In just over a week I’ll run my third Dixons Carphone Race to the Stones. In the build up to the race I’ve wrestled with a dilemma. Should I race the Ridgeway and do the 100km in a day, race the 100km two-dayer (50km each day) or just cruise the two-dayer and enjoy a pressure-free stroll along the stunning Northern Ridgeway? The crux of the conundrum is whether I can enjoy running without something to push for.
The decision has been all the more difficult because of my history with this race. I first ran it in 2014, when it became just the third ultra I’d completed. I finished in 12:37, and on that day I set a 100km personal best. In 2017 I went back to the Ridgeway, just three months after I’d run my first 100 miler and a few weeks after my second failed attempt at the Lavaredo. Despite having been through some much tougher runs than I had the first time around, this time it didn’t go to plan. At around mile 40 of the 62, I stepped off the Race to the Stones course – physically ok but psychologically beaten – and went for a pint and a burger.
The two experiences couldn’t have been more different. For that first outing I was still very new to ultras and so when I had a wobble just after the halfway point, I still had the hunger to make the finish line. The novelty was still there and when things got tough, I had enough desire and fire in the belly to keep me moving. Three years later that fire was burning much lower. Perhaps it was general ultra fatigue from my recent races, maybe it was because having a Race to the Stones finisher’s medal already meant I had one less reason to push through the pain, but either way I didn’t want it enough. When it came to the crunch I chose a warm pub and a pint over another six hours of slog. It was absolutely the right choice at the time but it’s something that’s definitely affected my thinking this year.
There’s a big part of me that wants to go back and try and take the 100km head on again. I think I can go faster than 12 hours. I know, I know, every runner thinks they can go faster but still. Also running it over two days, when you know you can do it in one, somehow feels like I’m bottling out, particularly if I just take it at a leisurely stroll. I know I can run back-to-back marathons so where’s the challenge in that.
Does it always need to be a big challenge?
The whole thing has made me wonder whether I really enjoy running without a target. The only time I’ve run a proper race ‘for fun’ without a goal was the London Marathon back in 2015 and by the time I got to halfway I was finding running without focus rudderless. So I ended up setting a target fort the second half of the race and I got much more into it. Will ambling along the ridgeway feel the same?
I have this sneaking suspicion that when I’m hunkering down in my tent for a broken night’s sleep, I’ll wish I’d cracked on and got the 100km done in the day.
On the flipside, when you arrive at the halfway point in the Race to the Stones, you’re greeted by a huge tent serving delicious hot food, drinks and row upon row of comfy looking benches, all of which makes it quite hard to leave and push on. Each time I’ve been dropped into that tent to regroup, I’ve told myself that one year I’d come back, cruise the two days and make the most of this halfway hospitality.
However, I have this sneaking suspicion that once I’m there, as the afternoon wears on or when I’m hunkering down in my tent for a broken night’s sleep, I’ll wish I’d cracked on and got the 100km done in the day. I fear I’ll watch the one-dayers head back out and wish I was going with them. At the same time running the two days might present a different challenge to stir up some fresh hunger.
It’s been a tough call to make but right now my instinct is to race day one, see how I feel and if I’m not enjoying it I can always enjoy the halfway ‘recovery’ and rock things back on day two. I’m definitely marathon fit but it’s been a while since I did back-to-back marathons so how my body copes with the recovery might even make the decision for me. Either way I’m going to make it back to the Avebury stone circle and I’m going to make sure I get better photos this time around. Race or run for fun, the Insta needs to be fed.
(I’m running the Dixons Carphone Race to the Stones with Currys PC World)
Now read this: Last-minute Race to the Stones tips
