Racing, fuelled on snacks and smiles
This week I should have been racing in Spain. But as that country is classed as “amber” and a race is hardly essential (apart from my sanity, perhaps), I did the morally right thing and ran a challenging 50 miles on the Pen Llyn peninsula in North West Wales instead.
The race is described by Huw Williams, the race director, as “beautifully brutal”. And it certainly lived up to its promise.
The coast path was stunning – in many ways similar to the West Country, only inland there were huge jagged mountains with lung-bursting, quad-busting trails that seemed to go on for ever.
What made this race extra special was that so many of the volunteer support crew (of which there seemed hundreds) were not runners themselves but were local people, often giving out water and snacks from their back gardens or the local park. They always had a smile and a justifiable sense of pride. It made for such a warm welcome – even when it was raining.
As a runner I never get to know the nameless volunteers who so generously give up their time for my pleasure. But I want to give a special thank you shout-out to whoever created the amazing home-made carrot and ginger soup given out at a checkpoint just after the coldest, windiest, steepest ascent. Without it, I would have struggled to keep going (and I was even allowed to have seconds!).
Then, of course, there are the other runners who you form an event bond with (thank you, Levente and Ed). You keep each other going with stories and advice among words of encouragement that made the 12-hour run feel more of a stroll than a slog despite its brutality.
The ultra running community really is a special thing to be part of.
If you ever hear of a race going on near where you live but don’t have the ability to run in it, do the next best thing and see if you can volunteer. Not only will you have a great day but will also feel proud about showing your local area off in its best light to the travelling runners just like me! Until next week Kev
Without their home-made carrot and ginger soup, I’d have struggled