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Hardmoors 55 – Steve Rhodes
As I sit on my settee at home at 08.00 on Sunday having got home from Guisborough around 23.00 last night, I feel much better. Last night I couldn’t eat my tea, or any food for that matter. My feeding on big races is not ideal and it causes me problems. I need to get this sorted and then I will run quicker or slow down less. But I do feel better; I have had a huge plate of Shepherd’s Pie for breakfast, perfect.
So, on to the day itself. Up at 04.00, bowl of museli and a quick hour drive to Guisborough. Jump on a Coach that takes you to Helmsley. Sat next to a very quiet Chap, I couldn’t get a word out of him (clearly he was in the zone, it turned out he won the race in a course record of 7:30 ish. Truly exceptional. )
Then registration in Helmesley and kit check, Cup of coffee and a sandwich, forcing the food in to get a good base for my race. Catch up with new and old Ultra running friends, a very supportive group of people. Then off at 09.00. The weather caught most of us out as it was much warmer than I expected. I was expecting to run in a jacket all day, perhaps in rain. But it was sunny and warm. The rules said you had to either wear tight or carry them. I hate tights, but wore them. I also had a long sleeved warm top on, I usually run in a T shirt with a pair of cycling sleeves, this means I can roll them down or up to keep my temperature steady. During the day I guess I was too warm.
My tactics are high risk but great fun. I run hard from the start and get as near to the front as I can, then I generally have a dodgy middle section, due to poor feeding and having raced hard, I just hang in there, then I recover and recoup, I hate running defensively, when about 25k from the end I push hard and try to hunt people down. This requires a high degree of ruthlessness, I have this in abundance. I like to chase runners down in the last third. I am less concerned if other catch me as I think “good on them, they have paced the race better than me” but the ones ahead are fair game.
This race runs along the Cleveland way and visits many fantastic places, the white horse, Lordstones, Scugdale, Captains Cooks monument and the awesome Roseberry Topping (Go there it is a special place).
So I ran hard with a couple of other runners, I younger fella who was inspirational he was running with an insulin pump, and told me how fantastic it was as he used to have to inject himself every hour with a pen on longer runs. The pump has opened a better world for him. And I guy my age, very experienced, clearly someone who would not be slowing down. A useful thing to remember when racing long distances is that “it is not how fast you run it is how much you slowdown that matters”.
I ran well to about 40k and the first village hall full of food and drink. One of my close friends was there already having her lunch. She is an awesome runner and totally inspiring. I was very surprised to leave the aid station before her. I knew there would be trouble ahead as she would be on my shoulder very soon. She was and pushed on ahead to eventually finish as joint 2nd women. I struggled in the middle section and a few overtook me. A couple of women passed me on a hill and about 2 mins later a bloke out with his family told me his wife had seen these girls and wanted to run, she asked me how she could start. My answer was google running clubs near where you live, check if they were a club that welcomed beginner, if not find another. I thought of HPH and about how welcoming the club is and how it is set up to support other and be inclusive. I think it had suddenly struck this lady that she wanted to run and she could actually do it. She asked if clubs ran in places like this (the countryside) my response was join a road club, gain some fitness and friends, the world is then your oyster and you can go were ever you want to.
I then arrived at the last main food station at about 65k, I asked where I was placed and I was told I was 51st . I then didn’t want to be 51st. Now I wanted to be in the top 50. I hadn’t seen any one ahead of me for ages. But “hunt those little fishes down” keep going and you never know. Later on you do an out and back up Roseberry topping. This means as I am going up, those ahead of me are coming down. I asked everyone how they were feeling to gauge my chances and lied to them all that I felt great. Unfortunately the same is true when I was coming down; I passed those behind me coming up. Long story short I got caught by 1 behind me so was 52nd, I then overtook him again 51st, then overtook another 50th, he was shot, then got passed by same guy as before, 51st, then overtook a little fish who was struggling to walk and was slowing badly 50th, me and the other chap were racing. Then there was the longest 2k along a railway line. Race to the end, finished in 49th when I thought I was 50th, so was surprised but happy, it is so easy to back off in the last few Kms , but much better if you can dig in and race right up to the end (it’s all in your head) . I hope there isn’t someone lost in the woods as we were running for the last hour on headtorches in the rain.
It was great at the finish, the adrenalin is buzzing, folk are showing the full range of emotions. Relief, Happiness, some absolutely shattered, other changed showered and looking fresh. I had trouble keeping anything down and was a little sick. Needed to get out of wet clothes and warm up.
I bumped into a St Teresa runner I know. Should have got a selfie as we were both in our vests, doing the Leeds proud.
Great day, nice place of the world. Mixture of people from all walks of life, the fast and the slow, but every one of them stubborn, determined and living the dream
Steve