You thought your run was tough?

Check these ladies out.

Wendy Ingraham and Sian Welch give the crowds a nail-bitingly painful finish at the 1997 Ironman World Championships.



While Julie Moss puts new meaning into NOT.GIVING.UP.



Finally Paula Newby Frazier comes across the biggest wall of her life.



That 10km after work run doesn't seem so bad now does it?!

Adidas 24 hour Thunder Run: Race review

"Challenging" "Different" "Exhilarating" "Horrendous"

Some of the words used to describe the 2012 Adidas Thunder Run. Billed as "a 24 hour off-road relay race against the clock", the Thunder Run attracts some 2000 runners to participate in a race like nothing else they've entered before. Myself included.

I took up the challenge with four other female runners. None of us knew what to expect. You can run as fast or as slow as you like, but one member of the team must be running (or walking) on the 10km trail track at all times over a period of 24 hours. The winner is the team with the most laps completed after the 24 hour deadline. Game on!

Thunder Run is held in Catton Park in South Derbyshire. It's a lovely spot - undulating, varied terrain including woodland, grass and track. Runners arrive on Friday and can set up camp ready for the 12pm start on Saturday. This year the festival-like atmosphere was even greater with the organisers setting up a big screen so we could all watch the Olympics during our rest periods.

As a strategy of sorts, my Sportsister teammates and I decided to run each lap in roughly one hour, knowing that the night and early morning laps may not be our finest hour in 10km running, and so would be a little slower!

We then chose who would run when, but agreed that if anyone had any problems we would swap, or just adapt as we needed to. Our aim of the race was to finish it, to enjoy it, and to work as a team to look after each other.

I was the fourth starter in my team, so I set off around 3pm for my first lap after three of my fellow teammates had completed theirs. Feeling much more nervous than I thought I would I waited in the pen, eyes peeled for my teammate to come round the corner, baton in hand, to hand over to me.

The 10km course kept me amused. It's a challenging course, with enough twists and turns to make even Tigger dizzy. It's also great fun. It felt a bit like I was on the Krypton Factor, leaping over boggy sections, weaving in and out of marked sections of woodland, legging it up and down grassy hills.

A quarter of the way through, runners pop back out to race through the campsite and be cheered on by fellow competitors. Again at around 8km, runners pace through sections of the camp to be further encouraged to the finish line.

The last kilometre is brutal. The organisers know what they are doing. Give runners a glimpse of the finish....then send them up another hill before the end is really in sight.

Baton safely handed over to teammate five, I go back to camp to drink, eat, stretch and rest. It feels rather strange. I've just raced 10km, yet I can't relax as I have to do it again in another three hours, and then again, and again and again.

Round two came round too soon and I was off again. This time I knew what to expect, I felt a little more settled and really enjoyed the loop.

Round three at 1am was a slightly different race for all as it was pitch black. Headtorch and luminous jacket donned, off I set again. It was also the start of the unknown territory. Yes I've run Marathon des Sables but at least you run it all in one go then can rest. I've never run 5x 10km laps interspersed with non existent sleep. I've never run later than 10:30pm nor earlier than 7am. And I love my sleep.

However, I really enjoyed the night run. Maybe I have some weird fetish fantasy of running alone in the woods at night with only the sound of heavy breathing coming up behind me. Either that or the safety of the dark meant you couldn't see further than a couple of metres ahead which also meant you couldn't see the hills coming up. Either way, it felt like a magical mystery tour. Would I land in a bog or a pothole? Would I be attacked by the boogaman? Would I fall asleep while running? Endless possibilities.

Safely back again, I tried to get some more shut eye before the next round at 6am. The milkman round was less enjoyable. Even if I hadn't fallen asleep, lactic acid definitely had in my legs so I ran lap four feeling like Mike Tyson was clinging from my thighs.

11:30am. The final victory round. Feeling a little worse for wear, but determined not to let team Sportsister down I tried my best, though I will feel eternally grateful for the two lovely chaps who helped me round the first few kilometres with a bit of random banter. I managed to sneak in under the hour and our team came a very respectable sixth in our category.

Would I do it again? Most definitely. It's a brilliant, weird, exhilarating way to spend a weekend. It's also a great way to meet those even stranger runners who do the course solo. Much respect due to them.

Country to Capital ultra race review

Country to capital 45 is a yearly ultra race organised by GoBeyond Ultra. It begins in Wendover, Bucks and ends in Paddington, London. The first half covers 20 miles or so of rolling countryside and villages taken out of tourism brochures. The last 25 miles runs along the Grand Union Canal back into London.

As this was my first official ultra race I have nothing to compare it to, but I thought it was really well organised and a very friendly race.

The only thing that threw me a little was you need basic map skills as you are given a map which highlights the route. There are no sign markers anywhere. Fine - if you are Mrs Speedy Ultra Runner. A little bit scary if you are Mrs Back of Pack Ultra Runner. On the plus it does mean you can go to the loo in peace knowing hordes of runners are not about to come past.

The race is nicely broken down into six checkpoints, one every 7.5 miles or so, where friendly stewards cheer you on and give you water supplies and cake. At the half way point pork pies and sausage rolls await the meat eaters. Alas! us vegetarian runners had to make do with salt and vinegar crisps and jelly babies. (N.B. I have discovered a previously unknown talent - hoovering crisps up on the run - who knew?!)


No I don't want a sausage roll but thanks for offer!

The big difference I found with this ultra race compared to sub-marathon distance races was the friendliness and banter between runners and with the stewards. This may have been because I wasn't trying for a time, I just wanted to finish the race, so I was able to take the time to have chats with people. That, plus the fact I was running at a snail's pace - proper MDS shuffle! - you are able to talk, which also helps!

Amusingly, towards the end it felt a bit like being in sports day at an old people's home. For about two minutes you could hear "pff pff pff pff grunt, sniff, pff, pff, groan, cough". Then gradually another runner would come into your line of sight, shuffling slowly past you, small nod and grunt hello, before edging forward over the course of another two minutes by a few metres or so.

This would repeat about 10 minutes later with you then overtaking said runner when they decided the shuffle had to come down a gear into a painful penguin hobble.

Along the way I met a couple of other people who are running the marathon des sables this year. We had the usual banter about kit and training. It was very reassuring to talk to others and find out what they are up to, and where they are at with training. It seems we all seem to be doing around the same things, which makes me feel okay about what training I am currently doing for the marathon des sables.

I also met a lot of other ultra runners who are doing some pretty insane things. One runs these 24 hour transcendence races, another - a triple ironmen (he was 50 but looked about 30). Respect.

How did I feel during the ultra race?
Well, strangely I felt great mentally - which for anyone who has read past posts has been a bit of a trouble spot for me. I think the breakdown of the race into checkpoints really helped. Also, I just refused to think about the race as being 45 miles. I just didn't think about it at all. Having rewards, such as taking a walk, listening to music or eating some food was also key to keeping me sane.

Physically, it was a different matter. I've been a little under the weather of late - only a cold - plus I had stupidly pulled my thigh muscles in a particularly strenuous yoga session (I mean come on!) the day before, so I just felt rather nauseous and tired throughout the whole thing.

One lady at a checkpoint suggested perhaps I had taken on too many sugary foods or electrolytes, which I think was probably true. Hydration is always at the forefront of my mind but I often forget you can over hydrate as well, which is an important lesson to remember.

In all honesty it was bloody hard and actually made me a little worried and daunted about having to do that after three long days, in hot temperatures with all your kit on your back. But I'm going to keep positive. After all the marathon des sables is 90% mental strength!

And after it had finished (and still now) I feel like I'm glowing - I (little old me!) ran 45 miles. Me! Whenever I feel a bit crap it's something to remember to give myself a pat on the back for, no matter how slow I was.

And I so want to do another one so it can't be that bad. Next time I just want to overtake that 70 year old first.

Second 30 mile ultra training run done

I've now got three ultra runs under my belt which I'm pretty pleased about. Two 30 milers and the 38 mile "race" around half of the capital ring.

Last Sunday was the second 30 mile attempt. The route I took was along the capital ring to Finsbury Park, along to Stoke Newington, down to the canal, a lap of Victoria Park, along the Limehouse Basin past the Blackwall Tunnel and back again.

Cute cottage in east London next to Regent's canal

The actual run itself was fine. My left hip is still playing up slightly but it was well behaved on Sunday. I even slashed my time down to 5 hours 35 mins - 25 minutes faster than my first attempt (this works out at around 10.8 minute mile, so with walking included in that my actual running pace is probably more like 9-9.5 minute miles, which I'm happy with).

Houseboats on the canal

The thing I am having trouble with is my head. I got to 10 miles and had a minor paddy attack that I didn't want to carry on. I thought I had run further than 10 miles. It was only the thought of having to run back 10 miles anyway that spurred me on to get to the 15 mile halfway point. From there it was plain sailing. I'd passed half way so it was downhill from there.

I'm having real difficulties at the moment with breaking the run down into manageable sizes during the first half, and remaining positive. I get bored quite quickly and then start thinking of how many more hours to go and fantasizing about what I want to eat (currently I'm obsessing about mince pies and cheese - though not together!). So this is definitely something I need to work on - and I'm sure I'll have looootttssss of practice over the next couple of months with the looming scary long and back to backs ahead.

On a positive (see! I'm trying!) I experienced the endorphin trick again at around mile 28, which was great. Absolutely stormed up Finsbury Park hill and along the last mile of the capital ring to home. It's such a great feeling. It feels a bit like the first few seconds of setting off on a really fast run and feeling invisible before the lactic acid kicks in and your lungs start screaming. Very very cool.

First 38 mile ultra race completed

I've done it! Wow. Big pat on my back. Technically we were all ready and signed up for the Hereward race - 38 miles around Peterborough. But we decided against going as it would have taken us 2.5 hours to drive there, god knows how many hours to run it, train back to the start point, then drive home. Plus it was on a Sunday so no rest day before work on Monday.

It just highlights the realities of trying to train for these sorts of things. Any other distance - even a marathon, is doable in a day round trip. Or I guess if you are a fast ultra runner - which I am not, that also helps to squeeze in these races.

So we decided to run it on the Saturday in London using a garmin to track distance and time. We took the capital ring loop from Highgate around to Wandsworth via Richmond, and ended in Clapham South, before hobbling onto the Northern Line back home.

Here's the route. Nuts. I expect we'll do the other half at some point soon too.


View Larger Map

As predicted times were snail pace. A huge 8.25 hours (9 in total with 2 stops) which equals 13 minute miles. Pretty slow. I'm hopeful that the times will get faster as we go, but because it's a completely new area and I'm not sure how my body is going to react I'm erring on the side of caution. That plus I basically couldn't go any faster. He he. To put into context how slow we were the winners of the Hereward Race did it in 3:45:42 male and 4:19:24 female - though this is insanely fast.

The first half of the run was pretty awful. I moaned a lot. Stopped a lot. Ate a lot. Walked a lot. My left hip unfortunately also moaned a lot (I think I've damaged the top part of my ITB (iliotibial band) but am hoping it is recovering now).

Bu then! the golden arches appeared from nowhere through the gloom and drizzle of Greenford. Like a fly to an electric zapper we headed in and ate an extremely healthy lunch to exit and storm the next 10 miles from Greenford to Richmond.

It was like Mr Negative had left the building and Mrs Positive was now sat on my shoulder. I'm starting to see that the biggest part of ultra running is the mental attitude. 38 miles is such a long way, it's difficult to break it down at the beginning of a race.

I don't know about other runners but I always break races down into sections. For example if I'm running a half marathon I would break it into the first three miles - relax and try and get into a good rhythm. The next five miles maintain a steady pace, the next three miles crank it up a bit, the final two miles, just hang on in there!

Doing this helps makes it all a bit more manageable and also staves off the boredom, as it gives you something to concentrate on at that moment rather than thinking, ugh 10 miles to go, so far! But for 38 miles I found this really difficult to do until I got to half way, then I found it much, much easier to break down.

We had another break at Richmond. Climbing over Twickenham bridge rather felt like an out-of-body experience as my legs were wondering what the f I was doing and didn't want to participate in climbing as well.

The next section though was even more extraordinary. We had limited light left and still had to get through Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common so knew we had to get a move on. It honestly felt like I was running on air. We must have been running at 8 minute mile pace. It was ridiculous. I don't know where it came from. People talk about endorphin highs and I guess this was it. I've never experienced anything like it before.

Similarly, I just put it down to mental attitude. We knew we had to get through that section before it got dark so had a deadline so the head said go and the feet followed. The light also helped as it just made both parks stunning to run through. I remember thinking I must have had sunglasses on as the colours in a lake and on the trees were so vibrant.

Another strange thing which started to happen was I saw a few odd things. Now I think this was just because I was tired and it was getting dark but it was a little wierd. I kept thinking someone was running alongside Pete, and I thought a leaf was a rat and I screamed and jumped over it. Dear me.

The best bit was eating curry at home in the evening. This does also worry me slightly as I know the desert is not going to have these luxuries. Again, it's going to be something I'm just going to have to reframe in my mind. We're going camping for a week with a few runs in between. Yeh, that will work!

Official ultrarunner!!

Whoop whoop. I ran my first ultra training run at the weekend. 30 miles. I woke up the next day feeling like something exciting had happened and remembered that it had! 30 miles.

For anyone running their first whatever distance - you will get this feeling. It's brilliant. It's like you've gone out there and achieved something all by yourself, for yourself, and no one can take that away from you. This is partly why I run. So I can feel proud of myself.

Whenever you're having a bad day, the inner you can go "yeh but you smashed that run the other day!", and that will sit with you forever.

Anyway, my point is any milestone run should be celebrated, whatever level you are at. You'll never run your first again so make the most of it when you do.

Pam Reed, ultrarunner extraordinaire said a similar thing in her book "The Extra Mile" when she said she got a little jealous of her friends when they ran their first marathon. I feel the same. I remember thinking during the last few miles of Edinburgh marathon (my first marathon) that I had to remember this bit. And I did, and I still can picture the pain! But also that feeling of absolute elation when I'd crossed the finish and could stop and seize up in agony (joking, kind of).

So, yes, I'm fairly chuffed about reaching past the mara post, though also painfully aware I'm at the start of training still. Got a 45 miler race looming on the horizon in January and still not quite sure how I'll manage all these back to back long runs in the desert.

The route I took for 30 miles (just to remind you I ran 30 miles! 30!!) was from Embankment along the Thames Path to Richmond Bridge and back again.

I started off pretty slow. This was helped by listening to audio books rather than heavy trance and house music. Little bit of running, little bit of walking. No stopping. Lots of eating. Probably too much eating.

The first half felt fairly easy, though it seems that this sort of training is a whole different ballgame to marathon training as it's all about endurance, not speed. So a 12 minute miler pace rather than 8 for long runs.

Started to feel a little tired towards Richmond, though I am sure this is a mental thing, as I knew I could stop and have a drink/sort my trainers out/sit for a minute.

On the way back, I ramped it up with some music to stave off the boredom. Again felt okay till I had about 6 miles to go. Then felt really tired. Though strangely it was easier to jog than walk. Walking gave me wierd stabbing pains in my legs. Really I should have stopped and stretched. The worst pain was in my hip and knee joints rather than my muscles. Though even that disappeared the next day. Result!

It's a lovely route once you get past the tourists around Embankment and Westminster. First there is the glorious Battersea Park to run through. Then sporty "Jack Wills" Putney, with all the rowers out on the Thames. Always love to watch them. Then you hit the offroad part of the path. Just lovely all through the year, but particularly at the moment with all the trees still in their autumnal colours.

For anyone who doesn't get why people run, being outside is one of the reasons, especially in such a busy city as London. Being able to enjoy places like the more rural parts of the Thames Path takes some beating. I don't know if I would have liked to be anywhere else at that point than jogging along between trees and river, saying hello to dog walkers, and seeing the sun through the trees. Happy days.