yes that was one of the comments, about needing rescue!
Ooh that looks good
Chunky elevation for the distance
Yeah, thatās what we call āan understatementā!
Bloody hell, that will sting!
There can be only oneā¦
The Mall of Qatar
Looks like Iām going to have to get the good waterproof gear out for next Friday nights start
Only 50% chance of light showers at the mo ?? Seems to be a different answer at each point along the coast too. Iād wait a good few more days to see what that system does before worrying too much.
Depending on the forecast, it might be worth putting your best one the drop bag. That 2nd 55 is slower than the first and if itās tipping down, you might not be generating much heat.
Iāve got a Kamalika which is heavier but warmer and a Halo 2 which is lightweight but not as warm. I also have w/p trousers but not sure Iāve ever worn them,
Iāll refine my packing closer to the day. (in the car park at Minehead )
Or maybe Band on the Run
I do like their confidence that Iām going to need it
Hello Ian
Thank you for continuing to choose Premier Inn. Weāll be seeing you really soon!
Weāre looking forward to welcoming you back next week at our Minehead hotel.
Iām booked in for 3 nights at the Premier Inn (not that itās going to get much use Friday nightš)
So @gingerbongo and @FatPom
If 110km sets off at 8.30pm I would think about 10 hours of running in the dark before sunrise?
The weather looks pretty mild but pretty certain of rain
In 2 minds about waterproof trousers - I think on balance no as will get too warm in them
Definitely a few changes of socks though
@gingerbongo - what time do you think you will be hitting Barnstaple?
I thought we were off at 7.30? IIRC, it got light at about 7am. Hard to know with w/p trousers, Iāll be walking more than you will. Thing is, that first 16km will be warm on the legs but the climbing starts and it can be slow and windy, especially after Wooly. Unless itās lashing down, Iād be tempted to put them in the drop bag.
I might wear running tights because mine have side pockets where a spare battery change for the headtorch can be easily accessed. Spare socks, shirt etc at CM, maybe a toothbrush!
@FatPom - no, youāre off at 20:30 looking at the website, as @tunster mentioned.
Based on that, iāve been getting out at about 07:00 and iām able to see without a headtorch perfectly fine. So i guess itāll be lights off around 0630 or so unless youāre in one of the heavily wooded areas. So yeah, 10 and a bit hours of darkness sounds about right for you guys - not much more for me as it gets dark at around 1900 i guess at the moment.
Looking at the forecast i will have my waterproof trousers at the bottom of my pack, just in case. But, as it stands, iāll be very unlikely to wear them for a bit of drizzle. Unless iām slowing down a lot and getting really cold. But as Pom said, iāll probably pop a pair of running tights in my drop bag - so iāll have 2 x opportunities to pick them up if needed.
Iāll also be packing my lightweight running waterproof in my pack - as this will be fine in the type of rain thatās forecast currently. But again, iām going to put my new 25k h/h jacket in the drop bag in case it gets heavier. Iāll also be popping some more warm layers in the drop bag so i have options - things like my cycling gilet and cycling ls jersey as theyāre great for going under stuff and pack pretty small.
Having tried various options over the years iāll probably wear a single pair of socks the whole way through. Will have spares in the drop bag, same with tees and shorts. But with the rain coming in the final third iāll most likley (predominantly) be in the same kit as i started.
A week now of sun and rain should dry up the path pretty well. So should be decent underfoot as long as the forecast doesnāt change. In the woods will still be damp and mucky of course.
Really, really hard to even begin estimating where iāll be and when. Iāve set myself a gold, silver and bronze target to keep myself focussed.
Gold - <28
Silver <30
Bronze - just finish
Maybe platinum would be <26, which is what iād have targeted with a proper build-up. I think itād be a bit arrogant to think i can make that this year. I think realistically iām thinking i might be in the 28-30 bracket.
I found the track of a lady that did around 28hrs last year. She got to Barny in about 8.5 hrs, so thatād be around 16:00. So i have that as a rough guide in my head.
But i must admit iām semi-tempted to go massive positive split on this one. Make hay in the first 12 hours when i can move relatively well and in the daylight. Then settle in for a slow and steady night with lots of walking. Then just see where iām at when the sun rises the next day.
I hadnāt realised itās 8.30, need to check the guide but thatās later than normal and Iām already up against it for CM cut off, eek!
Left the house at 6.45 this morning and walked in a few mins ago. Just non stop meetings and interim Director shit to deal with. Now looking more closely at the timings that I hadnāt noticed, coupled with this injury, itās definitely not been the start to race week that I wanted.
Thatās understandable mate. See how the week progresses and do what you can to eliminate any extra stress.
At the mo Iām quite lucky as this week is looking pretty quiet on the work front. Hardly any meetings and no need to go in which is good as it was manic last week.
Having the house moving slowly is helping too.
Fingers crossed. Get some good sleep under your belt!
Cheers buddy
Hope youāre feeling a bit better tomorrow FP.
Thanks Anna, this whole week work wise wonāt be great but Iām trying to stay positive for the race
@tunster @gingerbongo have you seen the mail from Justin? Course change a Braunton Burrows, which I think bypasses a lot of that gravel road but will be slower for sure.