A tough race...
154 individuals of questionable sanity, including me and my Ranelagh club mate, Colin Brett, started the Brecon Beacons ultra on Saturday 17 November. Thankfully the weather was generally quite reasonable. That's where the good news stops!
The course profile and terrain were absolutely brutal and the race took its toll with 29 DNFs. The total ascent and descent was about 2,000 metres over the 46 mile course (2*23 mile loops). It was very steep in parts and the ground underfoot was often difficult to negotiate - including scree, large stones or rocks. Quite often these hazards were hidden by mud, leaves and what comes out of the rear end of sheep and cows.
I suffered some discomfort throughout the race after turning my ankle only 500 metres after the start. Colin had problems of his own a few miles later. When we went up the first hill (3k with an average incline of 15%) the weather suddenly deteriorated. It became wet and foggy so I layered up. Going up that hill I had an inkling all was not well with Colin. Although he was wearing fewer layers than me but was sweating even more profusely than usual and looked fairly rough!
Colin successfully navigated the remainder of the first loop before sensibly retiring (for some R&R with the local wildlife it is rumoured!). The exertion of such a tough race was too much just a couple of weeks after Colin had had a virus.
Although the race distance was theoretically about 46 miles (74k), I managed to sneak in an extra few kilometres due to my navigational incompetency! I was delighted to finish as it was a tough race for the various reasons I described.
Back in Richmond later that evening nursing my second gin and tonic, I thought briefly about the unfortunate, but hardy, runners who were still on the course and yet to finish... Cheers to them! I found it hard enough running the course in daylight.
Race nutrition
Snack
|
Calories (kcal)
|
Carbs (g)
|
Weight (g)
|
Quantity
|
Total Weight
|
Total Calories
|
Total Carbs
|
Calories per gram
|
Carbs per gram
|
Cliff Citrus Gel
|
96
|
24
|
34
|
2
|
68
|
192
|
48
|
2.8
|
0.7
|
Bread With Peanut Butter
|
175
|
18
|
53
|
4
|
211
|
700
|
71
|
3.3
|
0.3
|
Bounty
|
278
|
36
|
57
|
2
|
114
|
556
|
73
|
4.9
|
0.6
|
Mars
|
260
|
39
|
58
|
1
|
58
|
260
|
39
|
4.5
|
0.7
|
Snickers Flapjack
|
172
|
17
|
35
|
1
|
35
|
172
|
17
|
4.9
|
0.5
|
Twix Caramel Slice
|
144
|
17
|
29
|
1
|
29
|
144
|
17
|
5.0
|
0.6
|
Nakd Apple Pie
|
98
|
17
|
30
|
1
|
30
|
98
|
17
|
3.3
|
0.6
|
Waitrose Love Life Bar
|
88
|
19
|
25
|
1
|
25
|
88
|
19
|
3.5
|
0.8
|
Jelly Babies
|
20
|
5
|
6
|
16
|
96
|
317
|
76
|
3.3
|
0.8
|
TOTAL
|
|
|
|
|
666
|
2,527
|
377
|
|
|
Electrolyte tablet (per 500ml of water)
|
Sodium (mg)
|
Potassium (mg)
|
Calcium (mg)
|
Magnesium (mg)
|
Quantity
|
Litres of water
|
Water per hour
|
Calories per hour
|
H2Pro Hydrate 1000
|
500
|
200
|
50
|
25
|
10
|
5.0
|
|
|
Nuun
|
346
|
100
|
13
|
25
|
3
|
1.5
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
|
|
|
|
|
6.5
|
0.7
|
270.8
|
2012 race results
Photos (courtesy of Mark Reed)
