Across the Years 24 Hour Race

There was no secret about my goals for Across the Years 2017 edition - as a minimum I wanted a PR whilst my ultimate goal was to reach 139 miles which would give me the A standard for British 24 Hour Team.

Whilst I didn't make it to 139 miles, I still achieved far more than I could have hoped for. You see, it wasn't just about the final result and how far I could actually run - it was also about the journey along the way, how I coped in the entirety both physically and mentally, it was about my pacing, about stayed focused the whole time, having the confidence to go off at a pace that was far quicker than originally planned, making sure I stayed fueled and hydrated in the heat of the day and maintaining that when the temperatures took a tumble and got much cooler overnight.

A 24-hour race isn't easy. As with any distance race you face highs and lows more than once, but the mental challenge is far harder due to the endless loops of the same course over and over and over. Yet for me there is something appealing about that challenge, something about stepping out into the unknown with no idea as to how the body and mind will hold up, not knowing whether you will finish happy or finish frustrated. With a 24 hour race it can be so easy to stop early, after all, there are no DNFs in a 24-hour - the goal is to run as far as you can in that given time and it would be so easy to stop early. You reach a milestone, your body is hurting and yet something keeps you going and even now I don't know what that something is.

Safe to say that the 2017 version of Across the Years saw me finish very happy - I ran a PR, I broke 200km and I won the race overall. 

Before the Race

Across the Years would be my third 24 hour race so to some degree, I already knew what to expect. I had also ran the Mogollon Monster and had been on my feet for near on 28 hours, so there was no doubt that I could stay awake for the full 24 hours without the need to sit down or sleep. The key to my success would be getting the pace right - do that and I honestly felt that everything else would fall into place. My steady pace in training had greatly improved recently and yet prior to my race, I was still saying that I would be targeting 10 minute laps. Each lap was just over a mile which meant just under 10 minute miling - this seemed pedestrian to me on a flat course, and I felt that it wouldn't be problem. I had also done various lab tests in the past and on each occasion, the results highlighted that I had a very good and efficient running economy thanks to years of endurance running. According to the experts, my body is meant for distance and not speed, and I always seem to have had an ability to knock out pretty consistent miles for a long time.

However, to meet my goals I knew that I would need to take a risk. I needed to run quicker than 10's but I had no idea whether I could keep a faster pace going for as long and it started to make me nervous. I finally realised that the best way to deal with things would be to run by feel - instead of targeting a pace where I would panic if it felt too hard, I would run to the feel of my body. I still needed some sort of guideline and so I opted to run a couple of 10 minute laps to see how it felt and then adjust as necessary. If my breathing became too laboured, I would ease back but if it felt too easy, I would speed up. I needed to teach myself restraint, but I also knew that I had to go with it at the same time.

I'd opted for the 29th start for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there wouldn't be as many starters on the 29th which meant more room on the narrow sections of the course. It also meant less distractions from people - I needed to get into my own zone, into my own head, and block out everything else around me if I was to succeed. It also meant that starting on the Friday gave me chance to recover in time for work on the 2nd - based on how I was for a couple of days after I finished, this was in hindsight the right choice! The final reason was that if I did have a good run, it would set precedence for those racing after me, and I wanted to set the bar high so that they too had to work for the win if that's what they wanted.

I try not to let other runners influence my race plans, but the race started on the Thursday and a lady had entered that was targeting 130 miles. She was clearly competition despite running a day earlier so we sat pretty much glued to our computer screens throughout the day watching her progress and willing her on. She had set off at my planned race pace and we were curious to see how long she held it for - unfortunately her pace slipped a few hours in which put her behind schedule and she ended up finishing with 114 miles - a very respectable distance but I personally felt that I could exceed that, and I knew that the opportunity for me to set the standard for the next day was there if all went to plan. 

My race plan was pretty simple:

- Remain positive

- Run my own race and don't let others dictate my pace

- Trust my training and believe I can do it

- Just keep moving forward, one step at a time, and don't think about the clock

- Don't dilly dally when refuelling - no sitting, no sleeping

- Stay focused and don't allow negative thoughts to enter the mind

My husband Andy would be crewing me again and I knew I was in the best hands. I felt ready I felt focused, I was set for go.

Race Day

I arrived at Camelback Ranch feeling pretty calm and quietly confident. I'd been having some glute pain in the weeks leading up to the race and I'd also been fighting the onset of a cold the past week but I was trying not to dwell on things - if I did, I knew that I would use it as an invalid excuse to stop or slow down later on when things got tough. I put both issues out of my mind, my mantra being, "deal with it, get over it, move on" - it worked, and I can honestly say that at no point during the race did I have any issues with either my glutes or the remnants of a cold.

We'd been down to Camelback Ranch the day before to get "base camp" set up for race day, and I had been sure to include a whole array of tasty food to keep me going. I had opted to use minimal gels this time, replacing them instead with a good supply of Jaffa Cakes and Malt Loaf, both of which were a godsend for several hours before I needed to eat more solid and substantial foods to keep the energy going. I also ate hard boiled eggs during the race, fresh tomatoes, mashed potatoes, an endless pot of mac 'n' cheese, and it was great being able to have hot cups of tea and coffee during the night, especially when the temperatures dropped off and drinking cold water and Tailwind sent a chill through the entire body.

The good news is that even with a mixed concoction of foods, I was only sick once and this was mostly fluids. I appeared to have digested the solid foods extremely well for once, and I even managed to have two really good poos during the race :-)

The race started at 9am and I knew what I had to do. My first two laps came in at a shade under 10's but it felt like it was too easy and so I picked things up and found myself in a comfortable rhythm that was giving me around 9 minute laps. I had no idea how long I had kept thing going for until after the race and looking back, I am still a little bewildered that I was able to keep steady, consistent laps going for several hours.

PC Yissel McCardie

I also have no idea what I was thinking about for the entire time. My mind seemed blank, I just seemed to enter the zone, and my body just followed that forward motion. I became oblivious to those around me - the only thing that brought me out of my reverie was crossing the timing mat each lap to check that I was consistent, and then looking out for our tent where Andy was feeding me a regular supply of Jaffa Cakes and Tailwind.

Some 3 and a half hours in, I looked at my watch and realised that I was approaching the marathon distance. I needed just 2 more laps and then shortly afterwards, we would have our first direction change. I went through the marathon in around 3 hours 50 mins and I recall still feeling strong and in control.

No sooner had I "celebrated" reaching the marathon than my mind had already shifted to my next milestone of 50km. Just 5 miles - or 5 laps - to go. Without faltering, I made it to 50km in 4 hours 34 minutes and after a quick refuel at base-camp, I pushed on.

My next goal was 50 miles which was quite a ways from where I currently was, and yet once again, I somehow managed to keep those consistent laps coming, I somehow managed to keep eating and refuelling, I somehow just kept on racking up the miles.

PC: Jubilee PAige/Aravaipa Running

At some point Andy had to go home to check on the dogs and Yissel hung around to take care of me. Yissel and I had been Facebook and Strava friends for over a year, and yet we had never physically met. It was pretty awesome that she was able to share some of the crewing responsibility and she did a grand job in keeping me moving, keeping me fuelled, and offering lots of encouragement. Before I knew it, Andy had returned with the dogs, Yissel had to go home to her family, and I had somehow racked up 50 miles in 7 and a half hours (my PB for 50 miles is 7.22 which I ran in Texas many years ago - what the ...?!)

By now the sun had started to set. It had been an extremely warm day and temperatures had peaked close to 80 degrees. Some of the runners had been affected by the unseasonably warm temperatures and yet I had barely noticed them. I had been hydrated all day and had been peeing without any problems, but as the sun was setting I was starting to feel it, and I remember mumbling that I "just need that sun to go away. It needs to set and go dark!"

The hours had now just become one big blur, and I had lost track of where I was. I was focused on getting to 100km - the next distance milestone, and it seemed to come around fairly quickly, passing through in around 9 and a half hours. It's all relative, but I was still feeling great. I was so happy that I had kept my energy up all day, so glad that despite taking that risk with my pace at the start, I hadn't yet started to falter. It all felt a bit surreal, and bit dreamlike, but I just kept pushing onwards.

My next goal was 100 miles and I knew that it would be another few hours before I reached that mile mark. And yet I just kept telling myself to get to the hundred and I'd "only have 50k to go to hit my target". I needed to get to the 100 miles before I could see if there was a realistic chance of exceeding 130 miles, of getting close to the British standard, but I still had 38 miles to go so it was back to keeping the head down, maintaining that focus, keeping it going.

Did I mention how dusty it was?!

Sometime in the evening, our good friends Carrie and Allen Wilson came down to offer some support. My tactics since dark had changed a little and rather than grabbing food every other lap, I was running 3 or 4 laps non-stop and then taking in greater quantities of food instead of just nibbling. Mr Wilson joined me for a few of those laps, and as we were merrily chatting away and laughing together, I realised that we were still doing 10 minute loops give or take. I was likely at around 80 miles by then and even now I'm shaking my head wondering how on earth I was still going at that pace.

An extremely chilly evening meant that I had to stop briefly to grab a long-sleeved top, hat and gloves, and Andy had started to heat up some mashed potato and mac 'n' cheese to warm me up. Both tasted delicious washed down with a good strong cup of tea, and my energy levels were still pretty high although my quads were obviously starting to get a little tired.

There were so few people out on the track now that it was late evening, and those that were out there were like zombies walking through the night. We mumbled a few words to eachother, offered encouragement and just kept going forward. At one point I passed a chap all bundled up in layers and he asked if he could run with me. I said yes, but warned him that I wasn't exactly in a mood to chat and that I wouldn't be very fast if he wanted to run quickly. He was ok with that and joined me for a half mile or so. I asked him his name - it was Dave Proctor, the Canadian record holder who I have spoken to on several occasions - I felt a right plonker!

At some time around 1.20am and 16 hours 21 minutes into the race, I passed the 100 mile mark. I seriously could not believe it - a half hour PB for 100 miles and I was feeling pretty good! Even now I don't know how I did it, but I was over the moon!

For the past few laps, I had felt blisters forming so Andy and I had agreed that once I hit the 100, I would change my shoes and put some warmer clothing on. I was feeling the chill and my feet were sore, but I didn't want to falter at this point. Andy swiftly helped me to change which gave me my slowest lap of around 20 minutes, but I was soon back out there and still moving well.

Now my mind had woken up and I was trying to do the maths in my head. I had well over 7 hours still on the clock, and unlike last time when I did ATY, I was still moving having gone through the 100. I had slowed a little compared to earlier but I was still running 10 to 11 minute laps - even if I now slowed down to 12 minute laps, so long as I could keep things going, I would get to 135 miles. I faltered for a second in disbelief - could I? Would I? Is it really possible? It gave me the motivation I needed and I honestly, truly felt that I could do it.

Distance covered was no longer in my thoughts - I'd started counting again as if from the start with the aim of hitting 50km. With barely anybody out on the track, I was able to just focus and keep moving, following my strategy of run 3 to 4 laps, refuel, then run another 3 to 4.

Around 6am I started to notice some pain in my left groin and it felt like I was dragging my left leg around the course with me. I was still able to run, but Andy noticed my gritted teeth and knew something wasn't right. Amazingly, I was still hitting 12 minute laps and I was still on track for 130+ miles although it was now getting close for the British B standard of 133. If I could keep it going for just 3 more hours, I might just do it, but this groin pain really was bothering me.

I ran a couple more laps and then finally, after stopping for another hot cup of tea and some "breakfast", I had concede and walk. The plan was to just walk one loop, to walk out the pain and loosen things up, but as I approached our basecamp and tried to run, the pain was too much and I couldn't lift my leg properly. It was going to be a hard slog to get anymore run miles but I was still doing a good power walk and knocking out 15 minute miles - I could still get another few miles in at this rate.

Allen and Carrie were back again by 7am by which time I really had resorted to a walk. At no point did I think about stopping and saying I'd done enough - I still wanted as many miles as possible and I still wanted that 130 if nothing else. Carrie joined me over that last couple of hours, and we managed a good 6 miles in about 90 minutes. We watched the sun rise together, we finally had the opportunity to have conversations with the other runners/walkers and find out about where they were in the race and what their goals were, we laughed, we chatted, and we smiled.

With 30 minutes left until the clock stopped, we decided to go out and do one more loop which would give me just over 129 miles. I was ecstatic and got a little emotional crossing the line. I stopped with 8 minutes to spare - in that time I know I could have broken 130 miles, but ATY doesn't measure partial laps and it would not have been recorded in the results.

The distance would be enough to put me 1st lady and 1st overall, but with 4 more days of racing remaining, another lady could easily take top spot and knock me down the leader board - I was about to have the most restless and sleepless 4 days ever!

After the Race

After I had finished, I found it difficult to eat for 2 full days and the only thing I managed was a bowl of Cheerios covered with ice cold milk. It also took me a few days before I felt fully hydrated again despite trying to drink at every opportunity, and when I finally started eating, all I wanted was tomato soup and tuna sandwiches.

Body wise, my groin was sore for 2 to 3 days and I had trouble getting in and out of bed and even found it difficult to roll over in the night when my legs were aching and fidgety from the racing. The tendons in my left knee were also a little sore and the tightness in my quads made me laugh when I couldn't get up or down the stairs. It was 3 days before I finally felt the need to pop my blisters which is a record for me :-)

I had Epsom salts baths every day which really helped, and I just tried to sit still and recover, which isn't easy when you have 3 energetic dogs demanding walks 4 times a day!

Sleep wise, we barely got any. On day 3 and 4 of ATY, there were a few ladies that started the 24 hour race at the same pace as me. We watched them most of the day and into the night, checking to see if they were likely to challenge my lead. Fortunately - for me at least - they all seemed to drop off the pace and I was able to retain the outright win.

It's now a week since I finished my race and I am ready for a little jog although there is no denying that my legs still feel a little tired if I stand around for too long. I keep forgetting how far I ran just last week and I still shake my head and wonder how the hell I did it.

It would be unfair of me to focus purely on my own race, after all, those that take part in ATY are like an extended family as you spend so many hours seeing the same people. There were record breakers out there that ran for more than just a day, there were people in their 60s and 70s doing amazing things, and there were friends out there aiming for their own personal goals.

One thing I love about the ultra running community is that even though we all have our own individual goals, there is also so much love and support for all the others out there. Nobody is any better than anybody else. Somebody running their first 50k at ATY or aiming for a PR in a shorter distance still deserves credit for their efforts as they too have pushed beyond what they previously thought they were capable of.

On that note, as ever I have to convey my thanks to all those that made my last race of 2017 so successful and enjoyable.

To Andy, the most amazing, supportive husband I could wish for - thank you for staying out there in the cold to feed me and to keep me going. Seeing you every lap was amazing and I wanted to succeed as much for you as for me.

To my coach Adam - thank you for getting things right in my training. Those back to back hard sessions were tough, but I took each day at a time, and in the end they produce the results. Here's to the next one eh?!

To Mackenzie, thank you for helping with the glute problem and for keeping this old body mobile.

To Carrie and Allen and your lovely daughter, and Yissell - you guys are flipping awesome! Coming to support me in your own time meant so much! I'm sorry that I was sick, sorry I shouted how great the poo was, sorry that I was breaking wind and swearing at times, but you guys take me for who am I, so thank you!

To Aravaipa Running and all the volunteers at the event - thank you for putting on such a fantastic race.

And finally, to all my other friends out there, runners or otherwise, thank you so much for believing in me, for supporting me, and for being there this past 12 months. You are all amazing!

I'm really hoping that 2018 will be another fantastic year, and I'm pretty sure that once I'm recovered and back into the swing of things, there will be more fabulous racing and running adventures on the horizon :-)