Very mixed bag at the trail race for me today. As I’d entered so late on Friday it looks like I was missed off an email that announced the start changing from 9am to 8am. I got there and only the organisers were at HQ! Luckily I know her a bit as she’s in our running club and she let me go when I was ready, so about 50 minutes after everyone else.
I’d downloaded a GPX onto my watch as I didn’t know some bits of the route and I wasn’t sure of the start, I know bits of that area but there’s a few ways up to the second CP. And I couldn’t follow the people that knew it.
As a result I think I also overcooked the first 10k, I’d also left a T-shirt on over my base layer and the weather turned out a lot better than the forecast.
I was also not eating early enough! I started catching some people as it is also a long distance walkers event and some of the slower runners.
I then went onto a bit of the course I’d never ran before, and the GPX file was very hit & miss, this led to a few places where I was searching for routes through heather and bracken and losing lots of time as well as getting frustrated. A bit further on it took me a completely bizarre way but one a rambler might go.
Yesterday was also catching up with me but I plodded on and picked up some bits where I knew the route well. Managed to refuel a bit at an aid station. After that it was a slowing plod to the end!
I know the lad that won it and he lives and runs more regularly over there, he did nearly 3K less than me and without all the turning back! Another issue was that because my watch was in trail mode it has that annoying setting that scrolls through the pages so the breadcrumb map kept disappearing.
Add to this my toe was rubbing where it never has and I could feel a blister, and the toenail I pretty much lost at the 3 peaks has taken another battering!
But, despite all that it was a nice route and to learn some new paths, I’m going to download his GPX and might look where he went differently in case I do it again one day.
I finished in 4:30, moving time as 4:16, I think I should be capable of sub 3:50 on a better day when I’m fresher.
And it mostly achieved what I wanted, a long trail run and in fairly warm conditions. Ok, UTMB is going to be a lot longer, particularly the climbs but this was a useful run.
no idea how it’s come to that conclusion 
Although I’d accept it!
