emptied it became more bareable. I also had to attach my vest straps over the top of it to hold it down. But I will use it again.

Nutrition included:

• 8 High5 gels, a mixture of caffeine and non-caffeine
• 1 bottle’s worth of Tailwind powder
• A banana just before the start
• A rice crispy bar from an aid station
• 2 home made bars from the aid stations

The 8 gels was not enough. I should have had 10, and did have some more in my drop bag which I had access to at the marathon aid station, but decided I didn’t want anything from it at the time. I possibly could have had one more bottle of Tailwind, but it didn’t feel as vital as the gels this time around.

The rice crispy bar and the 2 homemade bars were amazing and went down very well. My stomach was grateful for the solid food and I felt energy come back to me after eating them.

I couldn’t have asked for better weather. The sun was shining all day and the temperature was a crisp 1 degree. The ground was frozen under foot which made tranversing the fields relatively easy. There was, however, no stopping the inevitable flooding of the boardwalk 5km into the race. This section is flooded most years and this year was no exception. The water was ice cold, and above my ankles in a couple of places. 

Where it wasn’t flooded, it was covered in ice and hard to stand up on, let alone run on. This section didn’t last long though, and I was soon running again. The cool water even felt quite pleasant, and had a numbing effect on my feet for a while.

The first half of the route is the easiest. It is mostly flat and a very runnable mix of compact trail, and road, with a few sections of narrow trails on the edges of fields thrown in.

The hills start at around the marathon distance, but these are few and not very steep. There was perhaps one steep and longish hill on the entire course.

The Peddars Way ultra route officially ends on the beach, but the race itself ends maybe half a kilometer back up Beach road at the village hall on Broadwater road. So to prove that you have been to the end of the trail, you must take a page from a book that is hanging on the final Peddars Way trail post on the beach.

I officially finished 33rd (of 105) with a time of 8 hours and 39 minutes. In retrospect, I am happy with this time, although during the race, when I started to shift from a 6kph pace to a 6:30ish pace I was frustrated for a while. But in the last half-marathon distance I kept repeating the mantra “You choose how much you want to slow down now..” which helped prevent me from walking too much. 

Like the race prior to this one, I must spend more time-on-feet, and add alot more strength to my core and lower back, if I am to stand any chance of completing The Lakes Traverse in April.