Evesham Ultra 2014 (Running in the BUFF gets me first!)
On Sunday the 27th of April I was lucky enough to run in the Evesham Ultra Marathon around the Cotswold hills. The race itself is around 47 miles long and comprises of mud, trail, track and around 7 miles of road, the race is organised by Cotswold Running who do a variety of events from half marathons up to 100 mile races. A couple of weeks before the race I had been lucky enough to be donated some gear from Team Buff UK and was looking forward to racing in my new apparel and showing the guys that I wasn't going to let them down.
Shortly after Transgrancanaria I had taken part in the Black Mountains 40 ultra race in wales and came away with an awesome 3rd place spot so I knew I was running well and I had a good feeling about the Evesham Ultra. The race starts at Evesham town hall so about 45 minutes before the start I registered and then had time to take a few photos in my new gear and chill out for a while with my wife and daughter.
At 9.15 we all headed off along the river path and I soon settled into a comfortable pace as we ran through town and then out onto a trail heading for the first checkpoint at Netherton Fields. The first five runners ahead of myself were well ahead of me at this point but I knew the pace was probably to fast so I just did my own thing and ran at a pace I knew I could sustain.
The next five mile or so are through fields and a couple of small villages and are reasonably flat, so when I arrived at the checkpoint I was about 6 minutes behind the leaders but lying in about 6th place. The next section to Little Beckford starts to incorporate a bit more climbing and this is where I like to try and catch people up, and as we ran through some beautiful countryside up and over Bredon Hill I started to close the gap between myself and the leading runners. At Little Beckford I was met by Rachel (my wife) Ellie (my daughter) and my father in law Neville. The support was fantastic but I didn't really stop to say anything and ran straight through and onwards to Winchcombe.
My strategy so far was working well and with using bottles instead of a bladder I didn't have to take my pack off at all to refill and this seemed to be saving me some time at the checkpoints. The course from here to Winchcombe is a series of climbing diversions which take you over the hills of Langley and Alderton. The third checkpoint was meant to be at the 20 mile mark but as I found out later there had been some confusion about the placing of the water station from the volunteer and the first eight or so runners missed the checkpoint until it was moved into the correct position by the organisers. I carried on running regardless knowing that I would be ok until I got to Winchcombe at mile 24 and would just have to cope until then. On arriving at Winchcombe I had moved into 4th position and felt strong and was doing well on the hillier sections. I quickly re-filled my bottle and ate a little food before saying goodbye to my supporters and off I went again.
From Winchcome the route follows the Cotswold way and with the hills increasing I found myself overtaking 4th place and in striking position of 1st and 2nd place. The two guys in front seemed to be enjoying the descending more than I did and would open up a small gap on each descent. Luckily there was always another hill to climb and I soon found myself on their heels again. At mile 31 we reached the checkpoint at stanway where the first two places ran straight through. I however stopped to re-fill again, drink a little coke and eat some rocky road. I must say that the aid stations had plenty on offer especially the latter ones and I hardly needed to use my own supplies at all.
The next stage was full of small sharp little climbs and I used these to catch back up to the two leading runners. It was a little like a game of cat and mouse with them both getting away on the descending but myself catching up on the ascending. Finally I managed to overtake 2nd place and after I took a nasty fall descending into Broadway I picked myself using some very rude words and powered up the climb on the biggest ascent of the day all the way to Broadway tower. I arrived at Broadway tower in first place to the screams and cheering of my supporters who now also included my two nephews Jack and Charlie and my sister in law Bryony. I must say that the noise from this gang of mine was brilliant especially seeing the kids waving and cheering. For the first time that day I really thought I could win it.
However I still had a good 8 mile or so to go and now there was a big descent into Evesham and I knew as I left the checkpoint with the other runner Ned he would probably open a small gap on the descent. He did indeed open up a gap but not as big as I thought so I slowly started to increase my pace and eventually caught back up with him with about 5 miles to go and carried on opening the gap very slowly. There was one more checkpoint about 3 miles from home where I downed some coke quicky and continued to increase the gap.
My lungs were burning in the final mile as I ran through Evesham and eventually up the high street towards the town hall where I could see and hear my supporters giving it their all. I crossed the finish line in 7 hours and 18 minutes and my GPS read 47.8 miles. I finished just five minutes ahead of Ned in second place and was overjoyed for my first place.
More than that though it had been a great day with friendly adversaries, lovely checkpoint staff and some stunning scenery to boot, I thoroughly recommend this race. After some photos I thanked all involved at the finish and went with my family and supporters for food and drink, what a great end to a great day. Once again I would like to thank all those who support me and the guys at BUFF for the gear and headwear, especially as ever my number one supporters Rachel and Ellie. Take care all x
