Race Reports
The River Aire Ultra 100 miler
These are the reflections of our very own 'Coach' Ali Nash on his extraordinary achievement in completing this gruelling Ultra!
It’s Sunday morning, I’m sat in the garden with (what’s left of) my feet up less than 24 hours after finishing and winning the River Aire 100 mile Ultra, and I’ve got to wondering what kind of house he has, I’m guessing its not a mansion with impressive sweeping staircases splitting and curving in opposite directions from the first floor, nor a contemporary free standing cantilever ‘no handrail’ design in metal and glass, most definitely not a cast iron spiral staircase in a 4 storey converted windmill…. I reckon its more likely to be a respectable semi somewhere, with a nice well carpeted stairway, traditional spindles, leading down into the hallway full of coats, boots and if its anything like mine a mass of trainers. I reckon it’s the kind of stairway that if you decided to fling yourself down it headfirst in a uninhibited plunge, it’s going to be run-of-the-mill bloody painful, probably leave you writhing in agony amongst the dry but still malodorous Speedgoats and fetid X-talons (pronounced ‘cross talon’ apparently – having been corrected by an Inov8 ambassador recently…) at the bottom of the stairs, but not quite - and I mean quite – but really really close to, but not quite sufficient enough to kill you…..
I’m only wondering, because Billy - who was second in the River Aire 100 mile race on Friday (AND Saturday) said, that ‘it’s probably less painful to just fall down the stairs at the moment’ 😊. I know exactly what he means, all basic functions like standing, never mind complex activities like forward movement and I’m needing to give some really significant advanced warning to all of my joints – and I need to pick up my walking poles, and that’s for inside the house.
Fences, floor, walls, doorframes, plantpots all make for support as I shuffle around the house, it was a mistake thinking that perhaps a bit of movement and gentle walking behind the mower for support might be a good idea…. even at 40 minute miling on tortoise mode it was out running me…..
Training in the build up to this event was OK, I threw in a couple of faster Punk Panther 20 mile races – with very encouraging performances, a decent run of quality training, and lots of ‘daily doubles’ – between 5 and 8 miles twice daily so running in the evening on tired legs, or a run followed by a long mtb ride, and in the last few weeks trying to replicate the terrain and elevation – mixed and rolling, always doing track, even on tired legs!
The plan was to hit a 24hr schedule for the 100, I just wanted a sub 24hr finish, so had worked out all of the hydration and fuelling requirements (about 10,000 calories and 10-12 litres of fluid) the crewing, fuelling and hydration points, drop bags and what extra kit to pick up and drop where, and a chunk of route reconnaissance. The route downloaded onto my GPS (Satmap Active 20) and lots of practicing running and navigating at the same time. Great piece of kit 👌 Mandatory kit packed and then squished vacuum flat in lightweight dry bags ( worth knowing this technique to minimise bulk)
4pm and my ‘Day crew’ (Louise) chauffeured me to Malham Tarn, just time for a pre-race jammy doughnut for energy, 5pm and it’s go. No time for looking back, just 100 miles and 24hrs left to the finish…..
Now I always say to pace a race, don’t go off like a twat, but I went off a bit quick - all part of the plan to put some distance from the others and so I could concentrate on my own race, to just run and finish and not have any pressure of racing. Through the Malham crowds and out to Hanlith (lots of fields and stiles) and picking up the riverside path to Airton at about 8 miles and then cross country over to Gargrave at 11miles. All good easy going and by now I’d settled into a steady trot. Louise refilling 500ml of fluid for each 5miles, forcing me to down a mini snack to keep the calories topped up - it would then be another 5-6 miles to Skipton, all relatively straightforward and getting some good miles in before dark on trails I was familiar with. Darkness brought me through to Cononley and the surprise of Rob Boughen waiting on the roadside to run a section with me! He’d had tea and thought I’ve just time to catch Ali 😊 fantastic to have him along! Rob ran me through to the crewing point and the first meeting with Julian the ambulance/ medic…I was in full ultra mode by this point, generally grumpy, non-verbal and ‘in the zone’. Julian radioed through to Louise at the next checkpoint at Silsden that ‘he’s in a bad way’. Hilarious, I’d only just got started with being grumpy….
Around the first marathon distance (just 3 to go now) at Silsden, having picked up the running poles, I think I may have overdone the hydration or the gels, certainly something was rebelling…. Spewed four times on the roadside before my running partner for the next section John ‘ no nonsense ‘ Singh, just said ‘are you done yet? right lets crack on’ and so we did, keeping up a reasonable pace, despite the horrible wet dewy grass and soggy feet, through to Keighley, where Louise unpacked all the food, fluids and kit for Igsy to take over the night shift – crewing what was more akin to a mobile grocers van through to about 6am. I was still grumpy, and had added high decibel belching to the list. Through the 17 night time deer and out to one of the best moments of the night, hitting Bingley and coming across a huddle of Striders all armed with tea, bananas, jam sandwiches, crisps and hugs. You guys are the best!
A little behind my planned schedule (I think the night and the horrible dewy wet grass and more stiles than I remember had slowed progress) John handed over to chatty Jen Willingham, who babbled all the way to Esholt, bloody fantastic to be getting support runners into the early hours, it was so so much appreciated, although by now I’d added a range of tuneful trumps to the belching and non-vocal grumpiness. Sorry Jen. Still on ‘home turf’ Jen dropped me at Esholt, where Ewan was running a whopper of a section – 28miles Esholt to Leeds and back…through the night! Now that is commitment! It was tough running into the early hours, cobbles, twat, roots twat, dew twat, mist, twat, mud twat, cambers, gravel, STILES! Wtf, one field had 9 stiles in less than half a mile at Apperley Bridge…. fortunately Ewan with his ultra running skills and his non-stop jibber-jabber jibber-jabber kept me going, badgers, doggers, mink, deer, wide eyed drug dealers, clubbers (the towpath is a wonder of wildlife at night) before the sight of Leeds City Centre and the halfway point about 3.30am. Igsy looking like some kind of urban pirate swinging his lamp to signal his wares, had his mobile grocers shop on hand to re-supply and before long we were on our way back, but a good 1 ½ hours behind schedule. In another 3 ½ hours the 50 miles race would start here and I’d be then getting chased down by those on the 50 mile ‘fun run’…..The dawn took an absolute age to come ….fortunately Ewan still jabbering and keeping me going, one foot in front of the other, just keep trotting along through to Esholt and the ‘Day crew’ taking over again, Louise on re-supply duties , but I did expect to have a long stretch to run solo through to Keighley. Out of the blue rocks up Tom Kaye, polite as ever ‘please can I run with you?’ and so we did, totting off in the morning sun heading for Saltaire – where, despite the early hour more Striders were waiting again! Tea, bananas, crisps and more hugs 😊 and out of the blue Rob Henderson scoots in and joins me and Tom for the next section through to Keighley, which despite the terrain and hills being some of the worst, and at mile 70+ were some of the fastest splits of the race. Now with Bernie (there is a theme here – have chatty runners with you, takes your mind off things) I did have to relay the rules….. no talk of distance done, distance to go, pace, schedule, basically anything. I may talk back, but it’s bloody unlikely. Even Bernie’s ‘smile every mile’ didn’t even have an effect on Mr Grumpy, belchy & farty. And by now I’d added mushy to the list (one toe was decidedly squelchy). We by-passed the footpath on Thwaites Brow - Keighley version of ‘Rat Jaw’ on the Barkley marathon, with brambles that have the withered tatters of the corpses of previous runners still hanging in the wind… Bernie did a belting job (with Rob Boughen returning for another stint of support running at Silsden) to get me through to Skipton mostly intact, and the handover to Captain Dunbar who would see me through to the finish. Really really really tough going trotting through to Gargrave and the pace slowing as the toe (and knee) pain increased, before the monster climb in the last couple of miles back up to Malham Tarn. With all the Striders support I’d somehow managed to claw back all the time lost and was up on schedule and was heading for under 24hours, Louise met us again in Malham offering ice creams – in a race! You’ve got to love Ultra racing (we didn’t, we just kept ploughing onwards and upwards) after 336 stiles or gateways....not that I was counting......the massive stiles up to the tarn were a torment on shattered legs and Louise joined us for the last mile across to the tarn and finally the finish, a packet of prawn cocktail crisps and a brew. ….. 23 hours 29 mins 4 seconds. Boom 💥. I’ll take that, not only achieving the sub 24hr target, but v50 win and overall win . Not bad for an old man
A week later there is one new additions for the toenail tin (oh yes I do) that will one day become a race trophy for the overall winner of the Addingham Guest Run race series.
It should be great preparation for this years key race – The Lavaredo Ultra Trail in the Dolomites, just adding another 20,000ft of climb and running at altitude..... bring it on. 7 weeks to go.
Saltaire Striders, what a club you are, just brilliant support throughout, and 80 miles run with me during the race!
See you at track on Wednesday 😊
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