Thoughts on the Cotswold Century.

I know it’s late but I always like to follow up a race with a “how things went” kind of post. I guess it helps remind me of things to do differently in any upcoming events. 

Honestly the race went nearly seamless! Especially considering the limited amount of focused training I did. I entered it as a “something to do” kind of race. It had been a long time since I’d raced due to COVID with my last previous race being in spring of 2019. I wanted something to motivate me to train a bit more. Cotswold was close to home too so travel wouldn’t be much of an issue. I’d also signed up and backed out of it before, I think due to injury.

Training: 

I had just been putting in random miles throughout the weeks, usually I try for minimum of 40, but many times without any drive for an important goal other things seems to become priority. Martial arts took over as did my body weight strength routine. I did understand how important my muscular endurance routine was, which is running specific, so focused on that. I’ve had fantastic results from that improving my leg muscle fatigue resistance late in races. Got that routine from Training for the Uphill Athlete and it’s a game changer. They call it the “money workout” and although not easy you’ll get huge gains in leg fatigue resistance. I managed a few long runs with vert, maybe even 4, but nothing like I’m cycling through right now (or last fall) looking at the Arc of Attrition in January. I knew I could finish but honestly had no idea how I’d feel. 

Feeding: 

ln past races I’d struggled with sugar drops from not eating enough. Basically I’d lose energy because I wasn’t eating enough sugar and would get all bonky and feel like shit. My mind would wander and I’d struggle to keep moving forward, losing focus on the task at hand, relentless forward progress. In the past if I recall I would eat about 100 calories every 30 minutes. This time I tried every 20 minutes. So I’d be getting around 300 calories an hour. I ate Clif Bloks, Tesco fruit bars, and KIND chocolate and nut bars. I also had made some chocolate peanut butter balls but soon found out I didn’t care for them. I tried to cycle through all of this stuff routinely and then at aid stations would eat whatever, usually plain Pringles. It worked very well. I only recall one sugar drop late in the race where I lost track of time and likely missed a feed. My mind was focused the entire race which was great. Food-wise I still get sick of the Bloks, just too sweet, but they go down well and are easy to carry. The Tesco fruit bars are ok, but also too sweet and I grew tired of them, I may axe these next time. They also are a bit on the low side for calories compared to the other options. The KIND bars were a nice change, I guess I don’t have an opinion one way or the other with them! One thing I did have the second half was Clif Nut Butter Filled bars. A gamble to try but they were great. They also have nearly 250 calories per bar! I mentioned the home made chocolate peanut butter balls. I ate some the first half, and although good, just too chocolatety for me. So avoided them and actually didn’t resupply them at my drop bag. At the aid stations I recall having Pringles as I mentioned. Coke too. Those are my go to foods I think. Coke doesn’t travel well though being carbonated so can’t really fill a bottle and go, besides I prefer water. I also had vegetable soup and chili with rice. The only downside to these is they take time to eat at an aid station. 

Fluids I carried comprised only of water,  except for the one time I tried to carry coke and late in the race it sprayed all over me. I started with three soft flasks, 500ml each, which were required. I usually only have two but due to the potential and actual heat they required an extra 500ml. It seemed to be perfect. Once it cooled off I was ok with only two. I was peeing all day just fine, the first time I’d done this, as I normally manage to dig myself into a dehydrated hole and end up with urine the color of coke. This situation usually ends up in cramping and also I get really worried about my kidney health. I also took a Salt Stick salt tablet  about every 45 minutes just in case but wasn’t too strict about this though. 

Gear:

I ran with my bigger Ultimate Direction Mountain Vest that I’d gotten for the Arc. It has a bigger capacity for more gear. I ended up using it mainly because the soft flasks carry better in this compared to my old school race vests that are made for bottles. Plus I was carrying food for the first 47 miles, I’d restock from my drop bag at half way. The vest worked great, there’s always something that could be better pocket-wise though as I struggle to find a decent easily accessible place for my cup. Most races are cup-less now so you need to bring a collapsible cup for drinks. It’s annoying to take off my race vest to get my cup. 

Over lockdown I got a new watch, a Coros Apex Pro. It’s great but I hadn’t raced with it yet so was unfamiliar with the lap function and also the navigation. I usually use the lap function to try to track how much time I spend at aid stations and also so I know how far I have to the next one. I’m never concerned about total miles or time. Breaking the race up into realistic distances works extremely well. I really should’ve practiced with this beforehand because it didn’t work as my old Suunto had. I also knew very little about how to access, exit, and manipulate the navigation functions. Rookie mistakes I’ll very much need to solve before the Arc. It looks like you can enter aid stations into the GPX file of the race on the watch which could solve all these issues for me. I just need to practice. 

Shoes were fine. I’ve come to the conclusion shoes don’t matter for me. Zero blisters. I was going to use my tried and true Altra Lone Peak, even paying full price for a new pair of Lone Peak 5. Normally I’ll get them discounted through work (a running store) but the distributor in the UK is shit and had zero stock. Anyway, I figured I’d wear my Saucony Peregrine 10 on the drive down and switch to race shoes once there. The Peregrine felt so good I ran the first half of the race in them! I switched to the Lone Peak halfway, as well as my socks (tried and true DryMax Light Trail crew height!). Honestly I may end up with Peregrines from here out. 

I carried a small bodyglide in my pocket and routinely applied it to the insides of my thighs. I’ve had chafe issues here in the past. Lycra shorts just aren’t  supportive enough, many people swear by these but not me. I did end up with the beginning of possibly a major chafe issue but not till the very end, so that worked I guess. 

My lights were good. Still using the Petzl Nao. I’d gotten better batteries from Germany but wasn’t sure which was which carrying a spare. It lasted about 6 hours and then gave off the warning flash, I switched to a new battery and was fine. Later I read that the flash is just that, a warning, it’s not dead yet so I could’ve ran it longer. Something I need to be sure about for the Arc is battery life as January with provide a long ass night of darkness. It’s hard though unless I’m racing to use a full battery and be familiar with it.

Other:

The most difficult part is dealing with the exhaustion and sleep deprivation. I guess there’s not much I can do about this though! This is really what seems to slowdown the pace. I’ve also been afraid to push the pace towards the end. I need to realize and act on it. They say the race doesn’t start until mile 70. I guess when I get there I could always hobble in so maybe if all is going well that’s the plan. Focus on a full running stride. No more ultra shuffling.

Cotswold Way Century Race Report

Well it’s been about a month so I guess I should blog about the Cotswold Way Century ultra I ran. I’ve been trying to use my time more productively and staying off the internet as it’s such a waste for the most part, main reason why I don’t write as much as I used to. So here it is, and apologies for no photos. I took none and there wasn’t a photographer out on the course. I did manage to get the one fuzzy photo and the finish though! 

Race report, Cotswold Way Century. 102 miles along the Cotswold Way from Chipping Campden to Bath.

I woke up fairly early and started my day as normal. Fortunately it was only a 2 hour drive or so to the park and ride where I would leave my car and board a coach that took us to the start of the race in Chipping Campden. The Cotswold Way Century was a point to point race and logistically it worked out best for me to leave a car at the finish, versus taking a train back to the start. I’d never been on the Cotswold Way but had spent a small amount of time in the Cotswolds. My wife and I spent a day out sans kids and we’d also taken the family to Bourton-on-the-Water a couple times. The area was very unique as the houses and buildings were pretty much all made of Cotswold stone, a distinct yellow colored limestone. It’s expensive, it not only looks it, but the amount of extremely high end cars you see says it all. I believe it’s within train commute distance to London as well so those who work in London and don’t want to live in London are likely able to commute. 

The terrain is hilly. A lot of wooded ups and down similar to a river valley without the river or the valley. I hadn’t done any research really other than knowing the race distance and also the vertical ascent. 102 miles, no big deal, been there done that. Distance in these events no longer intimidated me. Vert was stated at 12,100 feet. Not a mountain race but not flat. However just because we’re not in the mountains doesn’t mean it will be easy climbing, just look at Superior 100! I’d assume short steep climbs and the RD does warn that the course is deceiving! 

I organized my kit at the park and ride and soon found the coach. I had stopped and bought a bunch of food on the drive down so I would have lunch. I managed to get some pesto pasta, fruit, and some Clif bars. The race started at noon and in the busyness of travel I’d likely forget to eat, I wasn’t going to let that happen. I grabbed a seat on the bus, socially distanced with mask on, and we were soon on our way to the start. I recognized the terrain as we pretty much backtracked were I had just come from. I kept to myself, listening to gossip about people who had entered the race, fastest times, past experiences, I’m usually not much of a talker unless talked to. 

We arrived in Chipping Campden at a school where the start headquarters were. The sun was out, which wasn’t forecast, but it was still a tad cool in the shade as a light breeze moved through. I got my race number, t-shirt, and a square box that I needed to tape to my race vest - a gps tracker.  Next I had my required race kit checked, the majority, if not all ultras here and likely Europe require a minimum amount of gear you need to have with you for the entirety of the race. This is different from the US races which require nothing! It’s a safety thing. The weather turns quick and hypothermia sets in fast even in the low 40’s. It’s a bone chilling, wet cold. Never really heavy rain but an annoying light rain is common too. Fog sets in unexpectedly and visibility soon is at zero and getting lost is a common occurrence. Add all these conditions up, you’re stuck in the “clag” and soon you can find yourself in trouble. Common checklist items are full waterproofs, extra base layers, emergency food, emergency bivy bag, among a few other things. 

After completing the check in process I sat down and had some lunch. Fortunately my stomach is solid so I had pasta and found a cup of coffee. No pre race engineered foods for me! Real food! I organized my race vest, filled up my water, and handed over my drop bag that I’d get at around mile 47. Shortly after the race director began the pre race briefing. 

Other than the usual safety stuff, reminders to be quiet at night around houses, close gates (the UK has tons of gates along footpaths that cross farmer fields), updates on any course changes, he also strongly recommended we carry more water than planned. The sun was planning on staying out and the temperatures would be higher than forecast. We were all expecting upper 50’s and clouds. The first few aid stations were around 12 miles apart, exposed in fields, so we should expect to be hot and thirsty. Also with the sun and temperature change it was guaranteed to bring fog at night limiting visibility and making navigating difficult. The Cotswold Way, being a national trail, was marked in its entirety however I’d soon find out many of the signs were hidden in overgrown foliage, camouflaged by deteriorating wood, and just easy to miss unless you’re really paying attention. Navigation is usually my main worry. I had a map, a gpx file on my watch, and likely would run with others and work together to not get lost. I had never used my watch for navigation so it would be a learning process to figure it out during a race.

Another runner started up conversation as we milled about anxiously awaiting the start. It’s always fun to hear what other races people have done. This guy had been all over Europe. He was a back of the pack runner with a goal of finishing. I believe he’d done this race before and ended up dropping out so was back for a second try. He’d been plagued with blister issues and was forever trying different shoes. 

Soon we were walking into Chipping Campden to the official starting point at the northern terminus of the Cotswold Way. I soon realized I’d been here before with Lauren, my wife! A casual start with no fan fare and we were off. I regretted forgetting sun screen but it was too late now.  

My focus this race was to eat and drink. I’d failed at this in the past and needed to stay on top of it. I was unsure of my fitness as I hadn’t done any real focused training for this event, but there was nothing I could do about that. In the past I’d always ended up dehydrated early in races, pissing Coke colored urine, and later had felt the blood sugar drops of not eating. I wanted to avoid these things this time around. I won’t want to eat but had to force myself to. I’d planned on eating around 100 calories every twenty minutes. In the past it had been 30-45 minutes which obviously hadn’t been enough. The human body can absorb 250-300 calories an hour, I may as well try to max that out and see what happens. I’d unknowingly eat less than planned due to missing or delaying a feed or eating a lower calorie option while running so every twenty minutes should be alright. 

From the start a couple guys shot off the front. I assumed we’d reel them in later. I settled into a group in the top 7. We all chatted and bounced back and forth as people stopped to pee, ran faster or slower. There were veteran 100 mile runners and rookies. We talked about the race, our families, training, watches (ie how to navigate with a Coros!), what other events we’d done, where we were from…. The usual stuff. It’s crazy how well you get to know people. Many of the guys I was with were in the same boat as me. Married with kids, running gave them that much needed alone time. Racing added in the adventure they didn’t have time for now in middle age. 

It was hot out but I’d stuck to my feeding plan. I’d been drinking enough, taking salt tablets just in case, and eating every twenty minutes. The scenery was typical hilly, lumpy, England. Steep yet gradual climbs through oak woodlands, across fields, with sweeping views looking down across more of the same. The first few aid stations I was in and out within a few minutes. I really just needed to fill water, chug a bit as well, and maybe grab a little food for the road. I’d pretty much planned to have all my food in my pack until my drop bag. The extra weight and “pocket management” was a pain but made aid stations quicker. The run was going well, I was feeling good, peeing a lot, and generally was enjoying myself. 

At one point we entered a small village and were running along the sidewalks. A guy in front of me was nearly hit by a car. He neglected to look for turning vehicles as he crossed a road. A Defender locked his brakes up chirping his tires fortunately not hitting him! Pedestrians are rarely priority to cars here so I’m always super cautious. Shortly after I passed the guy, he wasn’t too talkative. No big deal, sometimes you don’t want to talk or just feel like crap. I ran on ahead of him expecting him and another guy to reel me in. They hadn’t yet and I couldn’t see them. Out came my map, it appeared I’d missed a turn. I back tracked and saw the sign I’d missed. It was on someone’s gated driveway. I opened the gate and ran through their property. Just an example of route finding difficulties. It still boggles my mind that trails go through people’s property! In the US this would never happen! I’ve missed turns like this before because to me it’s not intuitive. I was kind of disappointed as I believe the guy I had passed wasn’t too far from me and hadn’t shouted at me. It’s just kind of common courtesy to let your fellow racer know they’ve gone wrong. Maybe he hadn’t seen me.

I reeled them in and on we went. Soon we were on a golf course with some solid climbs, off camber as well which was no fun. A new runner had caught up to us and we had reeled in the guy in second place that took off from the start. Darkness would soon be upon us so we picked up the pace a bit, well at least as much as you can in an ultra! 

I’d befriended a runner, Greg - aka number 58, and had been having good conversation. Our paces and goals were similar so we continued on together. Another guy joined us. Soon we were all at mile 47, Painswick Football Club, and the aid station with our drop bags. We swapped shoes and socks, had some pasta, reloaded our packs with food and were on our way. We noticed one guy pass us, he was in and out quickly while we spent about 16 minutes. The third in our group stayed longer receiving a massage from his wife and seemed to be fairly beat up which surprised us as he seemed to be in good condition. Out into the dark we went in 4th and 5th place. One guy way out front who was never reeled in, the guy who passed us at the aid station, and one other. 

Things get a bit fuzzy from here on out, likely due to exhaustion and sleep deprivation. However I stuck to my feeding plan and had maybe one sugar drop late in the dark. Overall I was feeling great! Muscles felt good, my strength training had worked! My head was reasonably “straight” since I’d been eating enough and being nighttime I’d passed the dehydration test of the day, of which I’d heard many people had dropped out from the heat. Greg and I stuck together helping each other stay on task and in the right direction.

At some point along the course at night we came across a climb that was insane. It was hardly even walkable it was so steep! Possibly we were hallucinating but it was just unreal and from then on we decided we’d never return to the Cotswold Way again, we even felt sorry for people who walk it. Yeah it has some scenic portions, but the actual trail itself was uncomfortable and not all that enjoyable to travel on!  Shortly after that we ascended into thick heavy clag. Rain was threatening and fog had set in. We were circumnavigating a golf course and kept on course but once off it back into fields and pastures we got off course a few times. Another time we missed an obvious correct trail. Every time rather than back tracking we bushwhacked through wet nettle, briars, and blackberry bushes attempting to get back on track. It was annoying and frustrating getting out of rhythm and I’m unsure of how much time we lost and distance we added. 

Soon it was morning and we were out of the dark and the fog was lifting. Greg and I hadn’t seen anyone in a while. We were in 4th and 5th place still and supposedly the guy in 6th was about 5km behind us. We felt comfortable with that and still were in the mindset that we could catch people. We weren’t  thinking  “fuck places, let’s just get under 24 hours,” well at least not yet! The aid stations were closer together compared to the beginning now. Those early 11, 12 mile stretches were rough. Now we were more around 7 which was more reasonable. At one, I believe within 20 miles of the finish, the aid worker had brought his personal Nespresso machine! What a treat that was! No dehydrated shit coffee here! That was a huge pick me up! I’d switched as I do to chips and coke, well mostly chips, which I’ve naturally done with success in past races. I’d grab a chug of coke, a handful of Pringles, and off we’d go. The only annoying thing was I struggled with the dryness of the chips. Maybe it’s time to experiment with making a chip and liquid mush? In between stations I’d force down Clif Bloks, nut butter filled Clif bars, and Kind nut and chocolate bars. I’d never tried Clif bars before but they were fantastic! Such a nice change from sugary Bloks. Plus they have twice the calories which helps since late in races routine slips and it’s easy to get behind on feeding.

For a Sunday morning the traffic was difficult. A couple road crossings were intense to say the least. Fast moving cars and exhausted runners don’t mix well. I understand why the RD said absolutely NO headphones on roads. Surprisingly I didn’t listen to any music during the entire race. This was odd however Greg and I got along well and it wasn’t really necessary. He was from Falmouth Cornwall and hilariously kept saying “fuckin’ ‘ell!” as his routine response! He laughed his ass off at my comment late in the race of “man, I’m fucking whipped right now.” I don’t think he’d heard that one! 

Exhaustion had set in. We’d slowed down and were routinely using a walk for 50 steps and run to keep from constantly walking. My legs felt great, stomach decent, feet ok, it my left upper calf that was sore, injury type pain. A few weeks before in Muay Thai we were practicing a combo of jab, cross, spinning heel kick. It was solid and my partner Adam and I were going full effort and attempting to go higher and higher with the kick. I knew I’d pushed it a bit and was sore. My hip flexor and hamstring weren’t happy. I’d guessed after a few days it would be better. I even took a few weeks off Muay Thai leading up to the race. It got marginally better but I was still concerned about it. Well, it was finally rearing it’s head and within 10 or so miles of the finish. The injury was referring the pain to the top of my calf. It was red, hot, swollen, and painful. I wouldn’t be giving it the opportunity to allow me to quit however. 

We could see Bath. The sun was out, morning walkers questioning us were astounded by the fact that we started yesterday in Chipping Campden. We stayed as consistent as possible, we talked less, and supposedly the guy behind us was gaining!  A long rocky decent we focused on running and into the outskirts of bath we arrived, only  to be greeted by a seemingly straight up paved path! Who the hell designed this! Unexpected. Demoralizing. But we were so close! 

By now we just wanted to be done and had a keen eye on our watches going for sub 24 hours. 100 miles in a day being the ultimate goal. We were still fairly confident that the guy bearing down on us wouldn’t get us, however, we really didn’t care that much now! We snaked our way through suburbs into the city of Bath. It was busy being around 1130 and the sun out. I didn’t realize how big Bath was or how touristy it would be! Pedestrians became animated cones as we careened in, out, back, and forth. We paralleled an open green space on a sidewalk that was surprisingly steep going down we jogged being with a mile of the finish. Shortly I heard fast paced heavy footsteps behind me. A guy ran past and we realized he was in the race! Oh shit! Oh well!? We didn’t care, that is until I spotted another guy within 200 meters! I couldn’t tell if he was going fast or not but immediately went from the ultra shuffle to 5km pace through busy Sunday Bath! My injury pain was gone and I was running full stride as was Greg. Streets were rammed with traffic and crossings were intense. It was tough finding Cotswold Way signs in the crowds and we passed the final turn into Bath Abbey, I spotted the abbey as we ran by, around the corner we went and finally into the finish we go. 

We officially finished 5th and 6th and most importantly under 24 hours! The finish was uneventful. The grounds in front of the abbey were packed with tourists so no finish chute just a lady with a clip board who didn’t even see us finish since we came around the side! We were given our Sub 24 belt buckles and another woman walked us to the finish line race headquarters at the YMCA. It was kind of an agonizing walk, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile through busy streets. Agonizing because I just wanted to sit! Finally there we got our bags, there were showers, and that was it. 

To get to the showers you had to go up a huge flight of stairs! Then once in, down a huge flight of stairs! But it was worth it. I spoke with a medic about my leg, he thought it was a strain. Then sat and chatted with the RD. First of all he was an American. He was from Texas. Ended up over here for school in Edinburgh Scotland. This is where it gets interesting. He met a girl, Scottish, from Ayrshire, born in Irvine. My wife is Scottish, from Ayrshire, born in Irvine! Kind of crazy! He ended up staying here after he got his Phd, ran in college in Texas, started these events for fun. 

We all parted ways, Greg found a hotel for the night before taking trains home a day later. I shuffled my way around Bath attempting to figure out the bus system. I just wanted to eat and sleep. It was cold and it started raining. Tired and frustrated I finally figured out my way back to the park and ride thanks to a very helpful bus driver. I got in my sleeping bag and slept for a few hours in the car. Then drove the couple hours back.