Race to the Stones Race – report by Nick GriffinOn Saturday 19th July I completed my first ever Ultra-marathon with my brother Steve. We wanted to do something really challenging and raise some money for charity as we knew we would only do this once? This was an experience like no other. I laughed. I cried. I believe I may have even reached some kind of higher plane at moments.
The thing about going longer than a marathon is that speed becomes almost irrelevant (for most) so as a regular runner you are suddenly freed from all that PB, Garmin, pace per mile nonsense and you get to remember what it was that you got you running in the first place. The feel of the ground beneath your feet; the chance to really notice the places you are running through; the chance to talk with the people around you; the pure joy of just letting your legs do their thing.
The training was similar to marathon training with the addition of two things – first learning how to run tired – really tired – so maybe 2 back to back long runs morning and afternoon. Second learning to eat on the move – yes you get to eat – a lot! according to my fitness monitor I burned almost 12,000 calories during the race! That’s a lot of cake!
The Race to the Stones goes from Chinnor to Avebury along the Ridgeway (Britain’s oldest path at over 5000 years old). The route is 100km almost entirely off-road following a chalk ridge through Beech woods and poppy fields along Grim’s Ditch, dropping down briefly to the Thames at the Goring gap and then back onto chalk trails, past Dragon Hill (where George reputedly did for the Dragon), the Uffington White Horse and neolithic barrows to finish through the ancient standing stones at Avebury Ring.
My brother and me opted for the non-stop option although there is a 2 day version with an overnight camp and left our B&B at 4.30 a.m. to park at the finish and catch a coach to the start. There had been thunderstorms and overnight rain. Schoolboy error number 1 – even if you get up early eat a decent breakfast or you’ll pay later. Schoolboy error number 2 – even if people tell you road shoes will do, make allowances for the weather and put on trail shoes or you’ll pay for that later too!
Anyhow we set off at 8:20 along with 1600 others and put our plan into action immediately – like most of the field we planned to walk the uphills, run the flat and the downs. The scenery was breathtaking from the off and as every person I spoke with was new to the distance there was a huge feeling of “Will we get to the finish in one piece?” and “we’re in this together”. Almost every time I passed someone or was passed the routine was the same. Falling into step with each other we would check how we were each doing, exchange life stories, give and receive offers of food, water and advice before moving on and repeating at the next group of runners. The sense of camaraderie was overwhelming at times.
Every 10k or so there was a ‘pitstop’ with medics to check you over and people filling up your Camelback, bringing you hot and cold drinks and every kind of food from flapjack, bananas and malt loaf to porridge, and soup. At the 48k stop I even found I could eat a whole bowl of pasta! Pitstops came and went, Red Kites and buzzards drifted overhead; thunderstorms came and went too and the temperature jumped from warm, to hot and humid causing my running shades to steam up as the recent rain was turned to hot mist. 
Just after the 61k stop we were treated to a hailstorm with lumps of ice big enough to cause injury so lost 25 mins sheltering under trees. Somehow the extreme weather only added to the joy of challenge.
Just after the 61k stop we were treated to a hailstorm with lumps of ice big enough to cause injury so lost 25 mins sheltering under trees. Somehow the extreme weather only added to the joy of challenge.
The hills were rolling rather than steep but they were constant and by midway my brother was struggling with ankle trouble but we soldiered on (literally!) and adjusted our pace a little with more walk than run and I seriously began to wonder whether running was actually that much quicker anyway. However after blister treatment and porridge (the food of champions!) at pitstop 8 our pace even began to increase as an awesome sunset faded and the head torches came out.
We followed the trail marked by glo-sticks and the distant strung out fairy lights of other runner’s head torches along the last of the trail before running a painful last downhill, a ghostly run around and between the stones and an emotional finish.
Along the way I got to know runners young and old, from California, Australia, South Africa, Malta and Slough and felt like we all achieved something great together. There was chafing; there was tummy trouble; there was nipple burn, black toes, swollen ankles and blisters. There was a lot of laughing and joking, something like hallucination and no end of pain and there were times I felt I may not make the finish. Yet at a certain point you realise that if you stop you’ll still be hurting but if you go on the hurt isn’t actually going to get any worse and when we did run through the finish line together at half past midnight, 16 hours after the start, we were running strong and it genuinely felt like I could have gone on! We were 275th & 276th of 800 non-stop entrants with 200 DNF’s so can hold our heads up.
This wasn’t a race and its not for the faint-hearted but if you’ve already run a marathon or two and want to experience a different challenge then why try an ultra in 2015? Entries open in October for the Race to the Stones. I only intended to do this once but now that I have I’m pretty sure I’ll be back one day…. Next time I want to finish before the pub shuts!
Nick Griffin