FULL REPORT ... at last

After months of hard work planning, organising, briefing helpers … and training I finally left Otley shortly after 9.00am on Saturday 23 May with a small party of family and friends in attendance – more than expected really, I was quite surprised. Everyone counted down from ten to one, my first helper (Nick Hodgkinson) started the official stopwatch and I was off. Ian Fisher had planned to cycle with me for the first few miles but that failed to materialise when he was late getting out of bed and had to drive to Otley instead of cycle.

The first six miles or so were uphill but this was OK as I knew it would help to curb my pace in the first hour or two. As I ran past the Headingley branch of Up & Running the staff came out to clap and cheer me on which was a nice touch considering they had given me over £175.00 worth of kit for this run. Arrived at Leeds Town Hall and waited around for about five minutes before leaving because the local media had been invited to the start of the Leeds to London record attempt. Disappointingly no one was there, except a wedding party, when I left at exactly 10.43am (about seven minutes ahead of schedule).

The weather was now beginning to get hotter so at the first available opportunity after leaving Leeds I changed from a cotton T shirt into coolmax vest. As I was doing so we had a short rain shower. At Cutsyke (near Castleford) the first of the helpers’ changeovers was due to take place; where all my food, drink, maps and clothes were to be transferred from Nick’s car to Huw Illingworth’s. Shortly after this Nick began his stint of running with me. At this point I was about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.

Nick’s running came to an end just to the south of Ackworth Moor Top and Huw had to take him back to his car. For the next few miles I was on my own but before they left I made sure I had enough food and drink along with a map of the next section. As it turned out I was alone for much longer than anticipated and I didn’t see Huw and the support vehicle for about another four miles.

Found navigation difficult through Goldthorpe and Bolton Upon Dearne and at one point I had to phone Huw to make sure I was taking the correct route – he was in his car about a mile ahead. Negotiating our way through Mexborough was no problem at all but Conisbrough was a different story – partly my fault I suppose. Instead of sticking to the nice and simple main road when planning the route I had decided to detour round the back of Conisbrough Castle to save around 250m. Naturally, we missed the junction and stayed on the main road to the next helpers’ changeover point at the far side of the town.

At this point four members of Worksop Harriers replaced Huw. John Harrison and Alan McGinley in the car while Caroline McGinley and experienced ultra runner Steve Battle were running with me for a while. Left Conisbrough over twenty minutes ahead of schedule and walked up the hill towards Stainton.

My original plan had been to begin each hour by walking for 10 minutes before running for the remaining 50. That plan had served me well in previous 24-hour races so I knew it would work for at least half of my journey to London. During the first five hours of this run it had become obvious that a different strategy was needed as I found myself stopping for 30 seconds or so every few miles when the car drivers wanted to relay navigational information or give me something to eat. I had to stop at road junctions too occasionally. I decided to take less than 10 minutes walking break every hour.

For the next 70 or 80 minutes the three of us ran through beautiful countryside in warm weather that was a little cloudy at times. This suited me fine as I’ve always felt that it’s not necessarily the temperature that’s energy sapping but the sunshine and brightness. Running south along the A60 into Worksop the conversation between the three of us was very good and I felt very relaxed at 10 minutes per mile. It was during this stretch that I learned that Caroline had only been a runner for a couple of years and had never run more that 14 miles before. She had entered the Edinburgh marathon but due to lack of fitness had given her number to Steve. She must have run further than her previous best before we entered Worksop, but she was looking strong and wanted to continue … who was I to argue.

Between Worksop and Ollerton we ran through Sherwood Forest and John handed me a long sleeved top to wear when the temperature fell. He knew that my internal thermometer didn’t work properly (a side effect of chemotherapy) so he did the right thing and I was grateful to him for that. At about 9 o’clock (or maybe just after) came my first treat. John had gone on a few miles to fetch me a fresh cup of coffee from McDonald’s. I know McDonald’s coffee isn’t the best in the world but it was warm, caffeinated and appreciated. It was a small but great gesture from John who had been driving his car for well over four hours by now and still had a fair way to go.

The diuretic effect of the coffee began to work almost immediately though and I soon found myself needing to find that McDonald’s … quickly. Although I was well ahead of schedule I lost ten minutes or so and my hankie too. Caroline had stopped running by this time but had covered 22 miles – an improvement of over 50% - that was truly inspirational stuff.

I don’t remember much of the next 90 minutes but everything was progressing well and I was still ahead of schedule and feeling good. At Kirklington it was time for Phil Robertson to take over from Steve as companion, we both knew it was time to put on the head torches as we continued into the night. As Phil was injured he was on his bicycle and I really felt for him, as I knew he really wanted to be training for the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc for which he has a confirmed place. That 100 mile race in The Alps is at the end of August. At this point John and Alan were still in their car but now had Steve, Caroline and her daughter in the back along with all my gear. A few miles later, in Southwell, Liz Ashton and her friend Elaine took over car duties from the Worksop Crew.

Almost immediately we headed onto the main road (A612) and I was surprised at how quiet it was, sometimes we didn’t see a single car for ten or fifteen minutes at a time. Turned right at Lowdham to cross the River Trent before continuing on main roads almost to Bingham when minor country lanes began again and I was pleased to have Phil with me to help light the way. We left Bingham on schedule and travelled south through Langar and Harby towards Melton Mowbray. We both commented on the beautiful sunrise that greeted the new day and I’m sure Liz & Elaine can’t have failed to notice it too. At Scalford Liz and Elaine were due to hand over to Huw again while companionship was handed from Phil to Mike Blamires. Considering they had absolutely no experience of ultra running at all Liz and Elaine had done a fantastic job keeping me fed, watered and on the correct route.

At this point I’d like to quote from Mike’s blog, as I’m sure he knows more about this than me. "I met Huw (who was to be supporting the next 25 or so miles in the car) in a dark lay-by in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in deepest Leicestershire. We found out that Chris was about three or four miles away and looking good, even though he had covered nearly 100 miles and had been on his feet for almost 20 hours. During our wait we had several visits from the Police, at first wondering what we were doing but once we explained it they kept popping back to check on progress and tootling off to see Chris, the disbelief and then subsequent amazement really sums up most peoples’ reactions to the event. Chris arrived and the cars were swapped over and we were off, it was about 3.30am and the sun was just starting to glow on the horizon, for now though it was torches on and plugging away in the dark. Chris was in an excellent mood and, apart from the protein drinks his food and drink programme was on course."

Ah yes … the protein drinks. I usually use Lucozade Sport Recovery Drink for the protein but, after trying throughout April and May, it just wasn’t available any more in a convenient size. I therefore had to resort to plan B: Science In Sport REGO. I have used this occasionally in the past, I’m not keen on the taste but it’s acceptable. On this run however, things were different. After almost 20 hours on the road the protein drinks were beginning to make me feel nauseous so I decided that I’d have to do without them for as long as possible.

Passed 100 miles in about 19 hours 8 minutes which, I’ve just noticed as I write this, was about 15 to 20 minutes late. Ran south from Melton Mowbray up the hill to Great Dalby. The company was good, the weather was fine and the scenery was fantastic. The mist in the small valleys that litter this area was simply stunning on a beautiful early Sunday morning with the entire road to ourselves. At Great Dalby we missed the junction again and added about 500m to our journey but as the sun climbed the sky my tired spirit awakened and with renewed vigour we picked up the pace slightly and headed towards Burrough on the Hill.

On towards Loddington, where we were to be met by Helen Barber and Tony Hazell who were taking over car duties from Huw. The sun was by now very bright and although it was only just after 7 o’clock I decided that I needed to put on sunglasses and suntan lotion. Through this part of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire the route was decidedly undulating but the scenery was still stunning and Mike and I felt blessed to be running past Eyebrook Reservoir at breakfast time on a quiet Sunday morning. Although the temperature was rising quickly it was exhilarating to be in these surroundings and the serenity helped keep the pace up.









Approaching the 200k point in the village of Great Easton I became aware that I was beginning to pull ahead of Mike and a short while later a pre existing minor ilio tibial band problem caused Mike to stop running. Also at Great Easton Derek Martin took over from Helen & Tony on car duty and to my surprise he had with him his fellow Abbey Runners member Sam Black. Both Derek and Sam are experienced ultra distance runners. After a brief rest and word of thanks to Mike for sharing so much with me I was off again and passed 200k in 23 hours 42 minutes 18 seconds (about 10 minutes behind schedule). Tony was now on running buddy duties as Helen took Mike back to his car while the temperature continued to rise.

Up and down more hills as we headed south towards Cottingham, Pipewell and Rushton. The temperature by mid morning was well above 20°C and as I was beginning to suffer so the pace began to slip – mainly because I needed more walking breaks up the all too frequent hills.

Helen was also beginning to get worried that the planned schedule was for me to be running solo through the Sunday afternoon when it looked like the temperature would be in the high twenties Celsius. She, and her partner Tony, were due to leave me at Thorpe Malsor but, after phoning Andy McMenemy (and asking him to rush down from Harrogate to keep me company) they decided to continue with me for another hour or so. With the benefit of hindsight I can see that they were right to be worried and I’m glad they hung around longer than they planned to. Derek and Sam were doing a fine job in the car and using the temporary marking paint on the road where necessary to make sure we didn’t take a wrong turn.

By the time we reached Wellingborough Tony and Helen were long gone and Sam was beginning to run with me in an attempt to make sure my pace didn’t drop to a slow walk through the hottest part of the day. I was grateful to him for managing to steer me through the built up area as Derek just about managed to navigate the one way system before catching us up on the far side of town. We then headed south towards Hinwick and the 150 mile point – arrived over an hour behind schedule but still determined to claw back some of the lost time when the temperature fell.

At about 147 miles Andy sped alongside in his car and asked how I was and whether he could get me anything. He knew I like coffee so that was his first thought but mine was for something to lower my temperature so ice cream was the order of the day. Off he went in search of ice cream; on these seemingly isolated country lanes I didn’t hold out much hope of seeing that ice cream any time soon. I had travelled less than three miles though when he returned and the strawberry cornetto worked it’s temporary magic to the extent that I managed to run well for about five miles or so before another hill halted my progress just beyond Chellington. Reached 150 miles in 29 hours 42 minutes 57 seconds.

Now I was well and truly into unknown territory. The furthest I had ever run in the past had been 141 miles and the longest time spent running had been 24 hours. By way of a prize Andy gave me a can of coke straight from the fridge – I’ve no idea where it came from - he must’ve found a shop somewhere. I was a bit worried about the fizziness but I gulped it down all the same because I needed to cool down … quickly.

A short while later along the road I passed 250 km in 30 hours 54 minutes 22 seconds. My next memory is of the housing estate we had to negotiate on the outskirts of Kempston, near Bedford. At this point Andy suggested I need some protein and peanuts would be a good idea, I thought about it for a while as I suspected that peanuts would be difficult to swallow. In the end though I knew that getting some protein on board was very important so the peanuts appeared and, with plenty of liquid, I managed to eat a handful.

With the housing estate duly negotiated the next task was the roadworks at the end of the new bypass. New roads, new roundabouts, very confusing but we managed and then headed towards Ampthill. Ahead I could see a very long hill climbing into the distance. Not steep, just long. I put my head down and with Sam in tow plodded away and over the course of the next 50 minutes or so managed to make my way almost to the top. The strange thing was that almost at the top Andy mentioned that Derek and Sam had finished their stint at transporting the food, drink and kit and had handed over to him. Soon after this, without Sam pushing me, I lost my impetus and slowed to a walk again.

Into Ampthill and I needed the toilet again. Amazingly we came across one almost on the roadside less than two minutes later. Five minutes passed with me inside and Andy outside regularly shouting through the door to make sure I was OK – he did this because I made all the helpers aware that I am likely to collapse if I stop moving for any length of time.

The hottest part of the day was over now but as the heat disappeared it had taken all my energy reserves with it. By this time the carefully prepared nutrition plan had gone out of the window too and I was only taking solid food at irregular intervals (mainly grapes too as they were extremely easy to chew and swallow).

Andy carefully guided me along to Upper Gravenhurst where Huw was due to meet us again for a third stint on car duty. Andy would be running with me from that point. I was quite pleased about this because I knew he had an uncanny ability to motivate me to keep moving and perhaps even pick up the pace a bit. An hour or so later though my worst nightmare happened – I lost consciousness while changing my shoes and socks.

This is how I remember it. The soles of my feet were hurting very badly so I decided I needed to change my shoes and socks. I sat down while Andy and Huw got to work (there’s no way I could’ve done it by myself – and they knew that). After a minute or so I said to Huw something like "I feel ill, I’m going to pass out". The next thing I know I’m barely awake but laid on my back on the grass with my feet in the air having my calves massaged by Andy. I slowly came round and then, very carefully, my helpers lifted my to my feet and supported me while encouraging me to walk around the village green (no idea which village green). After a total of about twenty minutes I was on my way again, five minutes later I was running. All the helpers had been briefed about this state of collapse I often suffer after running 100 miles or more and to their credit they were brilliant, especially Andy whose ultra running experience helped enormously. This condition is known as Exercise Associated Collapse and is caused by low blood pressure due to blood pooling in the legs after cessation of exercise (a postural hypotension).

We edged our way slowly towards London and came to a major hill just south of Hexton where I remember thinking: "I’ve just travelled 180 miles and now you expect me to climb this." I later looked at the map and on that hill we climbed 250 feet in just over 0.8 mile. At the top we continued running and walking into the night. The fading light was playing tricks with the trees lining the road and the shadowy shapes were looking increasingly menacing. Also at this point I remember asking myself why we were heading north when I knew London was south. I completely trusted Huw to follow the route on the map but it just seemed to me that we were headed north.

Approaching 300 km I was also beginning to fall asleep while moving. Within a few minutes I was using Andy as a crutch and with hindsight I should have had a proper half-hour nap in Huw’s car. Stubbornness prevailed though and on we went. It was my first 48 hour event and lessons have been learnt. Passed 300 km in 39 hours 22 minutes 23 seconds and continued pushing north (south) past the menacing shapes in the dark (trees) which were watching my every move.

Sometime in the darkness I realised that I couldn’t raise my hand higher than head height and for some reason I found that quite funny and started laughing. I also remember thinking to myself "I hope I’m not being too obnoxious to these guys," I know I’ve a tendency to shout a bit when things are not going to plan and mood swings and other highs and lows are par for the course with ultra distance running unfortunately. Huw later told me that "… if anything you were overly (and amusingly) concerned with our well being at times."

A short while later Huw informed me that it would not be long before the handover to Tracy and Steve Harvey (my sister and her husband). I knew that Huw and Andy had been fantastic beyond belief but it was still good to hear that I’d see my sister shortly and that she was looking after me on the final stretch. Time seemed to stand still as we made our way up more hills to Wheathampstead and then, suddenly and without warning, there she was – my sister – holding a flask of coffee. I stopped so quickly I almost fell over. She poured some of the warm black liquid and walked with me while Steve, Huw and Andy transferred all my belongings to their car. Five minutes later after a few hugs, tears and goodbyes Huw and Andy were on their way back to Yorkshire. I’ll be forever grateful for all their help.

I knew that having family for the final 30 miles or so would be a terrific boost and indeed that proved to be the case. On leaving Wheathampsted we missed a turning but rejoined the route about four or five miles later having added no more that half a mile. My pace was increasing now and passing through a deserted Hatfield I realised that I was running far more than walking. Turning onto the A1000 Great North Road the 200 mile point was not far ahead. I was four hours behind schedule at this point but I didn’t care – I was on my way to London. The time at 200 miles was 42 hours 11 minutes 30 seconds.

On and on I pushed and it felt easier now for a number of reasons: 1) it was almost always flat or downhill, 2) another dose of caffeine, 3) dawn would soon arrive and with it the natural night-time sleepiness would temporarily abate. Through north London towards the finish I was surprised at how quiet everything was. Although the time was between four and five in the morning I expected people to be around in a large and never sleeping city such as London. It was not until we met Colin Best at Tufnell Park that the city began to come alive. He was staying in London, not far from Tufnell Park, and had decided to take an early morning run with me to Trafalgar Square.

By this time I was wearing socks on my hands to keep out the early morning chill. We couldn’t find any of the three pairs of gloves I had in the boot of the car – by now I was past caring though. For the last three miles or so Colin took copies of the maps and guided me across road junctions and past uncaring locals on their way to … I don’t know where they were going at 5.30am on a Bank Holiday Monday. Steve, driving the car, had to be careful of the one way system for the last couple of miles and we didn’t see him or Tracy again until we arrived in Trafalgar Square at 6 o’clock in the morning on Monday 25 May.

Unfortunately no one from Orchid was there to meet me at the finish and I was a bit disappointed about that. I later learned that they were all geared up for coming to Trafalgar Square on Monday afternoon from their base at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. Obviously there had been a mix up along the line somewhere because I always knew I’d be finishing in the morning and my target was 3.00am.

Spent fifteen minutes or so just being happy to have arrived safely. I honestly didn’t have the energy to be elated; happy was all I could manage. We all climbed into the car for the long journey home – Colin being returned to Tufnell Park en route.

After being awake for 48 hours (and running/walking for 45) I spent at least 16 of the next 24 hours asleep.

Well done everyone, a great weekend’s work and a fantastic adventure.

All the photos in this post were taken by Helen Barber, Sam Black, Mike Blamires, Keir Carver, John Harrison, Steve Harvey, Tracy Harvey, Tony Hazell, Huw Illingworth and Andy McMenemy