I ‘Forrest Gumped’ and Ran 55.3 Miles in Under 11 Hours - Twice

Pride is a motivator:

Why would anyone put themselves through this kind of torture voluntarily? Reasons differ for taking on these challenges, my reason was mainly pride, to show the friends that had said I couldn’t do it, that I could. I wanted to shut them up, in the nicest way, of course.

We used to run quite a lot at rugby and soccer training, running was the easy part, of those sports. At the risk of being just like Forrest Gump, I thought, well why not? Running was easy enough, it was just a matter of doing it over a long distance. I was so naïve.

In order to qualify to run this particular ultra marathon, that my friends said I would never complete in under the 11 hours cut off. You need to complete two marathons (26.2 miles each) before their cut off times, in the six months prior to running the ultramarathon.

I ran two qualifying marathons and then to build up I also ran two 31 mile (50 km) races and one 37 mile (60 km) race.

Pasta and Band Aids, Eating while you run and cutting holes in the top of running shoes:

Pasta is your best friend, prior to the race. The nights before in the last week when you do absolutely no training you want to be eating a lot of carbs, and pasta was a firm favourite for our group of runners. We wolfed the stuff down.

Band Aids are essential, prior to the race.

There is such a thing as bleeding nipples when you run these distances, the rubbing of your running vest against your nipples does cause them to bleed over time.

Solution: Band aids on the nipples prior to the race. Make sure they stay stuck on.

People lose toe nails. Because of the constant pressure and the toenails rubbing against the top of the running shoes, many people lose toe nails during and after the race, can you imagine the pain? Especially on runs with a lot of long downhills as the toes hit the front of the running shoe because of the decline.

Solution: Cut holes in the top of the running shoes, above the big toes, as it is usually the big toenails that suffer, if they have nothing to rub against you most likely wont lose them.

Your inner thighs and the areas under your armpits are vulnerable to chafing from the friction, these areas can bleed.

Solution: Petroleum Jelly, use huge dollops of it.

Electrolyte drinks can cause diarrhoea so use them in moderation

Eat after the first twenty miles, you need to start eating small snacks like little Snickers bars or a third of a banana, or even small pieces of baked potato. You really do need the food in ultra marathons.

Running down hill is harder on the knees and the feet than running uphill. It sounds wrong, and it is wrong for shorter races, but over long distances if you need to keep slowing yourself down it takes it’s toll on your feet, your toenails and your knees and muscles, people usually cramp more on downhill runs.

The ultra marathon I completed twice took place two years in a row, the first year was a climbing run, I was climbing in altitude, the second was a down run, as it was run in the opposite direction of the first year. They change it each year. My ultra marathon time for the ‘up’ run was faster than my time for the ‘down’ run.

Mental Toughness:

If there is one thing that an ultra marathon teaches you from the training and preparation, all the way through to race day, then it is mental toughness. It is ultimately your mind that keeps you going when your body has had enough.

It’s all rather gross and disgusting, read on.

I remember about 20 miles into the marathon training runs, I noticed that I was getting gooseflesh while I was sweating on the run. I pointed it out to one of the seasoned runners next to me and his response was. “Oh don’t worry about that, that’s just your body shutting down. Just keep going.”

I recall some runners had either had too many electrolytes or they were suffering from some stomach bug, or they were ill from the refreshments. The result was that they were all standing in a line vomiting on the side of the road. I remember one saying to the rest of them. “Well it just doesn’t get better than this.” Surely you can’t have better friends than those that vomit with you.

Top ultra marathon runners the ones who end in the top ten pee while they run, they are so competitive that they would rather just pee than break their rhythm. Quite disgusting actually. There have been reports that some who may suffer from diarrhoea do the same, they just do it on the run, yuck.

You meet random people who are all friendly because they all know we are all on the same path, facing similar struggles that manifest differently for each person. They want to help you along and you don’t want to hold them up, it is such a great feeling of togetherness in the striving.

I was so excited to finish in under the 11 hour cut off (my times were 10hrs for the up run and 10hrs 30 mins for the down run). My excitement caused me to lose all sense and I forgot to drink. It is most important to take in fluids after such a long race. I remember almost fainting and then downing some energy drinks and water offered to me by a nurse, to restore my strength. She kindly offered me this when she saw me swaying and then dropping to my haunches.

The whole experience taught me that just like ultra marathoners, we are all on the path of life with our own struggles, some make it to the end, others drop out. Some lose toe nails along the way, others get bleeding nipples and chafing. Some get cramps, other vomit, but eventually we all are striving to make it through life. We try to help each other along the way. I wish the world could be more like the ultra marathon runners I encountered, (except the ones that pee while running, or worse.)