Titanic Quarter Ultra 101k, 50k, and 25k

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Titanic Quarter Ultra 101k, 50k, and 25k
(Northern Ireland)
By Darkand
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Ok, it's taken me a while to get this typed up, I've been super busy with the club, printing running vests and hoodies, recruiting etc. the good news is we have gained another member!! Shannen!! My wife spotted her whilst reviewing some 26 Extreme events (more on them in a minute :) ). There was a pic of Shannen on their page, wearing VFFs. My wife found her on Facebook and she was talking about educating the other runners in barefooting.

Invite sent... and accepted...

She's coming to our run on Sunday! Result.

Also we found a blog by a guy called Dave Thomson, about barefooting in Northern Ireland. We got in touch and he's going to join us for a run at some stage. Busy, busy and good news all round.
So anyway, back to the run. It was the Titanic 25k. It was held by, what I'd call an underground group of ultra runners, who organise Ultra events in Northern Ireland. They'd maybe not like to be called that but I see it as a good thing. Councils would never risk organising an Ultra so these guys took the bull by the horns and have been a huge success!

So the main event was 101k! A true ultra. With an alternative 50k and 25k event.

I obviously chose the 25k event. I'm not quite ready for a 50 or 101k yet.

So the Ultra kicked off at 6am, the 50k at 11am and the 25k 2pm. All timed to be running together by the time the 101k gets to the appropriate point.

I had to register at Titanic building between 11am and 1pm to be bussed to the start line for 2pm start.

I turned up just after 11am in case there was big queues.

Turns out I was a tad early... Myself and one other guy were there, and I'd two hours to fill until the bus. All good. Many trips to the toilet for some pre-race weight loss. (If you know what I mean). Might have been nerves...

Anyway, I chilled out in front of the registration point watching a few more runners come and register.

Not a bad view for the long wait.

So by the time the bus arrived, there was about 50 runners, not the mad queue I was expecting to get, like at a council run event.

I was starting to worry at this point. Fewers runners meant less people chancing the run and for me to overtake, ie for me not come dead last...

The bus ride was a nervous affair, well... it was for me, all the other runners were chatting away, having a great time! I soon started relaxing and chatting with the other runners. Let me tell you they're a great bunch of guys. They are all really supportive and out to enjoy themselves.

This came to head when the bus driver had to stop in the centre of the next town to ask for directions. Cue the laughing and banter. :)

By the time we got to the start line I was totally chilled and looking forward to the run.

Off the bus, pretty much everyone headed to the toilet, lol. Biggest toilet queue ever!

At the start line my family was there to meet me and see me off. My wife, two boys and my mum and dad. :)

They told me one of the girls doing the ultra had "couped" (pronounced Cow-pd: meaning collapsed/fainted/fell over light headed) going past them earlier up the trail but that two other runners stopped to help her. She got up and kept going. We told the Marshall at the start line and he asked who it was. When we pointed her out he said not to worry, she was tough as nails and tends to zone out when running an ultra. He said she was the first Northern Irish woman to conquer Everest. Fair play!

I had a load of other runners approach me at the start to ask about barefooting etc. Always make time to spread the word! :)

I had just bought a SpiBelt to hold all my gear and was arranging my stuff when the start count down began and everyone took off running. I was so chilled out by this stage I didn't really care.
My family were all shouting "Andy GO!!! GOOOOO!"

I just said "Relax, it's a long way and I'm putting away my car keys". Lol, no idea why I said this but once ready, I set off. Happy and ready to go.

I caught up with the back runners very quickly and settled in behind them, hoping not to go out too fast, too early (like I did in Groomsport).

This worked great for me.

We ran through Bangor and on to the coastal path. This path is my home run, my training run. Good times. I happily cruised along, enjoying the scenery and the run.

Approaching the car park, I could see my family again, waving and whooping like lunatics! Brilliant!

Now the great thing about a smaller group of runners like this is that it's easy to spot the photographers. Cue not being caught out with the old runners face photo. I smiled happily and gave thumbs up at all the photographers.

Amusingly, I ran behind two runners who didn't really hear me behind them and we passed members of the public who said things like "Whoa, that's crazy" and "Hahaaaa, hardcore!!" The runners in front were baffled!! Lol. It was only when I passed them about mile 4 or 5 that they caught on I was barefoot, behind them.

Anyway mile 7, at the end of Helen's Bay beach, I knew, turned in to a rocky and very stony trail for about 4 or 5 miles. I was prepped. I had packed my VFF Bikilas. I stopped, sat down, had a drink and popped the VFFs on. A few runners passed me and said well done (like i say, supportive bunch). I was so chilled and happy I didn't care about being passed. I was having too much fun.
Five miles running some of the best coastal paths and trails, in cool but sunny weather with an elite bunch of ultra runners. Good times.

I reached the first aid station at the half way point and stopped (yes stopped) for a cup of water and a chat with the volunteer.(I was so chilled). He asked how things were going, was I enjoying it etc. The great thing about stopping was that I actually managed to drink my water, not splutter and choke on it, and spill it all down my front, like I normally do when running these events. He offered me some oranges and salted nuts. I figured, hell why not. Salted nuts makes sense, high calorie protein and salts to replace what I've sweated out. I grabbed a handful, shoved them in my mouth, thanked the guy and went on my way munching them all as I went. I immediately regretted putting the whole handful in at once as I was chewing those bad boys to a sludgy pulp for a good 4-5mins after, between breaths. Still, they did me good.

In my preparation for this run, I took loads of tips on board from many books, blogs and articles I'd read.

I'd packed a pouch of puréed baby food (Strawberry and banana). Pure fruit, no additives. Perfection. And three mini sugared donuts! Thanks to Jason Robillard for that one. High calories, easy to digest. DONE! I slurped down the baby pouch, which was surprisingly refreshing, and instantly wished I'd brought more.

Coming off the coastal path, I approached a large grassy play areas and yet again my family were waiting! :) lots more waving and whooping! Brilliant support!

Anyway, once I got off the rocky trail we hit a transition road from coast to city. I'll not lie, it was miserable. It passed not only the fenced off, broken down scrap yard of disused army vehicles but also a swamp and a sewage treatment plant (which, let me tell you, makes you want to puke when you're out of breath! I may have wretched at least once, lol).

At this stage I felt it appropriate to break out the donuts. Ha haaa, I've no idea why. They were pretty good. A little dry but I had my camel back to wash them down.

As I came off this transition road I was starting to fade, but was met by members of a local running club I'd befriended. I'd turned up at a few of their events to try to get to know their guys and maybe recruit a few members :) (Darren being one of them. He was running in VFFs as part of a trial and was sold on the minimalist thing. He's coming to our run this Sunday).

These guys recognised me and broke out the Jelly Babies and a bottle of water for me! What a great bunch of people. Darren gave me a shout saying "looking good Andy!!" and I was on my way refreshed and re-motivated, though I nearly collapsed in a heap stopping for the Jelly Babies as my legs tried to cramp up.

We turned on to the final stretch of road and the LONNNG road home. The longest straightest bit of road you can imagine, through an industrial estate. I was wrecked and this was mentally pretty tough. There was a guy in front of me wearing a red top that said Hulk on the back and I was catching him (very slowly). But each time I just caught up with him, he lifted the pace and pulled away. It was killin me tryin to pass this guy.

All of a sudden I heard a car horn, loads of whooping and cheering and a "Go on Andy!"! Yep, you guessed it, my family again! Awesome! I upped the pace again and caught up with Hulk, but you know what? I just didn't have it in me to pass him. I was wasted.

Once I realised the surface was good again, I looked for lamp post to hold me up as I bent over to take off my VFFs. I took them off and can tell you the cramp that appeared, like lightening, in the toes of my left foot was hilarious. My middle toe decided the best place for it to be, right then, was pointing down and to the right. Ha haaa, all I could do was laugh (and put my foot down reallllly quickly). So on I went barefoot yet again, running on one of the best barefoot surfaces you can imagine. Smooth and almost stone free tarmac. Bliss! My feet were getting hot and swollen in the shoes and freeing my toes felt amazing. :)

Hulk had pulled away but I didn't care, barefoot and happy. I cruised along smiling as I went along this enormously long smooth road towards the finish at the Titanic building.

As I turned in to the maze of buildings and side streets more and more people started appearing, lining the route. They had figured something was going on and had come down to see. I started getting the always motivating "He's in his bare feet!!" Followed by loads of cheers, claps and sounds of awe.

I came out on to the waterside final stretch and could hear the music pumping and the voice of the announcer bringing people in.

"Here comes a guy crossing the line in his bare feet!". Cue my family at the finish line cheering me home. I smiled again at the final photographer at the finish line, gave him the thumbs up and crossed the line with a big ole smile.

At the finish line, the greatest thing happened. I don't wanna overhype it but a guy appeared beside my, shook my hand, said "Congratulations, really well done!", gave me a GREAT medal then handed the one thing I could only have dreamt of at this single point in time... Stop now and have a guess! Hot day, you just run 25k and are spent... What would you want?

I kid you not, like some sort of messenger of God, he handed me a cold beer!!!.... A cold, cold beer with condensation dripping down the side of the plastic cup. Nectar of the gods! He smiled the happiest smile in the world and simply said "Enjoy!"

My face obviously said it all, I could have hugged the guy. Lol. (If you ever read this, thanks man! Made my day).

He hit me a pat on the arm, said congratulations again and wandered off. I'd love to be able to say he mysteriously disappeared and that nobody else saw him, but he went back to the stand to fetch another cold one to greet the next finisher. The only words I could muster were "You LEGEND!" :)

I can honestly say it was the greatest beer I have ever had pleasure to drink. Thankfully I found out, after draining three quarters of it, it was alcohol free and I could enjoy it without collapsing from further dehydration. Lol.

After draining the beer, a bottle of water with a Nuun tab in it, I clapped some more competitors in. Then at the end of the home straight, just crossing the bridge, appeared the girl who'd "couped" early on. She had a wild grin on her face and was still running strong. She crossed the line to take first place in the ladies 101k.

Massive cheers all round from everyone! She had a huge graze up her right arm and side but was clearly unaffected. She hugged the two guys who'd stopped to help her, raised her beer aloft and necked it! Unbelievable!!

All I could think was, you'd never get this at a council run event.

Honestly, I'm sold on these 26 Extreme events. Great atmosphere and friendly running community!!! Once I get the Belfast Half Marathon over me, on the 22/09, I might just switch over to 26 Extreme only.

Check them out here!

http://www.26extreme.com/categoriesList/247/running-events.aspx

They're on twitter and Facebook too if anyone is interested.

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I spoke with a few other runners after who said they couldn't believe their eyes when they'd seen me. They asked to see my feet etc and commented how my feet were probably in better shape than theirs. They congratulated me and said they'd hoped to see me again at another event. Again, great supportive bunch of runners.

I had a quick chat with Hulk to say thanks for inadvertently keeping me going through the last 4 miles.

He said he hoped to see me again and that hopefully I'd be able to afford a pair of shoes by then. Lol.

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Anyway, learnings.

1. Bring more fruit baby pouch slurpers.
2. Eat nuts one or two at a time.
3. Take my time and enjoy the run.
4. A cold beer is the greatest thing to be surprised with at the end of a long challenging run. :)

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I'm a relative beginner at barefoot running. I started after reading Born To Run and recently picked up a copy of Barefoot Running - step by step. I've been barefoot running for about year now and noticed a considerable improvement in my pace...
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Great stuff Darkand, another good read. You're obviously the happiest runner on Earth, or you hit the photo points well prepared. :)

I'm thinking about all the stuff you bring along, and I see from the photos you're carrying a backpack. I've never been able to run happily with a pack on, but I've also never ran anything of any great distance. How do you go trying to balance out the extra weight (especially if you're loading up on baby food) against getting enough stuff for the run? I suppose you're having to carry something once you bring shoes along. At what distance do you start carrying stuff?
 
Do you always smile like that Andy or just when you have your shoes off? ;)
 
Nice! I don't understand the whole 'council' thing? Is that like a city government? Why was this not an 'official' race? Looked pretty official to me!
Yeah, the council is a bit like a city government. Each council is in charge of their area in terms of how money is spent. They tend to organise big events and get the roads closed off etc. But these guys, are private organisers of events. It was an official event alright just not council run. They're all ultra runners and in for the love of the sport. They get permission from the council to do run etc but without all council red tape and panic over health and safety etc. They know what runners love and arrange events appropriately.
 
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Great stuff Darkand, another good read. You're obviously the happiest runner on Earth, or you hit the photo points well prepared. :)

I'm thinking about all the stuff you bring along, and I see from the photos you're carrying a backpack. I've never been able to run happily with a pack on, but I've also never ran anything of any great distance. How do you go trying to balance out the extra weight (especially if you're loading up on baby food) against getting enough stuff for the run? I suppose you're having to carry something once you bring shoes along. At what distance do you start carrying stuff?
Hey Larry, yeah a bit of both re the happiest runner in the world. Lol. I could see the photographers well in advance and decided I didn't want any "race face" photos (tongue hangin out the side of my mouth etc, lol), so made a concerted effort to smile at each one. :) and hey, I was havin a great time!
The backpack was fine. It's quite small really and I bought it initially just to carry my back up shoes for longer runs where I'm unsure of the surface. However, being a camel back it contains a water pouch and drinking tube, so I use it on long runs. Even when full and holding my shoes it's pretty flat to my back so it helps with the weight distribution. And my back up shoes rarely weigh more than a few ounces each anyway. The heaviest thing in there is the water. The great thing about that pack is that it has two straps, one at the usual chest height and one that sits down below your solar plexus so it prevents any tiring bouncing around.
Re knowing when to use it, I don't have a set threshold of when I'll bring it, I just gauge it based on how long the run is, will dehydration/nutrition be a factor in my performance and is any part of the course particularly stony or rocky that again might hinder my performance, that I need to bring my VFFs or Sockwa, so not to bruise my soles when my technique gets sloppy and tired. Given that race was 25k if figured I might "bonk" about the 12 mile mark, like I did in my previous race, so tried to prepare accordingly.
It's always a big decision whether to bring the back pack or not. I tend to hmm and haaa for ages, swapping out back up shoes, adding more and less water etc. I do think about it slowing me but to be honest I've never really noticed it being heavy or anything mid-race.
Half marathon is always my hardest decision on the pack. You could run one without it but water would be great, don't really need extra nutrition then but it's right on the edge of needing it. It's all personal preference I guess. I'd like never to have to use it but hey sometimes, it rains, sometimes it rocky etc. I've the best pack for me. :)