Well I’m still here. Blogging seems to slip to the side, and as always I hope to do it more often but I don’t. I’ve pushed social media aside, hopefully for good, so maybe I’ll devote more time to this. 

 Not sure what’s been going on running-wise for me since my last post. Just been training and dealing with a mild and annoying injury. My right hip flexor that I’ve dealt with in the past has been giving me grief. I DNF’d the Arc of Attrition due to it and also had a couple flare ups in the past that stopped me running. Odd thing is zero problems at Malverns Ultra, Wyre Forest Half, and from speedwork. I can’t pinpoint a cause either, normally you can look back at training and see where it came from, not this. I can run on it but I’d love for it to be pain free, just don’t have the confidence in it. So I’ve been doing everything I can for it. Have yet to go to the physio, I worked very little in August so I had a tiny pay check. No money so no physio. Maybe next month. Still been getting in 40 mile weeks and a decent long run but no more mileage, strength, or speedwork. 

 I saw on the Hardrock 100 qualifying list a race in Norway. The Sandnes Ultratrail. It’s in south west Norway near Stavanger. 100 miles with 26,000 feet of vert! It looks like it goes through the fjords which should be really cool! Very hard though! Sandnes Ultratrail has vibes of old school and I liked that! UTMB events are fun but very sterile (and EXPENSIVE), you’re just a number, too big, too much production. I was really drawn to this race because the entry was affordable, £150! Also, flights were £80-£200 and about 4 hours with a 1:45 layover. But most of all you can camp at the start! At Sandnes, the final day, Sunday, they state in the race manual “the barbecues stay warm as long as runners enter,” once again showing a local feeling which is great. Car hire is about £40 a day, but you can also take a bus to within 5km of the venue and they’ll come pick you up just to encourage less cars.

  I clicked the registration and unfortunately it was full! Maybe next year. However I was looking at their Facebook page and saw a recent post saying the race is full but “we do have a small quota open for foreign and elite runners.” Well I’m foreign, so I sent an email off. Shortly after I received a friendly email with a smiley emoji and a link to register! I guess I’ve got to do it now! April I’ll be going to Norway. 

The airport is in Stavanger in the top left corner, the start near Sandnes at a camp in Alsvik 

 Really excited for this. The race is small, last years results show only about 70 entrants in the 100 mile race, and there were maybe only 10 non-Norwegian runners! I’ve always wanted to visit Norway especially with my skiing background. I’m hoping to make some friends and connections for future trips, fingers crossed nordic skiers! The last Norwegians I met were Nordic ski coaches in Colorado and then at the World Cup in Thunder Bay in high school, and these three names runners will definitely know as supposedly in their prime they were more popular than the king of Norway: Thomas Alsgaard, Bjorn Daehlie, and Vegard Ulvang. Famous Norwegian skiers. 

Had to zoom in so the vert profile is a bit blurry 

 I don’t need to start training until December but want my leg to be 100%. It will be much like UTMB, lots of hiking. It looks to be very technical and steep. I was looking at results and saw a British woman did it a few years back, she is an elite runner so I recognized her name, Sabrina Verjee. I usually run with the elite women in races so it was a good gauge of what time to expect. She ran 32 hours, average pace was around 17 minute miles, and got second! Yeah, it will be hard. I sent her a message asking about the race and she wrote back saying yes it’s hard, and be prepared for navigation, definitely have a gps watch. This community is still small enough you can reach out to some random person you’ve never met and get a positive reply, pretty cool. Thanks for the info Sabrina! 

 Training will focus on big vert and strength. I will need to lift my treadmill on blocks to get the incline up like I did for UTMB. Always feel bad ass doing that. I had my old treadmill lifted to 18% gradient which worked well, I could hike for an hour with a weight vest and get 4000 feet of vert. My legs felt really good uphill at UTMB so that will be the plan. I’ve got a squat rack and Olympic barbell now thanks to Facebook marketplace so will incorporate that, probably early on in the plan. Then I’ll need some trips to Church Stretton as I did for UTMB for some outside vert with poles. Now just need to heal this quad hip flexor issue.

Had issues formatting the photos so apologies if it’s wonky! 

Wyre Forest Trail Race, Annabelle athletics, HEATWAVE!, I’m a coach!

And running goes on, still going through the motions. This will be more of a pictorial I guess because I’m too lazy to write! 

Mainly just putting in training miles However I did sneak in the Wyre Forest Half Marathon. Took 2nd again, fun race, but tired after a heavy week of training.  Maybe I should actually train and taper for it next time? 

Wyre Forest Half screen shot

Wyre Forest singletrack

Early road running

My donkey friend

Annabelle at athletics, middle distance group 

Annabelle wanted to try running (with no push from me) and has been going to athletics (ie track and field) for about 4 weeks now. She’s still smiling and seems to enjoy it. Could just be weather though as it’s been a fantastic summer with “heatwaves” and drought conditions for a long time. Yes, droughts are bad but I’m no way complaining about temps in the 80’s and sun! First time in 15 years I’ve had a nice tan! 

Wyre Forest

Canalside - duckweed has exploded because of the heat

River Severn singletrack

New shoes from the Brooks rep

 My old co-worker took a job with Brooks and now feeds me shoes. He has a big demo fleet which has been fun to sample and he recently gave me these new Cascadia 19 trail shoes. Brooks shoes are normally fairly solid and kind of dull but things seem to be changing, these were lighter, softer, and more flexible which was a nice change. I’ve also demoed the Glycerin Max and Hyperion Max 3, both “super stack” shoes with crazy amounts of cushioning. I don’t think they are for me and truly think in a few years we’ll look back and thing WTF! It’s great of him to let me test these all out though!

Severn Way

Still dragging my feet on one more race this September, 7 Valleys Ultra in the Lake District is about 70 miles. It starts early and I should be done before bedtime so no sleep deprivation is a big bonus! Just need to clear it with the wife and sign up. 

And one last thing, I’m a certified Ultra Running Coach! Took my test last night, was kind of rushed with family running around but easily passed. Was about a 25 hour online course through the United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy, I believe the only certification for ultras out there. We’ll see where I take it. I can coach through my current job or start my own side hustle. 

Malvern Hills Ultra

So second go around of the Malvern Hills Ultra went well. Ended up 2nd place and missed first by 12 minutes or so! In hindsight I could’ve ran harder, my heart rate was a bit lower than it should’ve been. Easy to say now versus in the moment I guess. 

The race started at 7am, which was great for a change! Fortunately the start was a 15 minute drive away which was even better! Temps were cool but the sun was making an appearance so I was a little worried about later in the morning when we’d be exposed in the Malvern Hills. I had everything I needed on me so the only thing I needed from the 5 checkpoints would be water. I decided to carry 20 gels and a few packets of electrolyte mix from the start. The kit requirements were extremely minimal, arguably “recommended,” so all the nutrition was offset by little gear, this worked out well. I’d be eating one gel every 25 minutes or so for about 90 grams of carbs an hour. 

Check in was easy and laid back. This was more of a small local race which I liked. I bumped into a guy I know from Kidderminster and chatted briefly, then we were asked to gather for a start line photo and we’d be off. We were starting in Abberley, a village partially off the Worcestershire Way (WW), a 31 or so mile National Trail that starts in Bewdley and finished in Great Malvern. The photo never happened and soon we were running. Off to the front I went settling in behind a guy who won last year. We zigzagged through town and soon were on the Worcestershire Way. We’d be going to the far end of the Malvern Hills and turning around to head back the way we came. 

Myself and two other guys settled into a decent pace, probably about 7:30 minute miles, which was about where I wanted to be. The path was super dry and I could’ve easily wore road shoes. The chat was little at first and the previous winner kept surging for some odd reason. Absolutely no point this early in the race to do that, once the chatting began he was rather competitive in his talking rather than friendly. I didn’t care for that. The other guy I was with was good for conversation, I liked that. So I stuck with him and let the other guy do what he wanted to do. He was never too far ahead of us. 

This race was navigation, even though it was on the WW, which is signposted, there would be no markings from the race director. Trails here are maintained, but nothing like the trails in the US. It was very common for signs to rot out and fall down, or be covered by overgrowth and you miss a turn or a gate buried in a hedgerow. I guess kind of the fun of this race, especially at the start. There were a few  barb wired fences to hop over remedying mistakes, backtracking, and bumping into other people who also went the wrong way. Not really “racing atmosphere” but everyone laughing and helping each other out to find the way, definitely the vibe of an ultramarathon which I enjoy. I had intended to run the course before the race but only had time to run 7 miles from Checkpoint 2 at Suckley to the Malverns and back. The second section, CP1-CP2, I would’ve benefited greatly from as this is where most of the mistakes were made in navigation, I believe a tiny bit on the first section as well. 

It was fairly easy going to start. I was eating my gels as planned, unfortunately for some reason my “nutrition alert” on my watch wasn’t working. It’s an alarm that goes off every 25 minutes. No idea why. Also my navigation on my watch decided to not notify me of turns and also wasn’t telling me when I was off course initially. Technology. Last time I did this I had a paper map and all my watch did was track me! I was with other guys who had watches twice the value of mine so we were ok. It’s a fairly intuitive route as well so you’re really never truly lost. 

As we dropped down to the River Teme the trail gets braided. A beautiful section however I always get pulled to the braid along the water when in fact the WW trends uphill. We of course all did this and began to question it. The lead guy opted to turn around, the guy with me said his watch says we were on track, I knew there was a connection to the main WW ahead. So, as the lead guy turned back we went forward trusting local knowledge and a GPS watch. We popped out in the lead and continued on. It was early in the race so a minor advantage if at all. We’d see the guy again. 

Old photo from the same route. Beautiful valley.

The weather was perfect and things were going well. We moved through the first checkpoint super fast and onto the annoying fields that I know I’ve gotten off route on. Sure enough, right away we’re off route and need to hop a fence, we see others doing the same from the top of a hill ahead in the distance. This was one spot you could make up time by cutting a field rather than following the edges of it as the route indicates. I’m assuming because of the live stock the land owner prefers people to go around. Through a few more fields and again we get off route. This time we dropped down a hill and lost a decent amount of time. As we climbed back up we were greeted by a group of four I believe that made the same mistake. So, we all worked to together to get back on route. Nothing major really but once again could’ve been a bit of an advantage. However it was nice to run with other folks and chat away as you do early in these events. 

Checkpoint photo

Down Ankerdine Hill and into Knightwick, things had spread out a bit, but soon we were all together again. One guy had made his own gels and commented jokingly how “we’ll see how they work later in the race!” concerned about how they’ll treat his stomach. Unfortunately at the end someone said some guy was puking and possibly dropped, could’ve unfortunately been him, funny but also not funny. Just finishing these events is impressive and it’s a shame to hear people needing to drop. 

Conversation was flowing a bit too much and the pace became complacent. The two guys I initially was running with had pulled ahead while I got to know people. Great conversation and nice guys buy we needed to be going faster so I pulled away pursuing the top two. A bit of a push and I was back with them. The “lead guy” still kept throwing in these odd surges and we let him go ahead, always within sight. We dropped into CP2 at Suckley, filled water, and I began soaking my head to keep cool. The next section was 9 miles over open fields and the Malvern Hills so exposed to the sun.

WW cutting through a rapeseed field 

 

A bit of climbing and then into a consistent stretch of flats along farming roads. It was nice to be comfortably holding 7:30 miles around 20 miles into the race. The lead guy seemed to be struggling on the flats but always looked ok in the hills. Soon we were starting the climbing into the Malverns. Short steepish sections, steep stairs, a bit of uphill road, and then onto the gravel paths of the Malvern Hills. Despite being really hilly it’s all fairly mellow and runnable. I always forget that and we probably took two  it easier than we should’ve, it was still early though. 

Stairs leading up to the Malvern Hills

Along the Malverns it got busier with people walking, dogs, other runners. It’s a very popular beauty spot. We also had to keep an eye out for two “punch points” that proved we took the right route. A stamper marked a unique pattern on a piece of paper proving our passage. A little nerve racking but really not a problem. The weather was sunny but a cool breeze kept it nice out. I still was conscious of my hydration just in case. 

2nd and 3rd place on the Malverns

Across the Malverns was easy going for my new friend and I, the leader always in sight. Soon we were dropping down into CP3 and the turnaround. We met up with the leader there who commented jokingly “been waiting 10 minutes for you guys, where you been,” which kind of showed his demeanor that I didn’t care for. You’d hope for a more positive “well done,” or “good going” response rather than a snide comment like that but whatever. We all left the CP together, top 3.

Across the Malverns again returning where we came from and the guy I’d been running with told me to go on as he wasn’t feeling the best. I wished him the best and picked up the pace. Soon I was back with the leader and I ran with him for a bit. I couldn’t do it. The conversation just wasn’t what I wanted, he was obviously a competitive person, which is fine, but just not the experience I wanted. I slowed down to let him go ahead and kept him in sight.

Yes. I took a selfie overlooking the backside of the Malverns looking into Herefordshire

I encouraged all the runners I crossed paths with seeing everyone on the 47 mile route being an out and back. They gave me updates on how far back I was, about two minutes. I could see him all along the hills and the flats as well, but soon lost sight in the trees which was probably a mistake if I wanted to win. I wasn’t overly concerned about winning, I get a lot out of these events whether I have a good result or not, but it does linger in the back of your mind. 

Descending the Malvern Hills on the return leg

Behind me I spotted a guy moving fast towards me, I couldn’t believe it, but when he finally caught me he said “don’t worry, I’m in the shorter race!” I used his freshness to pace me faster and we were moving along really well. After CP 4 at Suckley he pulled away and I slowed. I ran alone for the final 15 miles. I felt decent, better than I in the past. 

One observation was my hamstrings began to cramp, but focusing on good running technique I resolved it and ran faster. Slow moving technique that is common in ultras really stresses the hip flexors and hamstrings. Proper running form gives the posterior chain of muscles a break. The front and rear essentially turn off and on giving each side a rest and you move more efficiently. This made the difference towards the end for me and was a huge lightbulb moment for the future. So blatantly obvious too. 

 CP 5 at the Admiral Rodney Pub I soaked my head as usual, filled my bottles despite only having 7 or so miles left, and was off. One major mistake I made here and at the previous checkpoint was that I didn’t ask how far ahead 1st was. Looking at the results at CP4 he was only 4 minutes up, CP5 I think 10 or so. Both would’ve been a motivator to move quicker which was very very available to me. Once again probably goes back to my personal goals, mainly winning wasn’t a huge priority to me, but this still this kind of disappointing. 

I ran strong the final section and soon was descending into Abberley. I crossed the finish in second and was greeted by my wife and son. My daughter had dance and was excited to show her dance instructor her solo routine. This was super important to her so I encouraged her to skip my race. It was fun to see family at the end. The finish was mellow, few people, here’s your medal, take a few photos, done.

I hung out and chatted with the top 6 runners and soon was on my way, thankfully 15 minutes driving! I think this could become an annual event for me due to the convenience! 

Taper week I guess? Malvern Hills Ultra on Saturday. 47 miles total on an out and back course along the Worcestershire Way. Local race I’ve ran before. Previously it was 56 miles but they’ve changed the starting point of the race a couple times since and with it the distance has changed too. Only recognize one name on the start list, a local guy who is about as fast as me in the past. He’s expecting me to win but you never know who will show up or how the day will go. 

Recent run through town

Temperature will be hot for here so am experimenting with more fluids and electrolytes. Training seems to have gone well but I’m fairly tired so far this week. A lot of treadmill running which, although beneficial for specific workouts, has become boring. I’d rather be outside. Monday I took it super easy, walked, enjoyed being outside. The weather was beautiful and I saw a lot of wildlife. The flowers are popping right now too. Brought me back to my days as a Ranger when you’d observe so much outside, miss those times. 

Bluebells

Still considering another 100 in June. The Jurassic Extinction. 100 miles point to point along the Jurassic Coast which is coastal path much like the Arc of Attrition but not in Cornwall, it’s further north east. It finishes in Exmouth and I believe is considered the South coast. Here’s a YouTube video of a previous year of the race: 

Also here’s a link to the race website: https://www.climbsouthwest.com/events/jurassic-coast-100/ you’ll see the same video there. Beautiful scenery hence my interest in it, also a new place to visit. One other big benefit is it’s summer! Hopefully decent weather and a short night, two things I haven’t had in recent races! 

Slow worm, a leg less lizard that lives here

The slow worm is a lizard, why? They have eyelids, a notched tongue, and the head and neck are continuously connected. These three things differ it from a snake! No eyelids, forked tongue, separate head and neck. The UK has 6 reptiles, three snakes: grass, adder, and smooth. Three lizards: slow worm, sand, and common. I wish I’d research these things more often, it’s fun to know. 

Added a new toy. I’m not one to buy many things these days but since accessing a gym is very difficult for me (limited on time away from family) I bought a squat rack and barbell! Just a cheapish set of squat stands, a shorter 6 foot barbell (vs standard 7 foot), and have been accumulating bumper plates from Facebook marketplace. It’s amazing how expensive weights are! I think I have ample weight for my running goals but would be fun to find out my 1 rep max! 

Since my testing showed I lack strength and power I figured this would be a good addition that could help significantly. Besides, I’ve always had an interest in lifting. Hopefully this will grow the healthy habit of strength work that I’ve lost over the past year or so. For years I did a ton of body weight exercises. Pull ups, hanging leg raises, handstand pushups, body weight squats, pistol squats, all sorts of progressions, but never had more than a pull up bar and a few kettlebells. Also my strength plan for ultras, “The Money Workout” from Uphill Athlete/Evoke Endurance, was my go to progression for legs. A SOLID muscular endurance routine for legs.

Getting older I understand the need for strength training. It doesn’t take long either, it’s a matter of having the discipline to add it in to the rest of a busy life. So far I’ve had a few sessions and it seems like a good thing.

In 3 weeks I’m racing the Malvern Hills Ultra. Link: https://www.ultrarunningltd.co.uk/race/the-malvern-hills-ultra/#tab-46433  I ran it years ago when it was 56 miles, now it’s 47. I’m excited and training seems to be going well. I’ve changed my training and have been doing more faster running and less long easy runs so it will be interesting to see how it goes. 

It will be fun to do a shorter race and one that’s closer to home. I haven’t had an opportunity to run the course which I had planned on doing. It is on the marked Worcestershire Way, and an out and back, but there are some areas that can be confusing or done quicker if you know the route. Fortunately I’ll have it on my watch unlike the first time I ran before watches had navigation! I don’t believe there is tracking and I’m not sure if I’ll have crew. It would be great to have a crew as the aid stations are 7-9 miles apart and I could run with very little kit. Being a 47 mile race the required kit is pretty basic, but I will need to sort the crazy amount of nutrition I’ve been consuming. 

A few photos from running. Been enjoying long faster road runs lately. The country lanes are really enjoyable but where I’m at can be hilly. I’m assuming the “12%” is an average as the center part of this climb you can’t see has got to be way steeper! At least it definitely seems much steeper! 

Update on metabolic testing!

In December I had mentioned I got a lactate test and VO2 max tested. It was quite delayed with the holidays but I finally got my official results a couple weeks ago. My VO2 was higher than I initially thought which was pretty cool. They estimated it at 64 but it was actually 67. Still way above average for my age, but really nothing out of the ordinary. To put it in perspective one of the most decorated Nordic skiers ever from Norway, Bjorn Daehlie clocked a 94 I believe! This is also one of the highest ever recorded! 

From the lactate testing I learned I’m operating in the aerobic zone up until 152 beats per minute. This is defined as my aerobic threshold or lactate threshold 1 (LT1). So theoretically if I’m under that and just keep feeding myself I should be able to go on forever. Obviously other factors come in to play but I was really happy with this. Mainly because it gave me confidence that I’m ok if I’m below that, and now I know at that effort level I’m not going too hard. 

Lactate Threshold 2 (LT2), or my anaerobic threshold, was found to be at 171 I believe. So beyond this number I’m running on borrowed time! This point is where my body is producing too much lactate that I can no longer process it and my muscles begin to refuse to work. 

Very simple biology from high school, lactates (lactic acid) are a by product of exercise. You actually use them as fuel up until your body is too overloaded with them. Between LT1 and LT2 is a sweet spot where you are creating more and more lactates up until it’s too much. You’re able to process them though and use them for fuel alongside the sugars from the lower intensity. 

Knowing these heart rates I can fine tune my training and as mentioned it’s really given me confidence pertaining to effort levels. So, I’m doing much more faster sessions now which yes are difficult but really fun! The fun part is the adaptations to these workouts come fairly quickly, however you still need to be doing at least 80% of  training below that LT1. This is the aerobic base training that supports the harder work. A great analogy is the base aerobic training is a  vacuum cleaner that sucks up all the lactate. A bigger vacuum can utilize more lactate. 

Another metric they tested was power. I’m all slow twitch muscle. Never been powerful. They performed two tests, a  vertical jump test, and a static isometric deadlift. Both were on force plates and measured the total production of force I could produce. I was below average on both! And below average compared to average people, not athletes! No surprise really. I do strength work but it’s never max weights, it’s for muscular endurance. I rarely do all out speed work, or speed work in general. So I’m not going to produce power if I don’t train it! Time to wake up what fast twitch muscles I have! 

This was another motivator. I’ve begun weekly all out hill sprints again. I’m also frantically looking for a squat bar, weights, and squat stands as this is one extremely good way to build power. Heavy squats. These could actually be the unicorn exercise I’ve been missing. Supposedly many runners see significant improvements from these, I sure sound like a candidate! Weights are surprisingly expensive but I’m looking for used ones which are everywhere and sometimes dirt cheap. I’ve yet to get any mainly because I’ve got to get the timing belt changed on my car, and after that expense I’ll see what’s left and get squatting! Really excited for this! 

Post Arc Thoughts

Well here’s pretty much a cut and paste from my phone. Post race thoughts from the Arc of Attrition. These lists are great for improving things in the future. I’ll refer back to these for most races to fine tune things. The reality is you really don’t need much. The races require a lot, you use very little of it. I’m not one to buy things just because they are new, I’ll use something until it’s broke or if it isn’t working. In training I’m tolerant of things like less breathable jackets but during a race it can make difference. You’re already uncomfortable so minor things like chafing (of which I had none!), a wet or jacket hat that keeps you chilled, can make it less comfortable and can be avoided in the future. 

Looking back at physical issues and nutrition are most important. The reason for my DNF will need to be resolved, more strength training? More descent training? Probably. I’ll have a deeper look at my training.

Shoes: 

Blisters on left foot, pinky, callous/bunion 

Maceration from wet conditions at St. Ives (expected) 

Swapping footbeds was good idea, probably helped maceration and cheaper than two pairs of shoes. HOKA Mafate Speed otherwise great Probably should’ve broke the shoes in rather than wear a brand new pair! 😂 Most likely the reason for the blisters. 

Headlamp: 

1st battery lasted only 4 hours, second only 6-7. These should be at least 8 hours each. My Petzl is nearly 12 years old!  Time for a new headlamp!?

Hands:

Shell mitts were actually great for keeping hands warm without liner, need to experiment with this. Also nice to have waterproof palm for wet gates, rocks, etc. Liner gloves get wet they are worthless. Didn’t have a chance to use chemical heat warmers.

Clothing:

Need to look into long sleeve shirts, that being said Patagonia t-shirt and long sleeve combo did work well. Rain jacket excellent. Arcteryx orange wind jacket seems to always wet out, not breathable enough. Always worried wearing a waterproof would be too hot but for some reason, ideal conditions or maybe the long sleeve, this worked excellent. 

Race Vest:

New Salomon race vest was good but disorganized, lots of little kit to deal with (simplify), flasks hard to get in when full, maybe medium size is better? 

Compressport belt was excellent for nutrition and empty gel packages Phone was cumbersome and a worry. Should I carry a small power bank? Depends on race possibly. 

Need to research headphone options, may be worth trying in ear again for complete immersion in music. This really helps with mental focus on the treadmill. In ear headphones seem to bounce and give residual noise which sucks though. Expensive experiment finding one that works.

Purple Vaga hat was too hot, in the past the black one held too much sweat and water I got cold. These hats fit well but maybe there’s a better fabric out there, breathable and more weather resistant. Maybe go back to Patagonia duckbill.

Ended up wearing buff for headlamp forehead protection and then kept it on, no complaints but could be too hot. Buffs are dorky but it worked! 

Poles? I joked about them but could they have helped descend in the really technical bits? 

Deep heat, foam roller with crew for possible injury issues? 

The run/training: 

I was strong in the climbs 

Still hesitant in the technical stuff, especially descending 

Descending trashed legs, maybe cause of injury? I don’t train descending ******* Need to strengthen hip flexors, this seems to be a common theme on your right. 

Pace seemed about right, heart rate could’ve been higher though. Could I have ran faster at the beginning? 

 Food: 

SIS Betafuel gels 100%!!! Precision Hydration 90g gels alright but cumbersome, Precision Hydration caffeine gels taste metallic but worked well! Nut bars were kind of nice to have for salt and solid food. Need a salty solid fuel option, crew with salty broth could be a great option Craved salt later on, electrolytes? 80g carbs per hour felt about right but probably could and should do more. May actually have been more like 90g per hour withTailwind drink mix.

Tailwind drink mix was good but a faff to deal with during the race, I never used it at aid stations as planned. 

 

Apple juice always good too, had this with my crew. 

 Aid stations: 

Didn’t care for for aid station options, next time if possible just stick with gels. Beef stew was good at St. Ives. Crisps were a pain to eat. Coke was ok. Seemed to be happy with water, gels, maybe tailwind but it was difficult to deal with while running. 

 Porthleven (mile 25) didn’t need to go in with crew outside. Make sure you have plenty of gels here!!!!! You ran out!!!!