Cotswold Way 100k - June 22, 2024

 Planning

Emaad and I take a surprisingly relaxed approach to the run-up to the Ultra Challenge Cotswold Way 100K. Sure, we are flying 3600 miles to run in an area we have never seen before, and our families are coming along on the trip (but certainly not to cheer us on) to England, and we are staying about an hour from the start which will entail driving on the 'wrong' side of the road to get there, but we are experienced enough ultra and trail runners to feel confident that we can comfortably finish under the 34 hour cut-off.  We ran a 60K in February, a 50K in May and I ran a trail marathon, also in May. So we are appropriately trained. Since we are doing the 'continuous' challenge (there is a two-day challenge, with an overnight stop between the two halves) we figure we should be done in 18-20 hours.

Only two things are of some concern: the weather (it's England, after all), with week-out forecasts calling for a 30 percent or so chance of showers, and the climbing.  According to the website, there is about 7200 feet of climb, most of it in the first half.  That seems like a lot, but it is rolling hills and we did Rim to River in the Grand Canyon last year, and that was 4800 feet of descent followed by 4500 feet of ascent.  Poles were necessary, but there was nothing "rolling" about the Grand Canyon - it was always down followed by relentless up.  I decide that poles will not be necessary.

Ready to start.

Starting

An uneventful drive takes us to the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester for the start of the race. Everything is well organized and we are directed to the parking near to the starting area. We get our bibs, route card and lanyards with our QR codes, hand in our drop bags for delivery to the midway rest stop and stroll to the start corral where our codes are scanned. There is a short briefing where we are told, amongst other things that some District Councils along the way have prohibited the race organizers from removing hazards along the way ("Watch your heads") or trimming overgrowth along the paths.  An enthusiastic trainer leads some stretching (I don't take part, wanting to conserve energy) and at 8 a.m., we are off.

The temperature is a bit cool and I am wearing arm sleeves, but they come off in a couple of miles.  The weather turns out near perfect, without a drop of rain and if anything, temperatures a bit on the warm side, with highs in the upper 70s.

We are shortly on a single track path with tall grass and bushes on either side.  It soon opens up onto the edge of a field and in a bit we pass some buildings between which is a pack of 20 or more young beagles with a couple of people.  Perfect for fox hunting, except fox hunting is banned in England.

Along the Thames
and Severn Canal.

We run - and walk - with people signed up for a variety of the events - full continuous 100K walkers and joggers (that's us, the full continuous runners apparently have started at 7 a.m.), two-day 100K, first half 50K. There is no apparent system to determine who started at which time.

Emaad and I go along in the company of a young couple and a pair of other challengers.  On the path alongside remnants of the Thames and Severn Canal I stop to take a picture of a tower. Running to catch up with the rest, the woman is on the ground, dripping blood from her forehead. Her hands are also a bit bloody. She cannot see the source of the blood from the wound and is disturbed by it as her companion tries to comfort her.  The others have also turned around to render assistance.  Fortunately her companion has a first aid kit with him and as it appears that she is in good hands and not seriously hurt, so the rest of us go on.

We shortly come to the Coates Portal of the canal tunnel, opened in 1789 and originally 2.2 miles in length.  Up and over the tunnel we go, and back on the path we see a Great Western Railway train zoom past.

St. Kenelm's Church, Sapperton.

Eating

In a bit we pass through Sapperton and arrive at the first aid station at the Edgeworth Polo Club (KM 12, 1:58 elapsed time).  As ultra runners we are used to good food at aid stations, but this is a step above.  There are a variety of pastries to choose from: pain au chocolat, raisin buns and other selections.

Rest Stop 1, Edgeworth Polo Club.

We enjoy breakfast without rushing and keep going. Since this is a challenge, and not a race, the mind-set of the entrants is different. Generous cut-offs means there is no pressure to get through the aid stations quickly and efficiently unlike last year's Rosaryville 50K.  We run and walk as appropriate for the course.  Hills are not hills, they are "walk opportunities."

We pass horses . . .

. . . cows . . .

The scenery and the course is varied.  We pass through fields with cattle, horses or sheep.  There are farm fields, some of which we go along the edge of, and in one case, diagonally across the rows of crops. We pass through the center of some villages and skirt along the edges of others, including some well tended gardens. Sometimes the path is along a sidewalk, or a wide field, or a dirt road, or a double track, and sometimes single track, not infrequently very narrow with tall grass rubbing against your legs.

. . . sheep . . .

. . . and more cows.

Lunch.

At Rest Stop 2, Painswick RFC (KM 23, 4:09 elapsed time) we stop for lunch. There is a selection of sandwiches - I take ham and cheese, Emaad selects egg and cress - crisps, cookies and soda.  We take our time eating at a table under a tent. We here the announcer greeting the finishers of the first quarter challenge.  Done eating, we top up our hydration packs and heard out again.

Happenings

I recall the following from the challenge, but the order in which they happened, and where they occurred is lost in the mists of time - or the fog of my memory.

A long line of competitors is going down a moderately steep, overgrown single track trail.  I start to loose my balance and slowly fall to my left into some brambles. I wind up propped up on them and someone reaches out a hand to help pull me up and out.  Not too badly scratched up, I spend the next few minutes picking small thorns out of my shirt.

Roses, clematis and more.

The course is particularly rolling, and unlike in the United States, where switchbacks are common for steeper sections, the paths tend to go straight up and down.  At one such downhill I joke that it is steep enough that it could be used for the Gloucester Cheese Rolling.

At another place we turn right off a country road and head toward a hill. Amy, one of the participants, has been on this path before, and warns that not only will be be going straight up, but that it will be steep enough that we may need hands as well as feet.  The path proves her right.

Passing through one small village we have to cross a two-lane road.  Emaad is ahead and looks left for oncoming traffic.  Perfectly rational - but not in the UK, where the traffic is coming from the right.  He dodges that one, only to now look to his right, when he should now be looking left. Despite this second error, he manages to arrive safely on the other side.

Moss-covered stone wall.

In addition to the green fields of the Cotswolds, the flowers and gardens are quite attractive. Someone has a row of alternating red and green maple trees, and building walls are often decorated with flowering plants.

Rest Stop 3 

Approaching Rest Stop 3 at Coaley Peak (KM 38, 7:35 elapsed time), we spy a mound. Initially I think it is a motte, but as we get closer we see a sign identifying it as the Nympsfield Long Barrow. The aid station is just a few hundred yards further along, and we stop to use the facilities, refill our hydration and get a snack.  In addition to the usual, the aid station has the equivalent of a small candy store, with about a dozen Lucite bins, each with a different kind of gummy candy within.  There are small paper bags one can use for the candy, or for popcorn which is also available. The aid station is situated on the edge of an escarpment offering views to the west.

Tyndale Monument

Tyndale Monument.

The course goes to and past two towers erected in the 19th century.

The first is the William Tyndale Monument, erected in 1866 in memory of the first man to translate and print the Bible into English.  He was rewarded for his efforts by being strangled and burned at the stake in Brussels in 1536. We pass by it about KM 51 and I relate the story to one of our fellow challengers.

This is just a couple of kilometers before we arrive at the next rest stop.

Rest Stop 4
Wotton Community PARC marks the halfway point (KM 53, 12:02 elapsed time). Given that it has taken about 12 hours to go just over half the course, it is clear that our 18-20 hour target is no longer realistic.  But this is a challenge not a race, so we are not rushing.  We sit down to a meal of spaghetti with bolognaise sauce, a roll and a soda.

Somewhere on
the Cotswold Way.

We retrieve our drop bags but I don't see a need for changing socks or shirt and just take a couple of extra gels in case I need them between aid stations. I also get the extra batteries and lights for use when the sun has set.

This also marks the point where participants doing the first half challenge, the two-day 100k challenge and the second quarter challenge are done for the day.  Only left are those of use in the 100K continuous.  From now on, there will be fewer persons to chat with along the course.

The Fleece Inn

Emaad has plans to stop a pub during our run, and has noted a couple on his pace card.  But as we pass thru the village of Hillesley (about KM 61), the patrons outside The Fleece Inn encourage us to drop in. We have been going for 13 hours (it is about 9 p.m. but still light), so it isn't a hard decision.  They recommend a local ale and Emaad and I each order a half pint (we still have a way to go). We encourage other participants passing by to stop in, but none do. Although many of the patrons may consider us peculiar for a number of reasons - Americans coming to England to trek 100K - one is a long-distance cyclist and we trade stories of ultra events, either on foot or by wheel.

Emaad finishes his beer and I finish half of mine and it it time to continue.  

Somerset Monument.

Somerset Monument

About KM 65 (by my GPS, by the course markings it may have been KM 59 or so) we come to the monument to Lord Robert Edward Somerset, built in 1846. He was a British officer, eventually attaining the rank of general, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and served as a Member of Parliament. 

The path there has great views of the River Severn and the Severn and Prince of Wales Bridges crossing from England to Wales.

As we go on night begins to fall. Sunset is 9:30 p.m., which means civil twilight lasts until close to 10 p.m.

There was a street
named "The Street."

Rest Stop 5

We arrive at the Hawkesbury Village Hall rest stop (KM 62.5, elapsed time 14:14). There are a couple of participants sitting down, but we refill our liquids, use the porta-loo, get a snack or two, and go on. It's 15.5 KM to the next rest stop. I plug my phone into the compact battery charger I brought along as the phone is almost fully discharged.

Although night has fallen, the course is well marked with glo-sticks, which are particularly helpful where it crosses open fields.

Earlier in the day Emaad had pointed out that I was leaning to the left.  This had happened to me once before, at the 2017 Edinburgh Marathon.  I wasn't aware of it then and I'm not aware of it now.  But I try to correct by consciously leaning to the right to straighten up.

For the first three or four miles out of the rest stop I'm fine. But my back begins to hurt, and I'm feeling tired. Not only am I running less and walking more, but I'm walking more slowly.

Amy passes us around mile 46. She is using poles and I think that if I can use them for a bit, to the next rest stop I'll get enough relief.  I ask her if I can borrow them but neglect to say only to the next aid station.  She declines, noting they are expensive Leki poles.  I understand, as the poles I had decided not to bring are also Lekis.  She goes on, then stops, turns around and offers me one.  I thank her and take it, figuring I'll catch up to her at Rest Stop 6 and return it.

My stamina continues to erode, as does my pace. Mile 45 is 24 minutes; mile 46 is 26:36, mile 47 is over 31 minutes. As we enter the village of Leighterton, I have to stop and sit on a low wall. We get thru the village and on the other side transit a field and climb over a stone stile.  I get halfway over and call for a two or three minute rest. Mile 49 takes almost 34 minutes.

The path on the other side of the stile is narrow, overgrown with tall grass and between a low stone wall and a wire fence. It is hard enough to move along, but the grass grabbing at my ankles is further torment.  Once, maybe twice, I tell Emaad I have to rest, and sit down in the grass for more breaks.  Some more participants come along, inquire of my situation, and assured that I'm not injured and have someone with me, move on.

It seems interminable, but we eventually exit onto a grassy field with a slight downhill.  I muster some strength and run - or at least fool myself into believing I'm running. The pace continues to deteriorate. Mile 50, including the horridly overgrown stretch, takes 42 minutes.

No question now that I won't be going on once I reach the rest stop. I tell Emaad that he can go on if he wishes, but he declines, gallantly claiming that he has achieved his time-on-feet goal.

A course marshal meets us about a half mile from the rest stop. The participants who had passed us reported that there was a runner in distress (me) behind and she was coming out to see if assistance was needed.  I appreciate the help and twice more stop to rest, once sitting on the ground on her generously provided poncho and a second time on a stone wall near the path. 

Rest Stop 6

Arriving at the Beaufort Polo Club rest stop, (KM 78, 19:31 elapsed time) I report to the medical tent.   

Rather than telling me that I will not be allowed to go on, the technician asks some questions about how I feel.  I answer and tell him that I'm done. There will be no need for a awkward conversation.

The rest stop captain delivers a surprising bit of good news.  We will not be a 100K DNF (even if that is what we are). Instead she informs us that since there is a 3/4 challenge event, and we have completed the 3/4 distance, she will report us to headquarters as 3/4 challenge finishers.

Not surprisingly, Amy is nowhere in sight and I'm concerned about getting her pole back to her. The helpful rest stop captain assures that they will get it to the finish for her to retrieve there.

 

To the Finish

There is a small bus to take us back to the start/finish that is ready to leave.  I'm handed a paper plate with several pieces of pizza. Another couple is already on the bus. The rest stop captain hands Amy's pole to the bus driver and off we go, stopping somewhere on the course to pick up another runner who could not continue.

At the finish we are given our finisher's medal and shirt.

It's already light when we arrive as sunrise is 4:49 a.m.

We get in the car and I drive us back to Oxford, only nicking curbs on the lefthand side of the road a couple of time.

Epilogue

Deciding not to bring poles was, I believe, a major contributing factor to failing to complete the 100k.  Not only do they provide stability, but they also shift exertion from the legs to the upper body and likely would have prevented my listing. We had done about 6580 feet of climb and about a corresponding amount of descent. Maybe 30 to 40 percent of the participants used poles.

After the event I contacted Ultra Challenge to see if Amy retrieved her trekking pole. There was no pole in the lost and found afterward, so perhaps she got it.  Looking at the results I identified a possible Amy and a probable Amy and reached out to them on the Ultra Challenge Club Facebook group and messaged them on FB Messenger but have not received any responses. 

If you are the Amy please contact me.  I want to express my appreciation for your unselfishness toward a stranger in distress.  

Swag: bib, QR code and lanyard, route card, buff,  3/4 challenge finishers' medal,
finisher's shirt with May [sic] 2024 date