Top Tips For Your First Ultra Marathon
Dean Russell • January 25, 2019
Learn from our mistakes so you don't have to!
Last week I was sent an email from one of my close running friends, Dan, that he found in the depths of his email archive during his new year clear out. The email was dated back to 2015 when I was in a cast after a hand operation and was panicking about getting fit for my first Ultra Marathon , which coincided with Dan's. 4 years on from that and between us we have completed a large number of Ultra’s including the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) and the infamous Bob Graham round. Both Dan, myself and other ultra running friends have made a lot of mistakes along the way that have allowed us to better prepare and run ultras, some are stupidly obvious and others you may not have thought of before. If your new to ultra running or trail running then carry on reading and you can save yourself the pain* injury* embarrassment* expense* (delete as appropriate) by learning from our mistakes.
- When Dan was running the Bob Graham, a gruelling 24 hour challenge in the lake district, one of his support pacers wore a new model of running trainers from a brand he had always used without any problems. He was supporting the first two legs in the dark out on the fells for around 8 hours with some serious height gain thrown in for good measure. By the end of it he was in agony hobble running down the fells into Dumail to pass Dan on to his next support pacer. Well fitted shoes don’t need breaking in but its always good to test your shoes on shorter training runs before your big day to make sure you don’t have any rubs or issues. Even if it's the same model you have always bought, occasionally brands tweak the fit or the shape of the shoe, so test it out. If you do get blisters on these first short runs with new shoes then you should be considering taking them back to the running shop as they probably don’t fit your foot properly.
- Blisters do unfortunately happen, this is a consequence of friction and pressure which is exacerbated by moisture or perspiration. Generally there is a feeling of heat before a blister forms but any feeling of discomfort especially in your feet stop and sort it out. I was running a race on the Gower peninsula in South Wales and had the smallest of stones in my shoe, I didn’t want to stop as I didn’t want to loose time and ran on, and on and on. It bothered me, it started to hurt and then I stopped to take it out, by which time a blister had formed. Taking a stone out or adjusting your socks takes seconds, I hate to imagine how much time I lost from attending to the blister instead.
- Staying hydrated is one of the most challenging aspects when you are on the go for an extended period of time. During a 2 day race in the Jura mountains in France I didn’t take enough water and consequently ran out in-between checkpoints . Needless to say my performance got worse and worse with a very near loss of consciousness in the summer heat. Thankfully it was just as we arrived at a checkpoint and there was a water bath for cattle that I could dunk my head in for 5 minutes to cool off and get some much needed fluids inside me. The best advice is to make sure your hydrated before the race (your piss should be so clear you might even consider drinking it if push came to shove!), start with full bottles, I carry 1l in two 500ml bottles, one with an electrolyte tablet dissolved such as high fives zero https://highfive.co.uk/product/hydration/zero/. I can find the elctrolyte drinks a bit sickly and so as an alternative I have started to use electrolyte add in’s. There are a number of products on the market that are concentrated liquids that you add a few drops to your drink. These are tasteless but include all the necessary minerals that you loose through sweating.
- You are super excited about your ultra, you pack your bags, throw your kit in the van, drive for 4 hours to event HQ and get your head down dreaming of trails under your feet. You wake up in the morning, have your caffeine intake to get your bowels moving, start putting your kit on only to realise that you have left your running shoes at home - true story! I was lucky enough to find someone with the same size feet who was willing to lend me their shoes but as a consequence I am meticulous in sorting my gear the day before. Lay all your kit out, make sure everything that is obligatory for the race is present and all your personal items are packed, check, check again and don't leave anything to pack at the last minute as invariably that is the item you will forget in your rush to get to the race.
- One issue I have had repeatedly over the years which no one seems to talk about is chaffing between my balls and my inner thigh. Chaffing like blisters can stop your race and from my experience preventing chaffing before it happens is more important than treatment during the race. There are top tips to prevent it though, firstly buy a decent pair of lycra running leggings / shorts, the worst rubbing I’ve had has come from shorts that have stitching in the wrong place which will obviously rub. Chaffing can also come from salt buildup which are crystals that can rub. I personally remove any hair in areas I have had problems in so the salt crystals don't stick to the hairs and cause irritation. I use a lube such as Chomois cream which comes from those lycra clad cyclists named because there saddles used to be made of Chamois. It has antibacterial properties and reduces friction and I swear by it. My personal preference is to get the squirt bottles as any sort of tubs have you fearing that friends are double dipping and the obvious hygiene issues when you lend them your cream! During the UTMB I was on the go for 30+ hours and so I also made sure I cleaned with wet wipes to remove any build up of salts and reapplied chamois cream.
- Don’t change anything on your race day. The number of times that I crammed my face full of porridge and rice pudding before the race only to feel sick for the first hours running. If you don’t do it before your long runs in training don’t do it before your race. Just because you get given free gels doesn’t mean you need to take them, I don’t get on with gels it turns out. After testing them out on one of my training runs I found myself sprinting for a bush for an emergency evacuation! Although you may have nerves which you don't have in training it is just the same as training except there are a lot more like minded fun people around you!
Even as you are reading this you are probably thinking “how could you make that mistake” but I have and people do on a regular basis. Don’t worry about making mistakes, you will, but learn from it and drop me a line at adventureawaitsuk@icloud.com
so I can add it to this blog. If your first ultra is around the corner enjoy every moment and talk your way around, I guarantee the miles will fly by!
Dean Russell is a climber, mountaineer and trail runner with over 15 years experience who offers courses and experiences to make your very own adventure happen. If you are interested in what Adventure Awaits offers you can find more information here .
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“There is no reward without risk, I can’t imagine living without it” - Blaine Smith
Second in a new series highlighting the finest running routes around Snowdonia's national park. In the second blog post the author, Dean Russell, showcases a short remote feeling run that packs a punch with a horseshoe run around the Northen mountains of the Carneddau.
Many of us found ourselves with more time on our hands as lockdown and travel restrictions took grip and the country battled to contain the Coronavirus pandemic that spread across the world. Much of the National Park in Snowdonia closed to ensure there were no undue pressures on local emergency and rescue services and the beloved mountains were off limits for the time being. Running through lockdown was a good opportunity to gain an intimate knowledge of all the footpaths in the local area, often running through thickets of brambles and gorse on paths that had been long since forgotten. Living on the edge of Snowdonia National Park at the outlet of the glacially formed Llyn Padarn, many of my lockdown routes passed a brass plinth that speaks of the evolution of the scenery in front of your eyes. Many of my hours passed enjoying the mountains, reflecting so perfectly on the lake when the air was still, watching how the light morphed high up as the sun started setting on another day of lockdown. It was on one of these many nights that I started to trace the line of the skyline and imagined running a route from the end of the lake across all the mountain tops around Llyn Padarn. As many people delved into cookbooks, looking for the next bake, or updating general knowledge preparing for the next zoom quiz, I hunched over my kitchen table with the map of Snowdonia laid out tracing the same line I had envisioned earlier. What I had been tracing was the hydrological water catchment for Llyn Padarn, twelve peaks where rain drops run from its summits onto their rocky slopes, down steep runnels into streams and rivers feeding the lake, flowing right to the outlet where I had been admiring one of the best views in the National Park. With the levels of Coronavirus infections reducing, on another unusually fine Friday afternoon the news from the Welsh Government I had been waiting for was delivered in their regular briefing. The mountains were going to open in their entirety and it felt fitting to commemorate the opening by running the skyline that I had so often admired. To follow the water catchment the route first ascends gently on roads through the villages of Fachwen and Dinorwic and into the local quarries. Described by some as a blight on the landscape, the sometimes otherworldly looking vistas are a reminder of the industrial era when North Wales was home to one of the most important slate producing areas. Ascending through endless slate piles, up inclines, past buildings and metal work that once would of been integral to the workings you get a great sense of how hard and dangerous the work for the miners must have been. After leaving the quarries behind, already high in mountain terrain, the summit of Elidir Fach was soon under my feet. A further short pull brought the rocky summit of Elidir Fawr, with its jagged grey gritstone that is in contrast to the red sedimentary siltstone on the flanks leading to the summit. The hard work initially getting up high was rewarded heading along the spectacular ridge to Mynydd Perfedd and sublime views to Marchlyn Mawr reservoir, Ogwen valley and one of North Wales most iconic mountains, Tryfan. The position of the Glyderau with mountain ranges on either side gave a big mountain feel to the summits of Foel-goch and Y Garn before descending towards Twll Ddu, more commonly known as Devils Kitchen named due to the sinister plume of smoke rising from a huge crack in its cliffs. Instead of descending into the depths of the cauldron a steep ascent up scree slopes of Glyder Fawr was necessary which felt like traveling without moving as my feet slid from underneath me. Descent from the summit was via the red route that winds its way south through complex terrain passing boulders with a faint spray painted red dot leading the way. The views across the valley to the classically shaped Crib Goch were spectacular and left me in no doubt that the next section contains some of the best scrambling terrain in North Wales. Pen Y Pass was a welcome respite and a chance to grab a snack and recharge my batteries before the crux of the run. The going got tough as I made my way up from Pen y Pass with the technical, engaging scramble up the initially broad East ridge that converges to an airy ridge walk up to Crib Goch’s summit. The fun didn’t stop there though continuing along the summit ridge which has some spectacular positions where it is not uncommon to see people traversing it “Au Cheval” (like a horse) before yet more first class scrambling to reach the grassy summit of Crib y Ddysgl. The way forward was made up of skirting impressive Cwms that are the product of scouring in the late Ice Age that ended some 10,000 years ago. The geology of the Cwms are synonymous with glacial activity in Snowdonia with the mountains having two distinct faces, grassy slopes facing South-West and steep craggy ones facing North-East. After completing the technical section where my thoughts were solely on the next foothold and handhold as you traverse a couple of Snowdon’s giants its a welcome respite, even with tired legs, to run up and down the grassy summits of Moel Cynghorion, Foel Goch, Foel Gron and Moel Eilio. Appreciating the great views of the Nantlle valley and the Menai Straits, I found myself in a state with no thoughts running through my mind, no stresses, no to do lists, nothing. Running has long been associated with controlling stress and boosting the bodies ability to deal with mental tension. Combining that with the benefits of being in the mountains has long been vital to my own mental wellbeing and as I continued my run I could feel the mountains cleansing my mind with every step, oh how I had missed the mountains. Running down from Moel Eilio skirting another set of slate quarries the final summit of Cefn Du was soon arrived at with the sudden realisation that there are no well worn paths from its summit and so a degree of heather bashing was required. Following a faint path by a dry stone wall led to a better trodden path that drops down eventually to the main road and a short run back to the plinth where the journey had started. An opportunity to admire the views, a chance to reflect, taking in all the mountains that have been traversed and ponder there long evolution just as the words by Gillian Clarke describes: But for how long? Cherish these mountains, born in fire and ash out of the sea to make this wilderness, Asleep for aeons beneath ice and snow, carved by the shifting glaciers long ago, Till ten millennia back, the last ice age made right for fern and purple saxifrage, This place, whose evolutions given birth to the rare Snowdon lilly’s home on earth, But all could go with the melting snow. The Llyn Padarn Skyline is a 36 km run with 3,108m of height gain that was completed on the 6th July 2020 in 6 hrs 31mins and 25 secs. If you would like to have a go at the Skyline there are more details on how you can get your time recorded here . Dean Russell is an active trail runner, climber, mountaineer and trekker with over 16 years experience in the mountains. Usually found running and climbing in his local mountains in North Wales he offers private and group guiding highlighting the best routes in Snowdonia’s national park. If you would like further details then you can contact Dean here .
First in a new series highlighting the finest running routes around Snowdonia's national park. In the first blog post the author, Dean Russell, showcases a run with some of the best views in the local area with a horseshoe run around Moel Eilio.
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