Race Report - Ramathon 2015 - 7th June 2015

Today was all about the battles!

I have a long standing grudge match with a good friend and fellow runner, Rob. He very generously paced me around the course last year, until the final 400m where I managed to out sprint him. Rob could have easily left me for dead at the 9 mile mark last year but dragged me on for those final 4 miles. Recently Rob changed running clubs (Dirty Splitter) so I've been keeping an eye on his Facebook and Strava posts in the weeks coming up to Ramathon, and he has been getting quicker and really putting the miles in. But he had unusually poor performance at a 10k just a week before the big day, so it wasn't clear how he would perform here.

The day before I had raced at an obstacle race, which was pretty tough on the body. I also had a couple of glasses of wine, and a BBQ in the evening, coupled with a bad nights sleep due to a whining dog and restless baby. I wasn't confident of a good time or winning the grudge match.

It was a 4 Weetabix breakfast, with some extra fruit; and lots of water for breakfast, before heading off to event. Team Derby Runner had borrowed Zibrant's canteen area for the day, which meant we had close parking, bag storage and somewhere to prepare. With about 15 minutes to go, we headed off to the start line and ran into Rob and we joked about times, niggles and all the usual banter. Rob is now running for Derwent Runners and it was odd seeing him in his new colours, but it all helps maintain our healthy competition. Rob admitted he wasn't on top running form today, and wasn't expecting a quick time today, which was a huge shame, as it would have been great to have him at full strength to battle against.

Rob and I ran shoulder to shoulder for the first couple of kilometres at the usual 'too fast, too early' pace, before rob decided to slow down to a pace he knew he would maintain. I was feeling bullish and strong so kept at my 'unlikely' pace and pushed on. It was always niggling at me that I had gone out too quick and Rob would come cruising past in a few miles. But thing were going well. At the first water station at roughly the three mile mark I took a few sips and carried on moving. The road straighten out for a while now and I could see a team mate out in front. Richard is another really strong runner and had gone off like a rocket and was surprised to see that I was making gains on him. It took me another 2 miles and an energy gel before I reached his shoulder.

"Make sure you beat Rob too" were my final words to Richard as I pushed on looking for my next target. There was another Derwent Runner vest in a pack of runners about 50 metres ahead, so he was my next mission. As I slowly gained on the pack a runner from Wolves and Bilston club was also gaining on them. He was a tall, broad shouldered guy, and was making great progress through the pack or runners that included the unknown Derwent Runner. This W&B runner never stayed with other runners, or packs of runners he just kept picking them off and passing them. This is just the motivation I needed and stuck with him as we past half mark. At the 2nd water station I over took my running buddy to take my turn in front, but he wasn't having any of that and stepped it up and pushed past me.

This is the way it was for next few miles, I just kept on his shoulder as much as possible, and at mile 9 I was still feeling strong, and keeping up my 'maybe I can' pace. Last year mile 9 was where I could have quite happily stopped and walked, so it was a massive psychological win to still be strong at this point, this year. At Mile 10, the amazing Mark was marshalling, and handed me an ice pop! What could be better at this point than a sugar filled, chemical cocktail, frozen in ice! This boost and buzz was doubled when we entered the wooded area of Elvaston castle, The beautiful woodlands just makes running an absolute pleasure! With a mile to go before the 3rd water station I spotted another friend From Derwent Runners. Nick! Nick had cruised past me in the last mile, at the final Derby Runner cross country race of the season. He left me for dead, I had forgotten to congratulate him for having such a great race that day (through gritted teeth of jealousy), so I was stoked that I was gaining ground on him today.

I had my second gel as I went through the 3rd water station. This was the caffeine one too! I must thank my sister, Sheena, as she had a stack of spare gels in her car and I hadn't brought any with me. A very friendly chap from Belper running club gave me predicted finishing time, pace notes and even encouraged me to push in front of him to take the racing line for the upcoming corner. Was a star! I didn't have the heart to let him know that I only work in kilometres and would need to crack open a spreadsheet to start making the translations from miles to kilometres. I couldn't stop and talk numbers as my 'offensive blocker' from Wolves and Bilston was still cutting a path through runners that I had to follow.

As we left the grounds of Elvaston castle a very cheerful man caught up with me and we chatted about the little battles you imagine while racing, and I pointed out my target runner and continued on in race mode. I saw the last 5k on the river path as 'home stretch', knowing that come rain or shine I would finish the race and would probably know weather I would win the grudge match with rob by this point. The pressure was off but the the headwinds were certainly on. I though that the gentleman from Wolves and Bilston had done enough work in front and so I decided to push hard past him and let him draft off me for the closing miles. No sooner had I passed this chap, I had picked out my next target. The red and white harlequin shirt of a Massey Runner, stood out in sea of plain, hopped and sashed running vests, and he too was cutting his way through runners. I tried to keep up with him and and drifted to and from his shoulder until mile 12 where I managed to pass him.

Now I had picked up a shadow in a brown HAVAK vest and we exchanged positions for while but with about half a mile to go there was pack of 4 people to pass, so I put on a burst of speed and skipped clumsily through them all. I must apologise if I nudged people here, I certainly didn't meant be aggressive or impatient, I just wasn't very light of foot at this point. So now with about half a mile left to run, and for the first time in the entire race there were no target runners in front of me. For the first time in 12 and a bit miles I had no one to focus on chasing down. This felt really weird. Right this means its hammer time! Start emptying the tank, and push as hard as possible for final few minutes and see if I can hunt some more runners down.

As I came off the river path a small boy was very impressively calling out positions
"201"
what!? you mean there's a chance I can get in the top 200! forget GPS! Forget Stava! Forget chip timing! its all about what this little kid just told me! a bunch of 3 runners are out in front and reachable, so put my head down and attack, as I get past them I see the very familiar face of Darley Parkrun's race director, Ian. A flyby high five and a shout from Ian, and its just like Saturday morning, and sprint finish time. The burn is really kicking in as I run along side the iPro stadium, thoughts are flying round my head
'you've gone too early'
'you're going to blow out'
'you're going to throw up'

As I rounded the penultimate corner the crowds have really swelled, and they are cheering, and shouting encouragement. Kids hold out there hands for high fives, so I swing wide to reciprocate the gesture, which distracts me from the pain, Right enough fun, time for the final corner, and with the finish line now in sight it's time for BEAST mode. Grunting and gurning I managed to overtake one extra runner in the final 20 metres, but keep kicking all the way to the line to make sure I hold on to this position.

Crossing the line I find the nearest barrier to collapse on before being cheered by fellow team mate, Will, who was volunteering, at the medal and banana hand out area. What an awesome race, everything came together really nicely for me, being able to spot friends and find people going at the right pace for me draft, chase and pass was just what I needed to get into 'race' mode. This is why I love racing, for me it's not about the bling or times, its about getting my competitive fix, it's about about pushing as hard as I, even if it is just to over take one person, or stick to someone's shoulder for as long as possible. I hung around the finish line to thank the guy from Wolves and Bilston and a few other people that had unknowingly helped me round the course. Rob hadn't had a great race, hampered by a churning stomach and 2 minute pee stop. So it turns out I only won this grudge match because Rob had 2 cups of tea in the morning and I had forgotten all about my breakfast coffee, and left it sitting on the Nespresso machine that morning

Result:
189th 1:32:23 (the little kid was about right)

Huge thanks to:
All the staff and volunteers involved with Ramathon - www.ramathon.co.uk
Team Derby Runner for all the support on race day - http://teamderbyrunner.co.uk/
The Derby Runner for all the advice and kit over the years - http://www.derbyrunner.com/
Zibrant for letting us use their facilities - www.zibrant.com/
Sarah and Richard for the photos, and epic imagery for the one I stole

Strava:



Kit:
Shoes: Brooks Cadence
Socks: Quechua
Shorts: Nike Dry Fit
Top: TEAM DERBY RUNNER vest
Watch: Polar RC3 GPS
Gels: SiS x 2
Accessories: seemless head scarf worn on wrist used as a sweat band and to stash gels