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.
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