175 miles – what have I let myself in for?

175 miles of running, over six consecutive days, carrying one 25 litre back pack containing a torch, a whistle, a compass, a first aid kit, a sleeping bag and much more. In the room that is left (which isn’t much) I need to squeeze in any clothes I need and enough food to take on 1,000 thousand calories each day, in addition to breakfast and dinner.

The Marathon of Great Britain, one of the toughest and challenging ultra runs in the running calendar seemed like a great idea back in January when I booked it. Now it’s nearly here I’m actually questioning my own sanity. Having run in extreme weather conditions, I can’t make up my mind if I’d rather it was pouring with rain (which will make my clothes and shoes heavy and will probably mean sleeping in damp clothes but keep me cool) or the recent sun, which will get unbearably uncomfortable. Sun also means heat, which means I’ll have to carry more water to keep hydrated. In turn that means carrying more weight and finding the space in my backpack, which to be honest, I don’t think I’ve got.

I managed to complete an event a few weeks ago that was 32 miles (without a backpack) but I’ve never attempted to run 55 miles in one day alone and then follow it the next day with another 30 miles having spent the night on the floor in a sleeping bag!

I guess some of the literature that has come through is making me a little nervous. For a start you have to present an ECG certificate on arrival to prove to the organisers you are fit enough to run. This is a medical test that monitors you’re heart. A family friend who is a specialist nurse on a cardiac ward very kindly administered my ECG for me. Very reassuringly she promised there would be nothing untoward on mine. “How can you be sure?” I asked before she’d even done anything… “because with all the running you’ve been doing this year, if there was anything wrong with your heart, you’d already know about it.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but true to her words, the report came back all clear.

Despite my suggesting that surely there was something in the very erratic line on fluorescent pink paper to prevent me entering - providing me with an excuse for pulling out – the cardiologist reassured me I was in perfect health for someone of my build (still tall but now very thin!)

Luckily for the event organisers an ECG only assesses body function and not brain function because surely anyone who even wants to take on such a challenge can’t really be all there? I only mention it because I received a letter from the organisers this week stating that if you need minor surgery or a drip to be administered, you categorically won’t be allowed to complete that particular day’s run. Is it me, or does that sound like people in the past might have actually needed a drip but were still determined to complete the leg of the run they were attempting?

Surely, the need for a drip is a clear signal that you may need to exit the event? I guess my nervousness isn’t around the drip or minor surgery, it is more around the sanity of my fellow competitors who might not consider minor surgery or the need for a drip as nothing worth slowing them down! I’ve got visions of them all lined up and sprinting off at the start line on day one. My only hope now is that the story of the tortoise and the hare are based on fact and I have a vague hope of finishing in a respectable time.

To put the distance into perspective, on one of the five days I’ll be running almost the equivalent of Southampton to London. This isn’t your usual event, the roads aren’t closed off there aren’t marshals helping you keep on track. It is you, a map, a compass and in my case more than likely a head torch. I’m not sure why we need the head torch because, to top it all, each day has a time limit set upon it and if you have not completed a leg in the time allocated, you’re disqualified. Maybe the torch is in case you are in the middle of a field after dark and need it to help you get to a train station to get home?

On my recent shopping trip to buy everything I needed, the sales assistant at the camping store was intrigued, expressing that it must be some run I was undertaking. I explained what I was doing and he commented I was by far the most interesting shopper he’d ever had in the store, which I took to be a good thing! I finished my shopping trip in the chemist and had to ask for assistance finding re-hydration solutions, foot treatments and plasters etc. Again, I was met with a concerned look, until I explained what it was all needed for, and then the concern turned to disbelief.

I’m trying to put this and concerns about the race to the back of my mind. Positive mental attitude, that’s what is needed. I’m not thinking about day one, which although is only 16 miles it is over mountains. Positive attitude Bryce, at least there will be terrific views if it is a clear day. In the mean time, I’m trying to occupy myself working out what constitutes 6000 calories – how many chocolate bars would that be?...

I’ll be updating my blog each day next week so please keep logging on to see how I’m doing.