29 minutes in & my watch beeps at me. I stop & slow to a walk as a steady stream of runners pass me, several pausing to ask if I’m okay. I guess they’re not used to seeing someone walk quite so early on in a race & I appreciate their concern.
My walking is intentional though as I have a plan.
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It’s mile 51 & I’m having a one-woman sit-down protest. I’m sitting on the grass by the river in Henley refusing to move.
I’ve spent the previous ten miles listing all of the reasons why I’m stopping.
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I shout about the good ones so it’s only right that I also shout about the ones that *don’t* quite go to plan.
At the end of 2019, I ran the Wendover Woods 50. The hilly woodland trails were everything I love about running & it instantly became one of my favourite races. When Centurion Running announced they were holding Wendover Woods 100 for only the second time, I knew I had to be on that start line.
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My stomach turns in nervous anticipation as I see the sign ‘this way to the finish’. Turning into the stadium grounds I hear the excited buzz of the finish area. I hold myself back for a moment & take a deep breath. A few quiet words as I compose myself.
I’ve done it.
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Wendover Woods 50, where do I start?
I wasn’t going to write about Wendover Woods 50, in fact, I’m only now sitting down, a few months post-race, with some words to say.
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How do you condense the story of 100 miles into just a few hundred words? You don’t. Mix a G&T, this is a long one.
A few weeks later & I’m still not sure if I have the right words to accurately tell my SDW100 story. I sit here, trying to think of the words I need, not just to paint the picture of the physical journey from start line to finish line, but also the words to describe the emotional journey because this adventure was as much about the mental challenge of completing 100 miles as it was the physical. Continue reading
I started writing this post on Saturday evening, lying in bed drinking pink gin in a tin & eating crisps (don’t judge, I had just run 50 miles…!). Those words were very different to the words I write here. Sometimes a few days of reflection are needed to rationalise thoughts, feelings & emotions. I write for myself, no one else, & as much to remember my adventures as anything else. So here goes my South Downs Way 50 story, mark II… Continue reading
I *totally* get the irony of calling a 50km race a training run, but that is exactly what the XNRG Humanity Direct Ultra was. On the 10th March, four weeks before the SDW50, I lined up on the start line ready for my longest ‘training’ run & what would hopefully become my second longest run ever. Oh, it was also my ‘birthday’ run… What better way to celebrate turning 38 the next day than to run 50km! Continue reading
Photo Girl Runs 