Those that know me well, or have read this blog over the years, will be aware that I do enjoy a spot of running. Oh yes, such a simple sport, just pop on your kicks and out the door you go. That’s how it normally is anyway…….
Right now I’m injured. It’s a foot thing. Luckily it only seems to really hurt when I, er, run. Hmmm. It hurts a bit when I walk, not at all when I’m doing nothing. I still haven’t really got any further with it being diagnosed, despite it originally happening on March 15th.
This is who we’re talking about – my amazing wife, Nicky
Enough.
It’s not all about me.
While I’ve been keeping fit on the turbo trainer, swimming lots and doing my circuit training, Nicky is hard in training for some rather epic events over the summer. I (alongside our faithful Border Terrier Charlie) have been offering enthusiastic support over the last few weeks as Nicky has been out doing events.
Charlie watching Nicky charge to the finish at Parke
We went to Parke Parkrun in Bovey Tracey last weekend and Nicky had a great run. It really is a stunning location to visit and the run route explores the beautiful woodlands, including a couple of naughty hills. It can be a mud fest in winter, but after a dry spell it was more dusty than anything.
Nicky skipped around with her usual determination, hidden by her ever present, gorgeous smile. Me and Charlie stumbled around to offer support. Excellent coffee and vegan cake in the grounds of the house rounded off a marvellous morning.
Just two days later and we find ourselves in Yeovil, 5 years since we’d gone there and both ran close to our fastest 10k’s (which I wrote about here). A very different preparation this year – me hobbling with a support under my foot (so obviously not running!) and Nicky in the middle of heavy training for her epic upcoming events.
Great pacer, time and medal at Yeovil
Having hinted that she’d be happy with 1h10m, she proceeded to skip over the line alongside the 1 hour pacer! Bloody ace my wife is!
Me & Charlie had a very stressful morning in Yeovil!
She’s following, as best she can with the time available, a plan to get her to her much postponed Ironman in August. On the way though, she’s also got some pretty epic swims planned. If I thought I was heroic knocking out 100 lengths in the pool, she has done as many as 200……… and then gone back in the evening for another 80.
It was pretty chilly on Sidmouth sea front for the race briefing
Not forgetting her casually knocking out long rides of 50 – 80 miles every week on the bike. She’s also done unmpteen half marathons this year! Absolutely inspirational.
The latest of these was The Sid Valley Ring, hosted by Climb Southwest. And there was plenty of climbing on the route I’m reliably informed. It is this type of event where I get jealous of those running. Lots of trails, gorgeous scenery, a bit of coastline, yeah, as an old friend who we bumped into on the day said, “You’d have hated it Kevin!”
But it was great for me and Charlie to have a morning out exploring East Devon trying to catch Nicky at a couple of places. We succeeded and Nicky, and all the other runners too, seemed to be having a ball. Finishing on the sea front in Sidmouth made for a spectacular backdrop to end a fabulous event.
Charlie and Nicky were pleased to see each other. Nicky ran with an old friend, also Nicky, for much of the race.Murky and chilly at the start.We really need a new medal hanger.Charlie looked really happy!
So I’m, as ever, in awe of Nicky, and will be using the example of her determination to keep as fit as I can while I’m injured and to come back stronger and build my running back up to where it was waaaaay back in January when Covid struck.
Well, here we are a year on from my last manifesto. It’s true it seems, there is no ‘normal’. No ‘new normal’. I can’t even remember the ‘old normal’. I think I’ll just pat myself on the back for getting through as best I could.
I started well with my pledges and some of the momentum was maintained throughout the year. But not all of it. Far from it!
In 2022, I shall do better.
Writing
I was pretty good at keeping a journal this year, even if for simply scribbling down a random sentence or reminder, this will continue in 2022.
I pledge to write in my journal, every single day. Maybe only to report that I have nothing to report, but reminding myself to keep my head in the game. Whenever I remember, and have the time, I will carry out ‘stream of consciousness’ writing exercises in the journal. A 10 or 15 minute alarm on my phone always helps and this is a perfect way to spend some of my break at work. Prompt books like the 242 Tiny Things To Write About are great too. Whatever I’m doing, I’ll make room for the pen.
I’m trying not to make any ambiguous commitments. And so for a writing challenge, I’m going to use the energy of Paragraph Planet and Writers HQ to get my creative mind actually creating. This will help my writing craft with any luck, but also sow seeds of greater stories to grow from the ideas.
Writers HQ is a great writing community and course library offering motivation, prompts and prods by the pint pot. They also run a weekly Friday Flash Face off where members simply enter their flash fiction (very short pieces of writing) for mutual critique. ‘Tis a fine thing. As is Paragraph Planet who publish one 75 word paragraph every single day. Both are free to get involved with and are great ways to prompt writing. Like I say, many larger ideas for pieces start with a word or 75.
Still sounds ambiguous, I hear you cry. Well:
I pledge to, at the minimum, submit one piece to either the Writers HQ Friday Flash Face Off, or Paragraph Planet, every single week.
And while I’m at it, I’ll make sure I keep up with my poetry. I’ve had small successes – online journals published a few pieces and I’ll take confidence from that. Working on a draft of a poem idea for 30 minutes in my break at work is so much more rewarding than 30 minutes of the scroll of doom on my phone. I pledge to submit at least one poem per month to a literary publication or competition.
See, I’m getting into this now!
The Novel
Ahhhh, the Novel. Working title Dogs That Don’t Look Like Their Owners. I’ve been chipping away at this for over 3 years now and I’m nowhere near a first draft. I think about the book a lot, I talk to the main characters, I scribble ideas in my journal. I’m very much writing the thing. I just need to, er, actually write the thing. Harping back to Writers HQ, they are exponents of the ‘timed writing’ idea – sit at a desk (or stand, or lie in a field with a notebook, whatever is available to me) and set a timer for 10, 20 or 30 minutes, phone out of reach, and just write. This definitely works for me. So, with that in mind…..
I pledge to write for a minimum of two hours (using the timed method) soley on my novel, every week during 2022.
What about The Blog? This here blog. I get ideas for a blog post come to me all the time. Particularly when I’m driving around in my job. I need to make sure I keep my notebook handy and every time I stop, jot these random thoughts down. I heard the great author David Keenan say that if he has an idea, he knows it is a good one if he can immediately recall it when he picks up his notebook. If I don’t use the notebook, a Booker Prize winning idea may well slip away!
I pledge to post at least one book review per month to the blog. I also pledge to add at least one other post, on any subject, per month as well. If I commit to any more it will only lead to disappointing myself and then slipping down the all to familiar ‘What’s the feckin’ point?’ hole! If I write more, then great. If not, at least I’ve set a reasonable target to hold myself to account.
So that’s writing. Why am I going to do all of that? Because I bloomin’ well love writing. I may or may not be any good at it. I’m certainly not going to make any money from it. People either will or won’t read my words. But even the occasional comment I receive about a piece, telling me that what I’ve written resonates, that’s enough to know I belong.
Reading
I won’t be setting a target for number of books to read this year, as with my running, it only leads to creating tension instead of the positivity I should be getting from my two favourite hobbies, but I will make a series of pledges similar to last year.
I pledge to readat least one poem every single day. Every single podcast I listen to about writing, or books on writing, every interview with authors, they all say “READ WIDELY” when asked to give aspiring writers a tip. I find poetry helps me pick apart language, it challenges the way we express ideas. Poetry also feeds the soul, nourishing emotional dark spots as well as pushing my creativity.
I also pledge to buy one book a month from an independent publisher, by an author I haven’t read before. I did this in 2021 and it’s great to rummage beyond the headline and heavily promoted books in the literary world. Not that I don’t enjoy the writing of our most famous authors, but I also know there’s a wealth of talent out there waiting to be discovered. Where possible, I will buy these books from independent bookshops too.
Not only that, I pledge to read a minimum of 6 books during 2022 which were published at least ten years ago. This is another way of avoiding the trap of simply reading off the 3 for 2 table in Waterstones. Not that there aren’t great books on the first table you come to in our flagship bookseller, but there is so, so much more to discover.
I also pledge to buy at least one literary magazine, journal or chapbook every month too. I enjoy the marvellous creative non-fiction journal, Hinterland and enjoy a subscription from them, my pledge will be in addition to that. Bring on 2022, the year of reading not scrolling I hope.
So my reading should look after itself if I carry out all of the above pledges.
I bloomin’ love reading and books!
Running And Fitness And Health
This time last year, we were facing another round of cancelations due to the ongoing Covid 19 situation and all the training I had done for The Arc 50 looked like being in vain. The situation didn’t improve and the event was sadly postponed until 2022. In precisely four weeks time I am hoping to line up on the stage of The Minack Theatre in Cornwall and tackle the 50 miles along the coast path to Porthtowan. Fingers crossed eh!?
As for Nicky, she is going to attempt to get to Copenhagen at the third time of asking for her Ironman. Add to this the Outlaw triathlon she started in 2019 only for the organisers being forced to abandon the event after the swim leg due to the biblical weather conditions. They were right to, deep flooding and fallen trees littered the bike course. So this is the 4th year of her pinning her 42 week training plan to the kitchen door.
I’ll never be as organised as Nicky…….. she has every session pencilled in for the next 8 months. Then again, she is attempting something HUGE which involves swimming, cycling and running a very, very long way! She needs to be balancing her training. Whereas I am naturally more chaotic. I will make sure I get my long runs done out there on the trails. Other than that, I’ll run when I feel like it, wherever the the mood takes me. If I’m tired from work, I’ve found there’s no point in forcing myself. I just want to carry on enjoying every step.
So, as in 2021, in 2022 I pledge to NOT attempt to follow a training plan.
My goal for ALL of these events is to do as much as I can to give myself the best chance of completing them. I will not train if I’m over tired from the combination of working, training and any other aspect of life, I will rest if rest is what’s required.
I also pledge this, as I did in 2021: I will, every single day, do either some conditioning work, strength exercises, stretches or other body maintenance. Even if that is something as simple as a few stretches, I’ll be treating my body right. My job if anything, more than the running, tends to give me aches and pains.
This will hopefully give me the best chance of keeping healthy as my aging body builds towards these challenges. As would eliminating the absolute crap I’m guilty of guzzling! So, time for another food pledge (last year’s lasted 6 weeks before I caved in to a hamper of chocolate!).
I pledge to not snack at work. I’m going to only snack during evenings after big (as in 2 hours plus) training days. Puddings will still be the law after roast dinners of course. Let’s see if we can break the pattern this year.
And Finally
We’re all just living the life we’ve got, making decisions as best we can. I think I just need to decide the person I really want to be and let that drive every decision I make.
If anyone has got to the end of this, I’ll be mightily impressed. With that sort of grit and resolve, you should definitely be the type of character who will stick to their New Years resolutions.
Well, well, well, a running race review. There hasn’t been one of them since we ran the gorgeous Big Pilgrimage Marathon back in August. Normally these blogs are reserved for those big away day adventures or marathons, but we had such a good time at The Cockington Christmas Caper that I thought I should share the story.
The event starts and finishes probably less than two miles from our house, the route takes in a selection of trails, most of which I run a couple of times a week, and the distance is 7.5ish miles. Yet I have the urge to tell you ALLLL about it. The day started with a leisurely breakfast as the event didn’t get under way until 10.30. We didn’t even need to warm the car up as our good friend, and regular star of running stories on this blog, Martin (a.k.a. The Silver Fox), was kind enough to pick us up on the way.
Parking in the beautiful village of Cockington, we made our way, wrapped in hoodies and coats – it was feckin’ freezing – to race HQ outside the cricket pavilion at what must be the quaintest cricket club in the land. Numbers pinned, we kept our hoodies on until very nearly kick-off time before handing them to the friendly young chaps manning the baggage tent. A word here for the event organisers, volunteers, marshals, registration staff and everybody else involved in the event – they were quite frankly awesome.
The Cockington Christmas Caper is in its (I believe) 17th year (having missed 2020 because of you-know-what) and is a truly local event. Organised by The Barnabas Sport Trust and helping to fund their great work with those less able to access education, training or sporting activities, they manage to keep the price at £14. A rather pleasant surprise to receive a tote bag, mug and medal at the finish considering the entry fee.
The 220 (sold out every year) runners set off for a brief 200 meter of downhill charge on slippery grass before starting the first of umpteen climbs. This pretty much set the tone for the run, if you like running on flat, predictable surfaces, this definitely isn’t for you. Martin set off chasing the youngsters while me and Nicky settled nicely into the pack.
The grounds in front of Cockington Court are beautiful and seeing a line of colourful running tops snaking through them as the freezing rain gave way to winter sunshine gave an added brightness to the scene. I ran most of these trails the day before The Caper and there wasn’t a hint of where the course might go – all of the signs and tape must have been put in place early on race day. I’m quite confident (and I do have history with this) that it would be a near impossibility to miss a turn, or veer off the route, the markings were so comprehensive.
Add to that the marshals, at every pinch point and major turn a high-viz hero was there to cheerfully point us in the right direction. What is there to say about the course? Probably 70% is on gnarly or muddy trails and fields and the rest on more made up trails like compacted gravel and about 100m on tarmac! I bloomin’ loved every step. There are so many ups and downs, totalling about 1600 feet of elevation. Some of the muddy downhill sections were bordering on ski slopes by the time half the pack had charged down them. Martin is as generous a friend as you could ever wish for, both with his time, energy and support and he is always happy to get the coffees in. He is also known for being as tight as a you-know-what’s-wotsit when he thinks he’s being done over by marketeers……. “How was the mud in those old road shoes Martin?” “Terrible, I was sliding everywhere…….” I’m saying nothing!
The finish is naughty, back up the same 200m hill we started on and with everybody watching and cheering, we felt the need to offer something in the way of a ‘sprint’ finish.
Fabulous run in a glorious location and I can’t believe that, despite it being so close to home, I’ve never run it before!
Nicky and I do get so, so much joy from trail running together and today was bliss, we ran well, the woods and countryside looked just splendid with leaves of all colours carpeting the floor and I feel like weve added to the bank of precious memories of our adventures together. And we were home for lunch!
I’m starting to really enjoy avocado by the way. We were having our first meal out since, well, since who knows when (Feb 2020?) and I elected to have a dish where avocado is listed as an ingredient.
The world might have paused on its axis during the last eighteen months, but my palette has become bang up to date, those recipes in the Saturday Guardian are looking almost accessible!
Why were we eating out? The same reason we were having our first night away from home in eighteen months too – we had gone to run an event. The Big Pilgrimage Marathon, the first appearance on the running calendar of this quirky looking offering from Big Feat Events.
I wore a shirt too. With buttons and everything. We felt so grown up as we ordered our chicken and avocado.
Contemplating avocado
Our Premier Inn sat on an identikit retail and industry park which could have been in any number of towns around the UK. Bloomin’ convenient though – as well as our meal next door in The Beefeater, we visited Decathlon and the MASSIVE Tesco without needing to use the car.. We’re from sleepy Devon see, “ooo shiny things” our gaping, gawping mouths dribbled as we hunted for a pint of milk in a supermarket the size of Paignton.
For our first ‘away’ fixture for 18 months we had been tempted by the promise of historic trails, epic skylines, farmland, beaches and boardwalks, not to mention, woods, forests, an abbey, several churches and a cheeky boat ride. Yes, The Big Pilgrimage sounded right up our street.
The route follows the first 27/28 ish miles of a recently discovered Pilgrim Trail called The Old Way. Our section started at the site from The Pilgrim Fathers left our shores on The Mayflower (in Southampton) and finished at Fort Nelson, home of The Nelson Monument and The Royal Armouries Museum. Which was handily only ten minutes from the aforementioned Premier Inn. Which was where we were to leave our car. It’s almost as if they’ve planned this stuff.
Nothing wrong with the Premier Inn, but we didn’t have the best night’s sleep……
one of us is VERY organised…… (it’s not me)
“WE’VE OVERSLEPT!….. Oh no, it’s 11.30pm”
“THERE’S SOMEBODY IN THE ROOM! WHAT ROOM? WHERE AM I? WE’VE OVERSLEPT…….”
That sort of thing. All feckin’ night.
It was quite a relief when the 4.15 alarm went off.
That’s early! I hear you exclaim. Well, yes it is, but the rather snazzy, leather interiored National Express coach charged with delivering us to Southampton was leaving at 6.15am. And we wanted time for showers, coffee and Weetabix complete with lukewarm milk.
We gathered our kit. A VERY straight forward process for Nicky as she meticulously laid it out the previous night….. I think I ‘put’ mine out and so, as usual, I left the kit gods to decide whether I had everything I needed.
En route to the start
As the coach pulled away from Fort Nelson (nr Portsmouth) in the gloomy half light, we hadn’t yet appreciated the panoramic view from here. After finishing some hours later in the sunshine, we were astonished by the vistas on offer. The very bright and cheery Big Feat crew member had ticked our name off the coach list and counted us all aboard. The welcoming and friendly driver hadn’t quite grasped the brief as he asked “What time is your return journey?”. “We’re running back.” His face seemed to ask “Why?”
“Visit The Isle Of Wight Festival” screamed the huge posters as we pulled in near the Red Funnel ferry terminal. In the spirit of Rob Deering’s Running Tracks (see my review here), this immediately evoked memories of visiting the festival in 2006. What a weekend – The Prodigy, Foo Fighters, The Kooks, Primal Scream, Lou Read, Maximo Park…..
Registration was a jolly and good humoured affair at the water’s edge. We collected our race numbers complete with our first sticker of the day. Yes, we collected stickers which we then attached to our race numbers. What a great and individual touch – a volunteer in Pilgrim hat, naturally, handed us a bespoke sticker at seven of the notable points along the route. Nice.
The race briefing delivered to the 70 or so marathon runners captured the mood perfectly. Nothing to fear. Keep the water on your right. Look after each other. Don’t fret the ferry crossing………
And we were off, a watery sun soon dispensing with the slightly autumnal chill.
3 miles of Southampton’s waterside suburbs gave way to greenery at Westwood as we started on the trails proper. Not before we had crossed the impressive bridge over the River Itchen and received a sticker from a young Pilgrim dressed head to toe in Southampton FC gear (getting ready to host Manchester United later in the day I believe).
From there we tackled all sorts of shore line – paths, shingle beaches, compacted mud – and weaved in and out of the industry and piers lining Southampton Water. Before long (7 ½ ish miles) we had reached the beautiful village of Hamble and its much anticipated ferry ride. Three of the Hamble Pink Ferries were shuttling runners over the short crossing and we waited a couple of minutes before enjoying our mini cruise.
Nicky and I are quite used to trail events having quirky sections and approximate distances and so, as advised in the race briefing, we didn’t fret about the boat ride. A couple of runners were in a quandary about whether to pause their running watches. We just enjoyed the ride and were soon having to propel ourselves using our feet again as we disembarked.
The Warsash Nature Reserve on the shoreline came next, lush and green and picturesque and still very, very flat! Through miles 9 to 12 we were still following the shore as it again became quite industrial. Nicky and I are used to running relentlessly up-and-down trails at home and the lack of elevation seemed to be tiring our legs in different ways.
As we approached the halfway point the course turned and headed inland. With the beautiful marshes of Titchfield Haven to our right, the runners in the 14 (ish) mile half marathon race were crossing their finishing line as we passed. Always looking to raise a smile, I drew on my footballing glory years and shaped to swerve left into the finishing funnel before side stepping and running straight past – this raised a smile or too and we exchanged some laughs with a couple of spectators enjoying the chilled out atmosphere in the sunshine. We then headed off through the beautiful village of Titchfield itself.
Titchfield Abbey is really quite spectacular and worth the very brief detour to enjoy in its full glory. The trails from this point on were glorious, old railway lines, farmland and woods. At some point during all of this I managed to take a tumble. “No lazy steps” is one of my trail running mantras – a few years ago I did go through a phase of hurling myself to the floor at random times.
Anyway, on some particularly firm and even ground, I caught my feet in a trailing bramble and down I went.
“Are you ok?”
“Yes”
“Are you sure?”
“Can we talk about something else!”
“Have you hurt your pride……..?”
That might have been as we went through Wickham (around mile 21) now I think about it!
Then The Meon Valley Trail which was busy ish with families enjoying the gorgeous and accessible countryside. This was followed by The Forest Of Bere which preceded the two longest climbs of the day as we began to sense the finish line within our grasp. From mile 23, still in the forest, we had caught a few fellow runners and felt we were really in our stride. Running well and taking walk breaks for difficult terrain or to eat and drink, combined with being in the company of my partner in adventure, my beautiful and inspiring soul mate Nicky, the miles and time simply slid by.
This really is our happy place – running together on the trails, either talking dribble, solving our quandaries from ‘real’ life, or just enjoying each others company in silence as we let the peace of the surroundings seep into us. Before we knew it we were at the ‘200m to go’ sign. A lovely short downhill section on the grass and we held each others hand aloft to celebrate another challenge completed. Of Nicky’s 38 marathons and my 45, 27 have been completed side by side. It is the best feeling.
This route is a belter. The work that has happened, in advance and on the day, in creating it, marking it and marshalling it shines through. The finished product is superb, take a bow Big Feat Events.
It is no secret that Nicky and I love our trips to Cornwall. We’ve tackled some truly amazing events in the county. Mudcrew have hosted much of our fondly remembered Cornish running. It was my great pleasure to catch up with Andrew Ferguson (Ferg) and Jane Stephens who make up ⅔ of the Mudcrew team.
Mudcrew’s Black RAT (32 miles) was the first event I’d ever done in Cornwall. That was back in 2015. My beautiful lady wife had successfully completed the Red RAT (20 miles) in 2014 and absolutely loved it. The RAT (or Roseland August Trail) was also the first ever Mudcrew event, in 2011. That first year saw the 32 and 20 miles versions plus an 11 mile, White RAT.
Jane congratulating Nicky and myself at the end of the Black RAT
Andy Trudge waves off the RAT buses.
The start (at 5 past midnight) of the 64 mile Plague at the RAT
The RAT festival of trail running has expanded to now include The Plague (the whole of the Black RAT in both directions!). 2019 saw the introduction of BOYD24 (Bring Out Your Dead), 24 hours of repeating the brutal last section of the RAT course. Truly for the lion hearted!
Mudcrew is headed by Ferg, Jane and Andy Trudge. Jane was the last to join the team after co-founder Jo Lake went on to new challenges.
The first RAT was an ambitious undertaking with coach transport for nearly 500 people to three different start locations and 32 miles of coast path to be marked and checked. Ferg was relieved that the first year was such a great success and made the effort that had gone into creating it worthwhile.
“It was a huge learning curve though. I didn’t finish marking the course until 5AM the day of the event, I was exhausted before the day even started.”
There weren’t the number of trail events companies that we are now spoiled with back then. Those that did exist were putting on some epic events, most of which Ferg had taken part in. Yet he felt that there was scope to add a bit more to event day than these early companies were offering.
“Although they were commercial pioneers, we thought the events lacked passion…….. We wanted to put on a party afterwards, with camping, so that everyone could chill and enjoy a social evening together….. The RAT afterparty is now legendary.”
I think this picture of Nicky and I, with good friends Jan and Martin, sums the RAT trail festival just perfectly
Social media was in its infancy back then and the Mudcrew team were out there using the old school method of handing flyers to runners at other races. At The Grizzly (an epic trail race in East Devon) they tucked 1000 leaflets under car windscreen wipers. As the success of that first RAT proved, Ferg’s belief that they were offering something new and different was lapped up by the trail running community.
Jane was already a fan by the time she joined the team:
“I ran the Black Rat in 2014 and became hooked on off road stuff! MudCrew had been going for a couple of years when I came on board, so I was lucky enough to join an existing company with a great following. Apart from helping out at club level, I was fairly new to the game. My first event as part of the team was the RAT in 2015…… it was amazing, I was so glad I took the plunge.”
Andy, Jane and Ferg have naturally found how their individual strengths help the Mudcrew team work so effectively. Ferg points to Andy’s exceptional organisational skills:
“Andy is quietly behind the scenes doing all the crucial stuff, dealing with permissions, councils, timing and safety, financials, all the real important stuff that I would be terrible at!”
Ferg takes responsibility for the course and crew, plus their social media whilst Jane is, as Ferg explains:
“..super organised, the smiling front face of the company, she lives and breathes Mudcrew and the sport.”
Jane tells me how when it comes to race day, the team effort culminates in the incredible experience us runners are treated to:
“During the event we work very much as a team, doing what needs doing. Ferg tends to stay out on the course and Andy and I look after race HQ. I deal with the finish line and awards etc. “
The much coveted ARC 100 buckles
Mudcrew’s other flagship event is the Arc Of Attrition. A winter 100 ultra marathon, ran entirely on the South West Coast. It is both revered and feared. With good reason. The finish rate is around 50% in a good year! A 50 mile race has been added to the weekend in recent years. Sharing a finish line with the 100 and starting on the stage of the iconic Minack Theatre, it is no ‘baby’ ultra marathon!
The ARC has been digging itself into my brain since I first learned of its existence back in 2015. I even wrote a piece (here) about how I would *never* entertain such a challenge…..
I had a place in the ARC 50 for this year. I was taking it very seriously, I’ve run recees on the whole course and was training hard. Like so many of us, my challenges are on hold, which is obviously frustrating, but health must be our priority. The amount of work Mudcrew put into creating these events means these frustrations must be tenfold for them.
As a competitor I’d been kept informed about the incredible lengths to which Jane and the team had gone in order to make the event Covid safe:
“We had an incredible plan ready for the Arc that was really tricky to get right but the latest lockdown meant it was impossible.”
Both Jane and Ferg say that their favourite memories as race organisers are all about seeing those final runners through the finish line on both the RAT and the ARC. On a personal level, Jane also treasures the moment she got to present her own daughter with a RAT trophy.
A special Mudcrew welcome for all finishers
Jane and Ferg are proud of the standing and reputation their events have earned in the trail running and ultra marathon communities.
Ferg, as will we learn later, is a fan of the big ultra marathons around the world and is chuffed to link The ARC to that world.
“I’m most proud that the RaidLight Arc 100 is now made it to Western States Qualification status. It was a personal ambition of mine for the race”
Janes ambitions for Mudrew are simply:
“To continue to grow our flagship events and to be a name known everywhere synonymous with great races!”
Ferg agrees, also pointing out that they have plans to extend the scope of their latest event to be announced, The South West Traverse. This will hopefully be the next event they host, if Covid risks and restrictions are sufficiently reduced by then.
As well as celebrating every single finisher in their events, the level of elite athletes who seem to be drawn to Cornwall to take these challenges is also a source of much pride.
Both Jane and Ferg say it can be frustrating when some participants don’t understand the work that goes into their events, sometimes bombarding them with queries when they are at their most busy, in the days immediately before race day. Or indeed afterwards, when they finally allow fatigue to take over:
The ARC 50’s dramatic start line
“One of the busiest times for emails/ questions is immediately after a event when all you want to do/ can do is sleep … we can go 3 nights without sleep (or very little sleep) on the Arc sometimes.”
Mudcrew has quite a large loyal army of volunteers who help make race days so special, the ARC Angels are credited by many runners as the reason they managed to complete the event. Jane too says that their crew are the reason the events are so successful. She also has the support of her husband who, along with her daughter, make each event a genuine family affair. Although she does say “The thing I miss the most is being able to take part!”
In fact, carrying on the family theme, when asked who inspires her most Jane replies:
“My daughter and my close running friends.”
Jane is also grateful to the support Mudcrew have received during the most challenging of years for events organisers:
Jane with daughter Emma
“It has been an extremely difficult year granted, but I love how supportive the running community has been on the whole. Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made (with cancellations of the RAT and the ARC particularly). It is made a little easier when you get messages supporting our decision.“
Ferg also draws inspiration from local running legends such as Jo Meek and Paul Maskell.
“Definitely Jo Meek , a good friend who has raced at the very highest level seemingly forever. She continues to train like a ninja and is as competitive today as ever … she shows no sign of slowing down or losing her zest for the sport“
“Paul Maskell is a GB 24 hour team runner who manages to mix training with family and a full time air ambulance paramedic job. 24 hour track running is by far and away the hardest discipline in the sport of ultra running, I have crewed enough of them to see how it has broken the very best in the UK.”
The ever smiling Jane, with local running legend Paul Maskell
Mudcrew haven’t offered any virtual events during this challenging time, letting others fill that gap in our race plans. Ferg doesn’t find himself tempted to get involved but Jane has completed a few in the last year to keep her motivation levels up. She wasn’t able to create a “Lockdown gym” though, as her garage doubled as the Mudcrew store.
Both Jane ane Ferg are clearly motivated runners, as we discover whilst delving into their impressive trail and ultra marathon accomplishments.
Like so many of us of a certain age, they both came to this wonderful sport relatively late. Ferg, around the age of 40, had finished his football career and was looking to fill that void:
“I missed the social aspect and the exercise when I was too old to play anymore. I quickly found out that I was never going to be fast and that I soon got fed up with road marathons. I got into the trail ultra scene in the early days, around 2007. I did the very first Classic Quarter when there were only 18 entrants. I loved it and quickly got addicted to distance trail running.”
Jane seems to be equally addicted, she started her running journey almost 10 years ago and her glittering array of achievements in that time is extraordinary:
“I started running in 2011 and ran my first marathon in 2013. I then ran the Black Rat in 2014 and became hooked on off road stuff!
I have run approximately 75 marathons and ultras to date.”
Amongst this eye watering list of achievements is the 145 mile long Grand Union Canal race, which she rates as her proudest achievement to date. Jane has completed both the 100 and 50 mile versions of Centurion Running’s South Downs Way events saying the 50 is probably her favourite – “I loved the 50 because it was the second half of the 100, but in daylight!”
Ferg enjoys most of the local events, he tends to support them all. I’ve bumped into him at quite a few over the years. He gets frustrated at the lack of passion he finds at some events, but has high praise for some of the South West’s epic trail races:
“The Grizzly, which I’ve done at least 15 times…. As a Race Director I can see what a massive amount of work goes into it, with a mind boggling number of runners. I also really like Bys Vyken events such as the Cousin Jack, I love the passion which David puts in (Bys Vyken RD, see my interview with him here).”
Ferg has also completed the Grand Union Canal Race as well as an ever growing list of epic events from across Europe and beyond. These include such classics as The Spine Race, Leadville 100 and The Golden Ring 100 in Russia.
“I love to combine the sport with travel and have done several other major and low key events in Europe and beyond.”
These adventures are on hold for now. Jane and Ferg both have grand plans for 2021 if health and restrictions allow. Jane has her place in the legendary Marathon des Sables held back from last year, while Ferg has his eye on The Dragon’s Back multi day race in September. Along the way he is hoping to race in Spain and The Azores with further trips to South Africa and Thailand at the end of the year.
One fantastic Mudcrew event neither Jane and Ferg have mentioned is The Scrooge. Sadly the venue is no longer available for this Christmas trail running extravaganza. Many in the trail running community, particularly Nicky and myself, have very fond memories of dressing up in festive costumes and joining Andy, Ferg and Jane for some festive fun in Mevagissey.
First they tell me my entire record collection is in my telephone, now it seems there are maps inside my watch.
I know I’m old school, but surely there is witchcraft at play here!
Weeks spent exercising close to home, months spent shielding, avoiding contact with everyone, events cancelled, holidays postponed, shocking and anxiety inducing news day after day. We were ready for some adventure.
Charlie joins us for the shorter runs
We are lucky that we get so, so much pleasure from simply being outdoors. Walking the dog, running and once the weather and regulations allowed, swimming and cycling.
One thing we found helped us massively was to have an adventure once a week. On my day off work, we would create a route and drive to somewhere relatively local. After a longish run exploring some new trails we would treat ourselves to a snack of Double Deckers and cold Diet Coke (we take our sports nutrition very seriously!)
A city boy by birth, I am not a natural map reader. It hasn’t been unheard of for us to not actually be where my finger is pointing to on a map! In fact I’ve made a few navigation errors since I’ve been attempting these longer trail ultra marathons. I remember coming up behind some runners I’d already overtaken once in the Gower 50!
Elite athletes’ recovery nutrition
What a boon then, when I upgraded my running watch to one which can tell me which way to go! It felt like an extravagance. But not being into cars, flashy clothes etc, I reckoned I should use the extra pennies I’ve earned this year to invest in something which I would actually use.
And with it we’ve been on so many adventures………….
Nicky said it feels like being on holiday. After weeks of confining herself to very short trips from home, what a joy to go somewhere else and explore.
It’s so simple, even I can create a route!
Here’s how we do it – we find the trails and lanes on the paper map in the comfort of home, then create a route on the app which accompanies the watch, following the trails we’ve found. Then we sent it to the watch. I shit you not!
So Nicky and I get to joyfully skip around the countryside knowing that my watch will vibrate (honestly, I’m not making this up!) to warn me if we’ve gone off route. We’ve been caught out a couple of times: once we ended up wandering across somebody’s lawn. On another occasion, a landowner had build an ugly block wall across the entrance to a right of way!
Mostly, it’s been a succession of joyous adventures washed down with increasingly elaborate post run nutrition. What started as a drink and snack started to become a full on picnic as autumn arrived!
As we make our plans for 2021 (with the obvious caveats), it would be too easy to stop our adventure runs, particularly as Nicky starts to build towards her Ironman triathlon near the end of the summer. The running in most triathlons is on flat and even surfaces and so 15 miles of rocky, muddy and hilly coast path is hardly specific training. BUT, it really is good for the soul and so we will be substituting some of her longer runs with a few trips out into the countryside.
Love is….
I heard a great phrase on my favourite running podcast, Running Commentary as the festive season approached. Rob Deering, when asked about whether he might have new year’s resolutions, said he was going further and more in depth with his plans for 2021. He is creating a manifesto for the year. I really like the idea of this. There is no ‘new normal’, no going back to ‘the way things used to be’, there is only what we have. Right here. Right now. It’s the only place we can live. So I’m thinking about what I’d like to achieve as ‘me’ in 2021 and setting out just how I’m going to go about that.
As I said, everything comes with caveats as the world tries to juggle ways to keep us all safe but keep us all moving too.
But that is all for another day, another blog………
We really are thankful for our health and the health of our loved ones. We are also grateful and aware that we are lucky enough not to have to worry about jobs being safe. With this in mind, we know that we can keep planning to be outside, taking every opportunity to enjoy the wonderful coast and countryside we are blessed with being surrounded by.
“We will get through this, we must be patient, races have and will come back.”
Kev Day, with the sort of positivity we all need.
My series looking at some of the characters behind trail running events in the South West continues as we meet Kevin Day from Badger Trail Events.
Kevin and Denise Day are the fabulous team behindBadger Trail Events. This really is a team operation. In fact Kev (he prefers the shortened moniker) goes to great lengths to point out just how motivational Denise is throughout this q & a. He reminds me of me, and not just because we are namesakes: Like I do with Nicky, he sees the whole of life as being faced by a team of two.
Badger Trail Events’ first race was the Ooser Marathon in March 2018. The race having been launched in November of the previous year. Kev had taken a break from the whole world of routing and planning trail events, having cut his teeth as part of another of Dorset’s event organisers.
Many of us were already fans of Kev’s routes, having enjoyed some of White Star Running’s great offerings, such as The Giant’s Head Marathon. Whatever the reasons for his departure from that organisation, it isn’t really any of our business, nor is it particularly relevant. Anyway, as it has turned out, it has meant even more Dorset based events for us to choose from.
Kev is always pleased to see us!
Before we delve into the birth of Badger Trail Events, a few personal memories. At those earlier events, Kev was part of the great atmosphere and was always out on the course, checking in with the aid stations, the tail runners, making sure the leaders were going the right way and generally offering banter and encouragement. I particularly remember on a baking hot day, Nicky and I being pleased to see him magically appear in the pick up truck with bowsers of water to hand out in between official drinks stations.
Oh, and he always had his badger sporran on display, hence the ‘I felt the badger’ badges which became stuff of Dorset legend. Nicky certainly earned hers!
I digress. His self employed handyman business had already taken a back seat to race organising and he found himself encouraged to dip his toe into going solo. Except he wasn’t alone. Denise and a few close friends managed to convince him to stage The Ooser. A route was already in his mind and so Badger Trail Events was born.
Denise nervously took a step into the limelight to be Race Director. Kev concentrated on getting the route just right and reverted to his role of being everywhere at all times on race day. The support and encouragement of their network of friends (who really should get a mention; Rose, Mike and their son Elliot, known as ‘mini-badger’, as well as Jenny and Beverly) meant that this first time event was a huge success.
“The day went well. Denise was a little scared being RD (she hates speaking to crowds of people). But she did a great job. I was out on the course following the front runners and keeping an eye on the sweepers, whilst trying not to be sick with worry. I got back with the last runners to the news all went well.”
The team Kev and Denise have put together delivered The Ooser again in 2019. Around 500 runners tackled either the marathon or half marathon. The route explores Dorset’s hidden and forgotten trails, ancient woodlands, farmland and featuring plenty of mud, water and hills.
They managed to get two events staged in between the lockdown periods this year, and those who were able to run were quick to complement the Badger Trail Events team on how well they had been staged.
“You and your team did the best job. I managed a few events between July and now and none were as well organised and thought through as yours. Also, you have the best routes and medals and the meanest of hills”
Social media is full of praise for all of Badger Trail Events’ Races
Both Kev and Denise have been heavily involved with creating and supporting, not only their own events, but also Parkrun and Junior Parkrun. From personal experience, I can also confirm that they are likely to pop up at all sorts of races, helping out and cheering on the runners. I remember Kev appearing nearing the finish line of The Dorset Villages Marathon one year, as I stumbled towards it!
During the first lockdown, Kev was liaising with other event organisers and Parkrun, constantly looking at ways in which running could be a community event again.
I asked Kev how he was feeling about 2021 for Badger Trail Events in light of, you know, everything.
“Positive. That’s all you can be. The Ooser is due to go off on the 4th April, The Hellstone in late May / early June (sorting dates with the landowner) and hopefully, The FUBAR & SNAFU will happen once again at Bovington.”
And Kev really is positive when it comes to future events, a lesson to us all. Referring to the Ooser again:
“What with the vaccine and also the covid measures in place, we may get back to the 800 runner mark.”
The Hellstone is a marathon, half marathon and 10k set in open countryside, with “devilish hills”, a stone circle and even a cricket pitch.
As for the Bovington races, they are staged at the tank museum and tank driver training grounds. Having raced at Bovington on a Kev course, expect a bit of mud! FUBAR and SNAFU? You’ll have to google it!
Kev and Denise certainly aren’t desperate to flood the market with new races, but they are constantly on the lookout for new and different venues. When pushed for ambitions with regard to future races, Kev had this mouth watering teaser:
“We would love to do something along the lines of the Barkley Marathon (“the race that eats it young”). We’re on the lookout for a route……”
When it comes to their own running, Kev quickly wants to talk about Denise’s incredible achievements and skip over his own. Before we delve into Denise’s rather impressive palmares, a little story of how Kev got into running. Those of you who read my piece on Bys Vyken will know that David (Bys Vyken’s founder) found motivation in chasing a friend when getting into running. Kev is the same. Having played football, rugby “union of course!”, cricket, raced motorbikes and even represented Dorset at pool, He found himself goaded into a running challenge:
“I was 20 ish….. A Scottish guy I worked with had entered a 5k run. He boasted how quick he was (he’d had trials with Rangers F.C , so was fit). To shut him up, I entered too, saying I would beat him. Doh! 3 months of training, over Blackhill in Bere Regis, paid off on the day, I beat him by around 10 feet!”
Kev didn’t really know about running clubs and just carried on training on his own. He got faster and fitter (running under 20 minutes for a hilly 5k). But, he’s far more interested in sharing Denise’s story….
“Denise’s journey into running started even later. Approaching a certain age (editorial licence used here!), she was worried about putting on weight…….. she worried about it so much we bought a dog……. a great excuse to get out and exercise”
Dogs are such an important part of life in the Badger household. In all weathers, every day, Denise and the dog were out there. She then felt the urge to start jogging during a walk and before long had found out about Parkrun and was keen to be fit enough to run one.
Max
With Kev pretty much stopping his own sport, he became, alongside Max, Denise’s cheerleader.
“I helped, cajoled and encouraged Denise to get out and run. I showed her how to land on her feet, all about cadence, what to eat, getting her mind right and so on.”
This worked too as before long they were celebrating a non stop mile. A month later they were again elated as Denise completed her first Parkrun. She slept for 2 hours afterwards, but a runner had been born. As Denise told me, Max the dog became her ever faithful training partner.
“When I started running seriously in 2011 (training for my first ever race – The Great South Run, because of a work challenge) we had Max. He did all my training with me including first marathon the year after (2012 London)”
Denise – thankful for the fittest dog in Dorset!
L – R Max, Daisy and Bear
Max was joined by Daisy a few years later and the dogs went on every adventure. Sadly Max passed away earlier this year. Daisy wasn’t lonely for too long though as the wonderfully named Bear has now joined the gang.
“Denise has done most of the races in Dorset. She has also done the Chamonix Half and Full and the Ex to Axe, a nasty 22 mile trail race, also her first (and possibly last) 100k run. She’s still running and one day I’ll make her do the Ooser (maybe year 5 in 2022).”
Denise remains motivated to keep fit and keep going, with Kev always in support. His own motivations are (like so many we meet in the great trail running scene) philanthropic:
“I’m always motivated by those who think they can’t, then they do. I’m inspired by the younger runners who try their hardest week in week out at parkrun, and get better. I suppose I’m motivated by the slower runners and those who are trying their hardest.”
Kev is a bit of a talent spotter too. Noticing young runners showing promise at Parkrun and being instrumental in getting them teamed up with coaches to try and realise their potential. Denise too likes to encourage and be a role model. Her own daughter has started to really enjoy exercise with the example shown by, and with the encouragement of, her Mum. Another runner born, with a marathon planned for 2021…
I ask everyone in this series what their proudest running moments have been. Kev is sure that Denise would say her 100km ultra marathon. And Kev himself? “What Denise has done”!
The couple are rightly proud of the achievements of Badger Trail Events so far, as well as humbled by the fact that so many people choose to run The Ooser as a first marathon. As Kev says, “it’s not flat!”.
Kev acknowledges that this venture deprives him of any financial security or space in his home (something Brian of Winding Paths also told us in his interview). Sometimes he questions his sanity too. BUT, both him and Denise are inspired and enthused by the runners who sign up to their events and make race days so special.
It has been an absolute pleasure to catch up with Badger Trail Events’ story and I’m sure this most inspiring and popular of couples will take their events from strength to strength.
“Running is still the oxygen of my life. I couldn’t live without it.”
Mark Brooks, PureTrail Events
Mark Brooks, along with Steve Skedgell, started PureTrail Events back in 2015. Their first race was The Dartmoor Volcano, a 10 (ish) mile tour of South Dartmoor, one of Mark’s favourite training runs.
In a loud world, where we are bombarded by a cacophony of social media noise, Mark is refreshingly quiet. Yet, as we delve deeper, it turns out he has rather a lot to shout about. More on this later…….
101 runners tackled that first Dartmoor Volcano, and the feedback was great. With this first success behind them, Mark and Steve set about finding other new and exciting routes to share with us.
Mark already had the seeds of an idea in his mind;
“I’d been thinking of starting a trail running enterprise for quite a while and it seemed like the right time. Trail running had exploded since around 2010, probably 5 years before that to be honest, when races, even long races (ultras) were being course-marked”
As Mark goes on to say, the likes of myself (born in a city, struggles with an A to Z never mind a OS map and compass) were finding these new style events so accessible. Mark had completed the UTMB (the first of his 6 times!) in 2008 and saw just how big trail running was becoming.
His own trail running goes way back to 1985, often in self navigated, low key events. These attracted only those who could tackle both the terrain and the navigation. After moving to the South West in 2008, he “immediately saw the potential with the Coast Path and The Moor for what I loved to do – go trail running!”
The PureTrail Running Group – held on Wednesdays but sadly on pause as we speak, as so much of our social activity is, was also started in 2015. This created a community which could share in the local knowledge of Mark and Steve and also became the core of the volunteers on race days. All abilities are welcome and encouraged and as many as 30 turn up to enjoy a different moorland adventure each week.
Mark & Steve Will Be Hoping To Dress Like This Rather More Often In 2021!
“This year has been a nightmare really”
Mark sums up neatly how 2020 has been for event organisers
“But anyway, we’ve survived and 2021 looks more promising although events on Dartmoor are still looking a bit iffy. Time will tell. There’s a lot of vested interests on Dartmoor and runners (events companies) always seem to be bottom of the pecking order.”
PureTrail’s next physical event is Race The Light on 19th December (this being written on 12th December, so hurry!). Nicky and I had a fantastic evening tackling this event in 2018 and I even wrote a blog about it .
It will be pureTrail’s 3rd event of 2020, having cancelled so much, including their much anticipated trail running trip to Greece.
As we saw with Winding Paths and Bys Vyken, PureTrail have also come up with a different take on the ‘virtual’ challenge. They have introduced the Solo Series where we are being encouraged to get out and try the routes of PureTrail events which are taking place later in 2021. Tackle the route of their new event, The Coleridge Way Ultra during January and then the also new for 2021, 100 mile Dartmoor event in February and The Tsunami Ultra route in March. There will be final finishing positions at the end of each month and a goody bag of souvenirs (including discounted entry off the physical events) for finishers.
I’ve been so impressed with the way our local and smaller events organisers have stepped up during this challenging year. I strongly recommend checking these ‘solo’ challenges out.
Yours Truly in Race The Tide – Photo by Mark Brooks!
Regular readers will know that Nicky (my rather amazing and gorgeous lady wife) and I do a lot of events together. Well why not check out the blog post I wrote after Race The Tide half marathon in 2017, or this one, from after I’d ran the marathon in 2018. We went back to run the half again in 2019. One of my favourite ever events. In fact, of the marathons I’ve ran solo, this would definitely be my favourite.
Mark himself is certainly no stranger to the world of running.
“I’ve been running literally all of my life. Did my first marathon in 1985, first Ultra in 1986 .. a 40 odd mile navigating event across the Brecon Beacons. ‘The Omega Run’ it was called, it was organised by a bunch of lunatic ex SAS guys.. this first ultra nearly broke me.. but it didn’t, and as you know.. that’s what happens – you’re hooked”
He loves the adventure of the longer events, 50 miles and over, where the only certainty is the lack of certainty. That uncertainty took a different form for all of us this year, Mark was booked in for a 7th UTMB, the Lakeland 100 (which would have been his 4th) and the Transylvania 100.
As I have with all the interviewees in this series, I ask Mark about his proudest moment as a runner. He has a special place in his heart for that first UTMB;
“Quite a few memorable moments.. but I think finishing the UTMB for the first time in 2008. It was my first 100 miler. I couldn’t believe a race could be so relentless. So much ascent. 2 nights out. Hallucinations, dehydration, the works! Every moment of the last 24 hours of it thinking to myself ‘NEVER AGAIN! Convinced that I was never ever going to do this ridiculous, stupid race ever again, and anyone who did was basically insane.”
Of course, we know how this goes now……
“Then, as I crossed that finish-line, the UTMB finish-line.. 6 deep with spectators, the previous 37 hours just melted away into some euphoric haze of sheer exhaustion, delight and such pride in what I had managed to do. I sat down on the steps of the church there behind the finish line and decided right there and then to sign up again next year.. and do better..! And so I did.”
Lining Up For UTMB With Fellow South West Runners Duncan Oakes, Steve Wyatt And Luke Scott Elliot
He adds that he feels an immense sense of achievement in any long race and remains motivated by the chance to push himself, to see just how far he could go. Having the opportunity to travel to events in other countries adds further adventure and excitement to the races. That’s the addiction of this wonderful world of trail running.
No two runs are ever the same, Mark says he “has to keep things fresh, always!”
“Winning is not what it’s about at all, not for me, and not for 95% of runners I guess”
Mark Brooks.
I should point out that Mark won the very first Spine Challenger in 2012 and was also first across the line in the 2015 RAT Plague in Cornwall. His humility left these facts out until much later.
We need to look back up north for Mark’s favourite UK race. He has completed the Fellsman (61 miles across the North York Moors) a mere 9 times. The event is already a victim of Covid for its 2021 edition, so Mark will have to wait a bit longer before he makes it 10!
Mark also drops UTMB Oman into his list of memorable events;
“Priceless, the memories will stay forever, I guess that’s it, you’re creating memories, living your life, doing stuff you love doing.”
Kilian Jornet is in a class of one as far as Mark is concerned. He is honoured to have shared the trails in events with Jornet and sees him as doing everything with the right attitude;
“Everything he has done he does with humility and his passion for the mountains goes beyond his desire to win races. I really respect him as a runner and as a human being. I’ve been in a few races with him and I’ve felt I’m right there in that moment with probably the best of all time, what he has done is awe-inspiring.”
Amongst Mark’s other inspirations are Lizzy Hawker, Jasmine Paris and the legend that is Joss Naylor.
So what about his proudest race director moments?
He doesn’t single any event out, just having the satisfaction of knowing that all of the different pieces of organisation have aligned on the day. He hopes for every PureTrail event to be the best experience for everybody involved or taking part;
“Trail races are great places to be, or they should be… positive and happy gatherings of people doing what they love to do.”
Mark doesn’t feel that he’s necessarily had to ‘sacrifice’ anything since starting PureTrail, but acknowledges;
“When you turn a passion into a job it can take on a very different role in your life. Running was, and still is to some extent an escape from the mundanity of day to day life.. the stresses and problems which we all share. I can’t escape like I used to be able to.. as I’m always thinking about the next race, even when I’m out running.”
There aren’t too many events which require a boat trip to the start line!
PureTrail already offer a diverse, challenging and inspiring set of events, including the amazing Lundy Island Race, a location where very few will ever get to run, never mind race. Mark therefore says he’s looking to improve and expand on the events already in PureTrail’s repertoire rather than be guilty of further saturating the market in locations which are already well used.
Mark is concerned by the growing trend of organisers seeking to profit from locations where another already hosts events. There is a real possibility of this becoming a barrier to permissions being granted for future events;
“Unfortunately, that’s lost on some organisers, but then some event organisers are in it purely for the money, not for the love of the sport. If we’re not careful we could lose a lot of races due to closure of certain sections of the Moor and the coast through overuse.”
PureTrail’s European adventures are to be expanded with the addition of Outer Edge, which we are told to ‘watch this space’ for.
Mark maybe the quiet one, but once asked about his passion, his glorious trails, he could go on and on. His enthusiasm and excitement are infectious and inspiring. With this much love for the sport of trail running it is hardly any wonder that PureTrails’ events are rather special.
“Lots of questions, but to be honest I needed no time to think in answering them.”
David Andrewartha, Race Director at Bys Vyken Events and Cornish Trails
In the next of my articles looking at the characters which make up our fabulous trail running scene here in the South West, we head across The Tamar into Cornwall.
Bys Vyken, a truly Cornish phrase, used as slang to mean anything positive but is from Kernow Bys Vyken meaning Cornwall forever.
Bys Vyken is in its 5th year of existence now. It feels like a gift to us trail runners. Founder, owner and race director, David Andrewartha created the company as a result of a rhetorical challenge from the organiser of a local race.
David had been running for about a year. Actually, he knows exactly how long:
“April 7th to be exact. I remember it better than my first kiss! My then partner (now wife) was nagging at me to join her for a run for almost 6 months. Eventually I gave in and ran for about 3 or 4 miles.”
During the next year he trained harder and harder in an attempt to beat a running friend, eventually managing this at a local race. I won’t repeat the phrase David used to describe how hard he had pushed himself, but it did result in him ducking under the finishing funnel tape to relieve himself of his breakfast.
“Lucky Charms…… yes, the cornerstone of any nutritional start to a day.”
Sadly, this led to confusion when the results were published. David found himself placed behind his friend and nemesis, prompting him to message the organisers to see if this could be rectified. The reply he received simply said “I’d like to come to the next race YOU organise”. As you will read, David likes a challenge….
The opportunity arose the following March with Bys Vyken’s inaugural event, The Cousin Jack Classic. Hosted on St Piran’s day, David used the event to raise funds for a local Christmas light fund. He had 100 runners through word of mouth and social media, and the most Cornish of events was born.
The Cousin Jack has now grown to become a legendary trail running event. It is a celebration of everything Cornish, particularly the incredible Tin Coast and its mining heritage. Little Jack is as tough a 10km race as you could find, the Classic itself at 18 miles, now starts at the iconic Miners’ Chapel in St Just. The Cousin Jack Ultra meanwhile tackles the whole route in both directions.
I dragged myself through the 35 mile Cousin Jack Ultra in 2019, read about that here. This year (2020) I volunteered at the event and my beautiful wife, Nicky, ran the Classic and we made a little video.
Race briefings can’t get more Cornish than this.
From that first event David has tried to immerse his runners in the magical atmosphere and history of his home county.
“I have maintained my passion and enthusiasm for Cornwall through every single event, giving runners something that nobody else sees or does in the county.”
At the time of writing, Bys Vyken are about to host their first live event (Dec 12th) since The Cousin Jack back at the end of February. Fordh Sen Mighal is 11.5 miles of road and trails following the St Michael’s Way from Lelant to Marazion. The route follows the UK’s only Designated Route Of Culture and, like The Cousin Jack, it is quite wonderfully Cornish. And if The Cousin Jack takes your fancy, entries for 2021 are now open.
The Fordh Sen Mighal start
Staying motivated has been challenging for David. He has so far had to cancel or postpone 5 events and it has been a brutally tough year financially. As he explains, the way he runs Bys Vyken is more about what it gives to us runners than what it gives back (financially).
“Being an RD doesn’t get you steak and a Tesla when you run your business with your heart and not your head. Again, nobody gives more than me in this county and race after race it becomes even more of a proven fact. This is because giving people a couple of hours to forget about their shit means more to me than taking them for every penny and milking them for all they have. I never organise a race I’d not want to do myself.”
As lockdown arrived in March, David admits to a few days of dropping his head and fearing the future, “sulking” as he puts it. But then he started thinking about how offering virtual events might help keep his loyal customers motivated. He created events such as Laps In Lockdown, Dark Clyde Of The Moon and The Goat (I waxed lyrical about this here). This served to cushion some of the financial blow and supported local charities too.
Bys Vyken’s mascots have become stuff of legend amongst the South West’s trail runners, and using them as the face of events has helped raise £4000 for The Eve Appeal (in memory of David’s Mum). Being a man who likes a psychological challenge to accompany the physical effort, he also ran a marathon in his garden!
If you’re quick, there may still be places in Smiling’s My Favourite, Bys Vyken’s Christmas Day virtual challenge.
Let’s go back to April 7th 2014. David was, by his own admittance, not in the best of shape:
“I was almost 15 stone and had many habits which were not correlative with being an athlete! My first achievement in running was simply getting off my fat ass and taking the first step to becoming a better person.”
Quitting smoking, drinking and mixing with the ‘wrong crowd’, along with other habits which maybe aren’t compatible with a healthy lifestyle have all played their part in contributing to becoming that better person he talks about. There have been many lows along the way and he has suffered existential crises and at his worst moments has found himself questioning everything.
David is very keen to credit those who have given him hope and reason at these low times. Most recently, Colin and Laura from Run Venture Running Hub.
“They pulled me up from circling the drain during this time and gave me a job, which doesn’t just help with the bills, but helps with my head too.”
He describes Colin as the Brian Cox of independent running stores and is thoroughly enjoying working there. Colin and Laura are definitely the sort of characters I’d like to feature in this series.
Before we move on to David’s own running achievements and ambitions, I should let him answer, in his own words, the question, “What is your proudest moment as a race director?”
“My proudest RD moment is every moment I’m an RD because I get to do it with my best friend. My wife. Sally is the heartbeat of Bys Vyken because she’s my motivation to wake up in the morning. Without her I would never have been a runner and without her I’d probably not be passionate about anything.”
Not a dry eye in the house.
As for running, where do we start. How about the quirky? David has completed the Southend Pier Marathon (that’s 11 times up and down the pier), the Shepton Mallet Prison Marathon (just the 78 laps of 2 wings and an exercise yard) and, naturally, The Multi-Story Car Park Marathon (I dread to think!).
Because:
“The organisation and the love and passion from the marathons helped me to discover myself and combat my own mental health.”
The Endurance Life Classic Quarter and White Rose 100 are amongst the other highlights of a rather full and varied palmares.
His proudest running achievement so far came this year, during Storm Alex. Having trained harder than ever, he became only the 5th person (and first Cornishman) to run the entire Chesil Beach from West Bay to Portland. (He beat the time of the previous runner to complete it, which is the source of much satisfaction!)
Is he finished with that then? Nope:
“My next ambitions in running are to spend 24 hours on Loe Bar and to be the first person to run Chesil both ways.”
David’s ambitions for Bys Vyken are uncertain. The accumulating debt and increasing number of people jumping on the bandwagon are making the future look less sustainable. We runners can only support Bys Vyken’s events and hope that there is a bright and long future ahead for the most Cornish of Cornish running experiences
For me, the fact that Bys Vyken offer that depth of local passion and history (as well as the most stunning places to run) will hopefully mean that David and Sally will be the first choice when runners are choosing their Cornish Trail adventures.
Let’s have the last word from David. Those of us luckily to know him will have noticed that he wears his heart on his sleeve, speaks his mind (like it or lump it!), can be industrial with his language and lives life like he means every second of it. I was never expecting political correctness when interviewing David (and there has been some editing!) but it has been a joy to get a feel for the passion he puts into creating a special Cornish day for any of us that take on one of Bys Vyken’s events.
“So what, David, has being a race director brought to YOU?”
“Being an RD has brought me people I’ll always love and people I’ll probably never like. But both kinds of people spur me on to remain a better human that will never spiral back to those pre running days where falling asleep in a Tesco bag I’d just thrown up in was the highlight of my weekend.”
Over the years this blog has featured so many races and events which I’ve attended with my amazing lady wife Nicky. Pretty much all of them have been hosted by small outfits creating amazing events just for us. I’m sure we can all be guilty of taking this for granted.
I thought it would be great to delve behind the scenes and have a look at the sort of characters who make up this wonderful world of trail running in our region. We can all be guilty of scrolling through life, picking snippets from a blur of social media nonsense. We miss out on engaging with some great people. And some great stories.
First up is Winding Paths, the brainchild of local runner Brian Lewis. As with all events companies, 2020 has not been kind to Winding Paths. But, a succession of cancelled events hasn’t stopped Brian from pushing ahead with his plans for the company.
Only in its second year, Brian set the company up in June 2019, it would have been easy to let his initial enthusiasm slip during this challenging year. He hasn’t let that happen though and still strives for the very best routes, medals and finish line locations.
The loyal following Winding Paths has already acquired (social media is full of stories from those who enjoyed his events so far) is credited with keeping his motivation strong.
“what has kept me going is the very supportive comments, messages and emails from participants of my events”.
Brian’s events do have a wonderful community spirit about them. As well as the runners, he has a great army of volunteers – friends, family and other runners all donating their time to make each event possible. Brian knows that Winding Paths’ events are nothing without this crew and he looks after them well to thank them.
As the pandemic became the author of the 2020 story, Winding Paths were immediately informing participants of their options when events were cancelled or delayed. This has been another reason why so many are staying loyal. Brian is determined to take the positivity and encouragement he gets and use it to arrive in 2021 on the front foot, looking forward.
As we speak in late November, Brian’s next physical event will be The Final Countdown, which, by coincidence, was also Winding Path’s first event on New Year’s Eve last year.
Winding Path’s Summer Trails event was a welcome bit of ‘normality’ for those that managed to grab a place.
The Final Countdown 10k starts and finishes in the Dartington Estate and runners get to sample some of the best countryside (and mud!) that South Devon has to offer. Sold out in its first year, the route gives Brian the chance to share some of his favourite trails with the rest of us. Numbers are restricted this year and the event will feature a series of starting waves, but it is still a great chance to end the year on a muddy high. The staggered starts, and all the other measures Brian has taken, keep the event Covid secure without taking away from the atmosphere.
Winding Paths were one of the first to host a Covid secure event when regulations permitted them back in August. On a scorching weekend, he managed to get 150 runners to complete either 5km or 10km in a series of waved starts. It was an enormous success. Those that took part waxed lyrical about the sheer volume of work which had clearly been undertaken to create the event. It is staged on the same course as his Totally Muddy races.
Brian also set up an ambitious virtual challenge – participants linked their Strava (other apps are available!) accounts and were given from May until December to complete the total distance of the South West Coast Path. The 300 places he created soon sold out, his 12 Runs Of Christmas virtual event has been similarly popular, with all the slots already taken.
Brian is very much a keen trail runner, and like so many of our local running leaders has a naturally philanthropic nature. He has been leading run groups for a few years now and when regulations and time allows he offers guided runs on his favourite trails.
Just one of Brian’s many running achievements he doesn’t boast about – The London Marathon
When asked for his proudest moments in the world of running, his generosity of spirit again shows itself as his first thought is for the achievements of others. For five years he has coached, motivated and encouraged a couch-to-5k running group. “there is nothing that beats seeing a non-runner improve, shed the doubt and run their first 5k.”
But he can’t help but swell with pride when he sees one of his own events succeed. When pushed he’ll even allow himself to accept that his own running achievements are a source of great pride.
Brian’s initial motivation was a personal challenge. He was already involved with THHN (Torbay Holiday Helpers Network), a fabulous charity which supports families with seriously ill children, or those that have been bereaved by offering holidays, making memories to be treasured for families in their dark times.
He would attend THHN fund raising events, some of which included running, and would always dismiss invitations to don some trainers and join in.
His interest was secretly piqued though. He was already organising events such as the fun runs and schools challenge which accompanies the flagship local road race The Torbay Half Marathon. He was inspired by the 20 THHN runners who had completed the half marathon and the following day he attempted to break into a run himself.
“I was out walking along Cockington water meadow and I decided to try and run for a bit, stopping anytime anyone came in sight”
He was back the next day. And the next. He had the bug. A watch and some decent kit soon arrived and he had entered his first 10k (The Totnes 10k) a mere 2 months later. Those initial 1 mile runs soon grew as Brian himself started to get shrink! The running encouraged him to improve his diet and before long he had lost a considerable amount of weight and was running for the pure pleasure of feeling fit and well.
Brian even turns his own running success into the success of a fellow runner. He has special memories of The Totnes 10k and ran it ‘virtually’ this year. Managing to find way to share this with somebody else, he used the occasion to accompany a friend on the exact course to help them best their previous time on the route
I have no idea whether Brian has a trumpet, but he isn’t inclined to blow it very often if he has!
A festival atmosphere at the City To Sea Finish Line
Those first runs were back in 2014. In September of that year Brian was Race Director of the epic City To Sea ultra marathon and marathon. He is hoping that Winding Paths will make him just as proud as he is of the 4 years in which he was at the helm of City To Sea. It is a major fundraiser for THHN and is a stand out fixture on the South Devon run scene. Selling out every year, it takes a herculean effort to host. Over 60 volunteers to organise, plus the festival at the finish line, Brian is right to celebrate its incredible success.
Brian cites Luke Tillen, the THHN founder, as being a massive motivator and mentor throughout this journey he has been on. Luke’s own ultra marathon and fund raising efforts led to the birth of The City To Sea ultra marathon and quite possibly Brian’s own adventure in running.
Brian was also Race Director for The Pennywell Challenge, another THHN fundraiser. Nicky and I enjoyed this challenging 10k back in 2018 on a very hot evening!
He feels that the first year of City To Sea as a Race Director will take some beating – everything was new, locals moved signs and tape which caused massive on course headaches and the event was even longer back in those first years. Up well into the night marking the course, then up in the early hours to chaperone the fleet of transport to the start, runners were on course until 9pm the following night.
You can feel and sense the emotion, even 6 years on, as Brian explains:
“the event was over but we had to go up on stage, in front of everyone and the compere did a speech, going backstage myself, Luke and Carolanne (who helped with the fun day and music festival) were all in tears at the fact we had done it, we had actually done it, that was a very proud moment.”
Since that first year Brian has gone on to achieve so much with his own running. He has clocked up 20 marathons and ultra marathons, the longest of these being 34 miles. He cites his first 50km event as his proudest running moment, completing the event only a year after starting his running journey. He discovered how easy it could be to lose runners in events that day –
“at one stage around ten of us took a wrong turn ran about 100 metres through waist high stingers, realized we were going the wrong way and had to turn around and run back through them, but the joy of finishing was amazing.”
Brian celebrating running over 100 miles in a week during lockdown. But will he attempt the century non stop?
I like to consider myself an ‘ultra runner’ and those that know me will know that I came within a whisker of being a 100 mile ultra runner last year (read about it here if you fancy), so I was eagerly awaiting Brian’s answer to the question “what are your next running ambitions?”
“Dare I say, I have one eye on a 100 miler, I said I would never do it, as while I enjoy shorter night runs, I am not sure about running through the entire night, but recently I have thought that now would be the time to try.”
In fact, Brian has a 50 mile event lined up already for next spring, a stepping stone to the century? I reckon he’s got it in him!
Brian’s ambitions for Winding Paths are about creating fabulous events to be enjoyed by all who enjoy the trails, whether they are chasing at the front or taking selfies and soaking up the views further back. He is trying to have options for all – the Total Coastal event (frustratingly put back a couple of times in 2020) is scheduled for April next year and features a bruising ultra marathon from Kingswear to Shaldon on the South West Coast Path as well as equally challenging but considerably shorter half marathon and 10k routes.
There are sacrifices of course, and Brian can sometimes need to be reminded to take his Winding Paths hat off during family time! He acknowledges that working from home has helped him fit everything and he is getting better at balancing his life whilst still giving his energies to planning his events.
It is telling that Brian’s positivity and relentless humour both shine through when asked what he’s most looking forward to with Winding Paths in 2021
“I am really looking forward to 2021 with positivity about the events, I am also looking forward to having a dining room that is not full of medals, t-shirts and two gazebos.”
Packing Our Trunks 