26th June 9.00am : I am about to attempt to run further than I

Keeping fluids up

have ever done before in my life accompanied by my wonderful supportive girlfriend Kelly Gregory by bike. We have just eaten breakfast. I struggled to eat mine. My nerves seem to be winning the battle at the moment at the thought of what we are just about to attempt.

 

I was hoping to leave by 8.00am so we would make it to Reading by 1pm however breakfast wasn’t to be served until 8.00am so by the time we left we were an hour behind schedule before we even set off!

 

Along the path we continued passing through fields and gate after gate which slowed us down quite considerably. The road bike that Kelly was cycling while I ran had a pannier rack and bags fitted to it, this enabled us to carry a lot of water and food for the day. We were doing this adventure together, no car support or water stations ultimately dependant on each other. 

The weight of the bike was a real drain especially when carrying it up steps during crossings. Travelling along the scenery

Taking on the carbs

was beautiful, a flowing river, tall green trees a well passed path surrounded in wonderful shades of green fields.

The weather was getting hotter which wasn’t ideal but it did make for a beautiful setting. Another gate was approaching, Kelly’s face seemed to drop, the gate was surrounded with cows. All the shooing in the world wasn’t enough to move them. The cows looked at me as if to say this is our patch you go around us! So around them we went the look on Kelly’s face was priceless especially after we went by them and I told her there was a bull!

Sights along the route

I was happy with our progress considering the mistake we had made at the first crossing. We proceeded over a large wooden bridge about 8miles into the run, Kelly stayed on the bike and I helped pushing from behind helping her up to the brow of the bridge. Kelly shot off!‘Squeeze the breaks hard I shouted’ but with the weight of the pannier bags the bikes breaks were not very responsive. Kelly’s feet were dragging along the wooden bridge and then BANG! Kelly had crashed!

Kelly and the bike had gone speeding into the fence at the bottom of the bridge. Kelly was in shock and hurting from the crash. Her chest had smashed into the fence along with her leg and arms, the bruises were soon showing. Although upset, winded and in shock I had a sense that Kelly was more worried about my reaction to her crashing my beloved bike than the pain she was feeling. There was no serious damage to Kelly or the bike!

We navigated our way along the Thames path with not too much trouble after this. Stopping regularly to take on much needed food, water and electrolyte drinks. We had a lot to deal with on this adventure, our diet, navigating the right way and the unrelenting heat, the day was just getting hotter and hotter.

We were slowly eating up the miles. My muscles were feeling good the only slight problem I had was a dead leg I received on Thursday night at Futsal training. ‘Typical’ I thought after receiving the blow in training, just as I am about to attempt to run further than ever before I get a dead leg!

The pain was constant in my leg however it was not bad enough to slow me down too much. My good friend Derek Keir one of the founding members of ‘Friend of EduSport’ the charity that Kelly and I were doing this for, had planned to meet us in Reading this was roughly 25miles from where we set off. I had expected to be in Reading by 1pm however due to the breakfast delay and missing our first crossing this had thrown the timing completely out the window!

Kelly was starting to feel the heat and was suffering from heat exhaustion around 20miles into the trip. Not only was Kelly riding a road bike over horrendous terrain, Kelly was also carrying a bag on her back which was weighing her down. I took the bag off her back and carried it for the next hour. I was really starting to worry about Kelly’s health.

For as long as I’d been planning this run I almost, selfishly you might say, I was only thinking about how I would get through this run. Not taking into consideration how hard the bike ride would be for Kelly, in fact she hadn’t rode a bike in nearly 10years and had no prior practice on my road bike, looking back now I realise how ridiculous this was.

My support crew

Kelly was my support crew we were a team without her  I couldn’t of considered this run. Kelly’s effort was inspiring and made me feel stronger and I thought no matter how far we go on this run the courage, determination and commitment Kelly has shown will  never leave me.

We eventually got to Reading after 4pm. Meeting up with Derek. It was great to see a friendly face. We were going for over seven hours now and I still felt good. Derek was quick to comment that we ‘looked fresh!’.

Reading was more difficult to navigate than I thought. We took the wrong canal and were a little lost but we soon made our way back onto the Kenneth and Avon canal. All we had to do was follow this all the way to Kintbury!

Derek, Kelly and I continued along the canal we took a break at 6pm. With my original plan I was hoping to be at the BnB we were staying at in Kintbury by this time. I rang the BnB to confirm we were still on our way ‘just a little behind schedule’ I asked what time we needed to check in by? 11pm was the reply.

Now we had a deadline to meet. A new focus. The next main town would be Newbury. We came across signs along the canal pointing us in the right direction to Newbury. 11miles... 9miles.... 7miles was the last sign we seen for quite a while it was getting late and surprisingly even at 9.00pm the evening air was still hot. Earlier in the day every shaded part of the path was greeted with a cheer! I didn’t think come 9.00pm it would still be the same case, running along searching for the next stretch of shade!

I was starting to worry that we wouldn’t make it to Kintbury before 11.00pm. That was only one of my worries due to the pressure of trying to meet a deadline I was not sticking to my plan of having regular stops to rehydrate and take on food, also we were running low on water the heat throughout the day had made us drink a lot more than we expected.

Kelly was now really struggling. The toll of riding a road bike on non-road surface for 12hrs was hurting. We had brought along coffee in a flask for such times, a quick cup was a slight boost to Kelly’s morale.

We were getting close to Newbury however the nights light was wearing thin. I wasn’t too sure how long it would take us to get from Newbury to Kintbury.

Exhaustion approaching

Derek rode on into Newbury ahead of us. Kelly was behind me on the bike plodding along while feeling every tree stump that crossed our path. The thin road bike wheels bouncing off them. I was surprised we hadn’t had a puncture!

Derek called me when he arrived in Newbury informing me it was only a mile or so away. This brought delight to my face and Kelly’s. I felt really strong all day but the last couple of miles were beginning to take its toll. My hamstrings were hurting, my quads were burning. I wasn’t thinking as clear. Kelly and I came off the canal in Newbury. We were to meet Derek at Newbury train station.

This was more difficult than we thought it would be. I had slowed down to a brisk walk at best and couldn’t find the station. After a few calls to Derek we eventually got to the station. It was 10.15 we had been going for over  13hours and due to a few wrong turns we had covered 48miles!

Kintbury we found out was roughly 7miles away. Too far away to get to  by 11.00pm. Derek headed back to London by train he had to clear out his apartment as on Monday the 28th of June he was heading for America to cycle across it for two Months!

Kelly and I got a taxi to our BnB. We made it just in time to check in. Our bodies were hurting a cold bath for myself was a must. I was hoping to do a similar run tomorrow so I needed to get my legs back in some sort of shape. A cold bath I find always helps. We woke at 8.00am Sunday 27th of June after a restless night sleep, the two of us had to sleep together in a single bed as this was the only room left. We had breakfast and it was apparent that we wouldn’t be running today. Although I felt I could run I didn’t know how far I would get, Kelly was really struggling. I felt with the heat and taking everything into consideration I thought it was best not to run.

I wasn’t upset that I didn’t achieve what I set out to do. Run 100miles in two days. I was elated that I had managed to run further than I had ever run before. Kelly had cycled further than she had every cycled before. I was inspired by Kelly’s sheer determination to keep going when everything inside her was telling her to stop. Kelly hadn’t rode a bike in years and to do what she did was amazing. The run had become less about me and more about us as a team. We worked together and proved how far teamwork can get you.

I feel happy, inspired, and I hope there will be many more Ultra marathon adventures.

I must not forget to mention that although there was a big part of me wanting to complete this for myself. Kelly and I did this event to support the charity ‘Friend of EduSport’ this charity supports people in Zambia to a better education and a brighter future.

For more information please visit: http://friendofedusport.org/

Eamonn Chapman.