Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before
…another Northumberland Coastal Ultra
Readers will have enjoyed Sue’s recent race report from the Kingdom of Northumbria Ultra. Two weeks before Sue, I ran a 36.2-mile race along much of the same course.
We both had great weather amongst the castles, beaches and cliff tops of this stunning coastline. The key differences were that while my event ran south to north with loops at either end, finishing at Bamburgh Castle, Sue’s event started at Bamburgh and ran south to Druridge Bay. I ran alongside marathoners, half-marathoners and 10kers, whilst Sue’s event was purely the ultra. And Sue ran at a much faster pace!
On race day we were bussed to the start, outside Alnwick Castle (aka Hogwarts I think).
I got chatting to to a few fellow Scots and others as we lined up. Runners were shedding clothes as the surprisingly warm February sun burst through. It was great to get away with T shirt and shorts (and gloves) this early in the year (plus mandatory kit).
Once started, the ultra runners and marathoners followed the River Aln down to Alnmouth via muddy field margins, where the route turned north up the coast.
There were a few golf course crossings, a very few miles on quiet roads and some long tough stretches on sand and dunes as well as unavoidable stream crossings on the beaches. Nice and cooling for the feet!
This was my 6th ultra and I’ve been discovering that it’s largely a mental game – running smarter not harder.
But there’s no getting around that it’s a physical challenge and when both knees really started hurting about 8 miles in, I really wasn’t enjoying it quite so much and the pace began to slide. With another 20-odd miles to go (I didn’t know the exact distance before I started), I was doubting whether I could finish. Despite encouragement from other runners, the bus from Beadnell to our campsite and a DNF seemed my best way out.
The internal dialogue dragged on, but I decided I could get further, to Seahouses where Heather was waiting in support. Tough love and drugs were administered. It all helped. Now I was thinking it’s a cracking day, there’s plenty daylight – it’ll make for a great walk providing the pain eases. It did, and so I made it to the one and only 26m cut-off point with 5 minutes to spare. This is only yards away from the finish so it was with mixed emotions that I headed out for the last 6 or 7 miles of the ultra route. This was a beautiful quiet loop continuing beyond Bamburgh to Budle Bay. In the dusk I gathered speed, overtaking a few stragglers like me and eventually winding my way down to Bamburgh and the finish.
I was delighted to have completed despite the anti-climax of a deserted finish area , no bananas and taking an hour and a half longer than I’d hoped. We clapped in the remaining finishers then headed back to the van.
Other thoughts: the signage was very good and aid stations well stocked. They don’t provide a t shirt or goody bag, if those things are important to you. Race bling: a crappy medal which immediately fell off the ribbon.
I’d highly recommend the event for its scenery and off-road terrain. I’d do it again myself, if only to prove a point.