Race to the King

Last Saturday morning at 7:10 Wellington running club member lined up with many others at Goodwood Racecourse for the beginning of the Race to the King ultra-marathon. A non-stop double marathon of 54 miles traveling along parts of the south downs way and finishing at Winchester. The race was going way into the unknown distance wise for Louise and she really didn’t know how her body would respond. Turns out that a double marathon is a lot more than double the effort and pain of a single marathon. Getting through the first 26.2 miles in a respectable 6 hrs 15 minutes, Louise was really pleased with how things were going. After that thing got more painful and more difficult. Back spasms ended any hopes of a similar time for the second 26.2 miles. And the run/walk turned into a brisk walk/walk. Once she reached 40 miles there was no doubting that Louise could suck up the pain and finish. And finish she did. 15 hours and 30 minutes after the start line, an epic finish funnel set up right in front of Winchester Cathedral. At just over 54 miles it was her longest distance to date by almost 20 miles. Apart from the back issues all other aspects were judged well - the aid stations were very well stocked, so nutrition was spot on, no major blisters or chafing to deal with, and no injuries aside from the very understandable achy legs and feet on Sunday. Which is very pleasing. Louise took a huge amount of inspiration from Chris Poole and his mammoth effort the weekend before on his 100-mile race. When I was broken and almost finished at mile 50, I thought of Chris, and how he would have only been halfway!!! It helped me enormously. Well done, Loise, an amazing race day and congratulations.