Round Ripon

Round Ripon 35 mile ultra, Saturday 3rd October.

After being inspired by Andy and Julie's achievements in Chamonix, I found myself reading with envy the various reports of the UTMB / CCC and the OCC.  With encouragement from Julie, I started to look at the application and qualification process for the OCC 2016.  With the requirement for 1 qualification point to be achieved by December, I knew I'd have to get my skates on.  Although I wasn't giving myself much time to prepare, I applied to take part in the Round Ripon 35 mile trail on 3rd October. If I completed the Round Ripon, this would give me the 1 point required.

Since joining WRC, I've done a couple of marathons but hadn't participated in any long distance trail runs. I was also aware I needed to improve my hill running.   As part of my preparation, I tried to do as much hill running as possible. This included the Great Langdale half marathon and also a few trips to Macclesfield to run Trevor's Summer Handicap route of Shutlingsloe and Teggs Nose.

With as much preparation as I could squeeze into little over a month, and with the morning mist hanging over, I arrived at the start in the amusingly named village Studley Roger for the pre race briefing. Scanning the room, I didn't feel as out of my depth as I'd feared. Aside from a couple of macho types advising me not to bother stopping at the first checkpoint and to waste as little time as possible at subsequent checkpoints, the majority of runners were not the superman types.

Briefing over, the race started.  I settled into a pace usually reserved for Sunday morning club runs.. Ignoring my macho mates advice, I took a few minutes at CP1 to have a few cups of the energy drink and also a couple of pieces of fruit cake available.  Although I studied the maps and instructions, I found the route to be difficult to navigate.  Luckily for me, I didn't have to worry too much as I latched on to a few locals from Ripon Runners.

CP2 was in Masham, famous for its breweries, with the whiff of hops, we made our way through the town and followed the route taking in the stunning North Yorkshire countryside. I arrived at the final checkpoint still feeling strong. Gorged on more fruit cake, and with only 9 miles to go, I took a few minutes to retie laces, have a stretch and then set off again for the final section. I had now left behind the Ripon runners and started to pick off a few of the runners ahead of me. As I approached the final few miles, I was overtaken by one of the Ripon Runners with some light hearted (I think !) abuse for letting them navigate me round. The last couple of miles went through the grounds of the beautiful Fountains Abbey. With the batteries on my Garmin fading fast, I crossed the finish in just under 7 hours and in 48th place. I was pleased to note that I beat one of my macho friends by 15 mins and the other one retired at CP3.

After a soak in the bath at the b&b, I walked the 10 mins into Ripon to meet up with the Ripon Runners I'd met earlier. Over a couple of beers all was forgiven for ditching them in pursuit of a few race places.

If anyone's considering a 50k / 35 mile ultra, I'd urge them to do it. With none of the pb  / time related pressure, I found this event much easier than a marathon. Unless of course you're thinking about something like the Bob Graham or UTMB, in which case go and talk to Andy!

1 Alex Fawcett (Ripon Runners) 4:29:06
15 Anneke Imeson (Ripon Runners) 5:46:28
48 Bernard McCarron (Wilmslow) 6:59:20
131 started, and 126 finished.

Bernard