After my first marathon in 2012 I said ‘never again’ and certainly never EVER thought I would see the day I would take part in an Ultra Marathon?!
Can’t quite remember how the conversation went with my partners in crime Norvell & Bruce…….back in the summer of 2015…. but somehow we all decided that yes it would be a great idea to all enter the D33 2016!
There were a few other MRR members who also thought it would be a great too Neil Purdie and Fiona Brant to name but two, unfortunately due to individual circumstances and injury over the winter training months (which started before we had even entered on Hogmany) saw myself, Karen, Neil & Fiona on the start line on race day.
Have to mention the training plan which had started back in October following the 19 week plan from the D33 race director. We were very very lucky (looking back) with the weather on our winter training long runs, always a dry day even though we were ankle deep in snow, sand or running over loose stones at the beach. We varied our routes weekly which I think helped enormously over the weeks – what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger after all ( Kelly Clarkson says so) Also the variation of routes gave us great locations for coffee and cakes afterwards, from chips up in Craigellachie to fish in Findhorn, we would take the opportunity to congratulate ourselves on another great achievement clocking up the miles for this Epic run we were aiming for. The fact that you run 26 miles during training was simply mind boggling, to me anyway as I have only ever ran that distance during an actual marathon!
Race day preparation commenced the day before with myself & Karen travelling to Aberdeen ( after checking our packed bags 1,2,3 times before we left) off we set on our wee ‘road trip’ to the granite city where we stayed with my college studying daughter Morgan. We booked a lovely Italian restaurant for our evening meal and met up with Robert and wife Debra to discuss race jitters, running wardrobe, weather forecast & tactics for the following day……..
Up bright & early we head over to registration at the start of this Ultra which is situated in the grounds of Duthie Park. Now in its 7th year the D33 has become a popular Ultra Marathon on the race calendar, with some entrants using it as a ‘training run’ for the Hoka Highland
Fling next month, yikes!!
Waiting for the relatively later start of 9 o’clock we meet up with Neil & Fiona who arrived that morning, it was a
bit chilly with a bit of a breeze – nothing new for Aberdeen! The race is capped at 300 entrants & you can feel the trepidation in the air with a few first timers in the mix as we group together for the race brief then before you know it we’re off, heading out the park onto the old railway line out of the centre of Aberdeen towards Banchory on this out & back route.
I had no idea ( even though my running buddies had previously done the race and described to me) what to expect. The terrain was good under foot taking in both path, slight off road trail and a bit of farm track on the way. It wasn’t until about 3 to 4 miles out before I felt the pack started to really spread out and the girls found ourselves running in sync with each other at a much faster pace than we had anticipated – but it felt so good so we kept going
Before we knew it we were passing the first checkpoint at mile 8 where we shouted our hello’s and waved on our way passed, onto the halfway point and we were flying…….Karen & I ran together & got separated from Fiona who was running superbly and using this as training for the upcoming Hoka, Neil was off from the start as he is a machine! The sun was trying to break through and the countryside scenery was stunning as we comfortably paced our way towards CP2, then the sun went away (to Spain I think) and the low cloud drizzle rain commenced eugh! The route is relatively straight & flat with a lovely downhill country road which winds you up and round Drumoak then Crathes and across towards the halfway mark where we were passed by the first male on his way back, looking fresh & strong. It was great to see everyone passing you on they’re way back giving encouragement and joking that they better not have been in about our drop bags that awaited us!
We had discussed not hanging about too long at the halfway point party so we took our bags, eat bits of the various contents and took on more water before we were off again – on our way back, already! A couple of selfies including the in-laws who had come to see us at the halfway mark and got a soaking for they’re trouble, updates to let everyone know where we were and off we went back the way we had come. Some of the paths were now quite muddy in places due to the weather changing and the amount of ‘traffic’ over it but we trudged onwards and up that hilly road at what can only be described as a march up at a slightly reduced pace than what we had come down it….. approaching CP3 the final pitstop we took the opportunity to drink, snack and give each other some positive feedback, I had broken the distance down to 8 mile marks and now we only had the last stage to go.
The legs were still in motion but could feel the tightness setting in, we were met around 4 miles out by a vision, Mr Robert Bruce, in his very clean looking running kit, injury had seen him pull out of the race but had come along to offer his support which was very much appreciated! Karen started to feel slightly out of sorts and after some persuasion I ran ahead the last few miles to the finish, down through the gates of Duthie Park and there it was, my first Ultra Marathon finish line, WOW, no wonder the organisers call it #Epic Shit as that is exactlly how you feel when you cross the finish line and are handed your individualy handmade medal & bottle of B33R!
I was met by Neil & Fiona who had both ran fantastically finishing in 4:25 & 5:08, myself coming in at 5:36 shortly followed by Karen in 5:43 Well done Team MRR!
All the training certainly paid off and I am de-lighted to be part of the Ultra Marathon club, couldn’t have done it without my running buddies, who I am sure will talk me into another adventure – did someone mention Orkney………….
Report by: Sally Bruce