Chris runs ultras

The Serpent trail 100k is organised by Freedom Racing and is set in a beautiful part of the South Downs national park, near Petersfield in England.

The race takes it’s name from the shape of the course as it snakes it’s way from Haslemere, through the South Downs national park, to Petersfield.

The course is outstanding in it’s beauty, especially in the first half, but also tough. The majority of the steep hills come in the first half, but the course tapers out to become more runnable in the latter stages.

My goal for this 4 week training block was to maintain my fitness midway through my “season of completions” (my goal this year was to be consistant, to complete races and to not DNF any of them).

With the first week of training mostly consisting of recovery, the middle two weeks consisted of two sessions of strength training, 1 session on the stairstepper, and 3 days of back-to-back long runs, gradually getting longer. This was to mimick the feeling of running on tired legs in the later stages of an ultra. My longest training run was 36 km.

I had no injuries following my previous race and the training block went well, but I did start to feel mild Plantar fasciitus in both feet towards the end of the block, which I have had to manage with regular ball rolling.

This training block I focused more on my nutrition strategy. I aimed to ensure I consumed at least 60 grams of carbs per hour in the form of gels and chews. I exclusively used the following Precision Fuel & Hydration products.

Product	Carbohydrates
Precision Fuel & Hydration (PFH) 30g chews	30 grams
Precision Fuel & Hydration (PFH) 90g gel	30 grams per hour
Precision Fuel & Hydration (PFH) PH 1000 tablets	2.2 grams per table Sodium: 1,000mg Potassium: 250mg Calcium: 48mg Magnesium: 24mg
Total per hour	62.2/60 grams

I worked out that I would consume one (of two per packet) chew, 3 big sips of gel every 5 to 6 kilometers, and consume 500ml of water with 1 electrolyte tablet between aid stations.

This strategy seemed to work well and in retrospect I could have probably consumed more carbs. So may look to consuming more like 80-90 grams in future races.

I also ate plenty of bananas, nuts, crisps and Jam sandwiches at aid stations.

My overall energy began to wane towards the end of the race. This could be because 60 grams of carbs per hour was on the lower end of what I needed or due to the extended time on my feet and the overall calorie deficit.

I prioritized my carbohydrate intake per hour over total calorie intake requirement, which was significantly higher than the approximate 200 calories from the PFH carbs and the additional 200-300 calories at each aid station. At 80 kg, my body burns approximately 700-900 calories per hour.

The aid stations were very well stocked with a wide variety of foods and drinks. Their setup discouraged prolonged stops, with minimal seating and locations just off the roads in some places, giving them a temporary feel. This design was highly effective and contributed significantly to my nearly 1.5-hour improvement in the 100 km race.

I tried running the race in the Novablast 4’s. These are a very good all round training shoe, and had been excellent during the training block, even when I wore them during a 36 km run on the South Downs. But they ended up holding too much water on the bottom of my feet, causing me to have trench foot, and my toes moved around too much causing some large blistering on both of my big toes, even though they were well taped.

I achieved a personal best of 12 hours and 8 minutes, improving by approximately 1.5 hours over my previous record. This wasn’t because the course was easy—in fact, it was one of the hardest I’ve encountered—nor do I believe I was significantly fitter than I have been in the past.

I believe the biggest factors in my improvement were a regimented focus on nutrition and increased overall concentration. By paying closer attention to my nutrition, I also enhanced my pacing, reduced time at aid stations, improved my mindset, and maintained a steadier pace. These improvements helped me resist fatigue better, push harder, and minimize walking.