Dartmoor Discovery

Apologies, my internet access has been reduced to a painful dial up crawl over the past few weeks and I'm only just catching up with posting my race reports.... This one was great, you can skip the Chester and Langport maras, deadly dull.

This was the third consecutive year I’ve run the Dartmoor Discovery. In 2008, it was my first ultra and I’d gone down there by myself, knowing no other runners and rather nervous of going beyond the marathon distance, especially as this is a notoriously tough race over many hills and exposed moorland. This year was very different to then when I’d run a mere 5 marathons (it’s relative, ok?) and felt a bit like a sacrificial lamb. The weather extremes are legendary, some years the runners have been burned to a crisp, some years (like 2009) deluged by so much rain that several were pulled off with near hypothermia. So even though it was forecast to be warm and sunny on Saturday, I still set off in a long sleeved top, fully expecting the mild start to turn into near freezing temperatures and sheets of icy rain. It came off within an hour, it was a very warm and humid day and I was more than happy to be proved wrong. Quite a few suffered with the combination, but happily it’s one that suits me, I’d far rather be hot and sweaty than cold and wet.

My training in 2008 had been pretty similar to my marathon training, with extra back to back runs, building up to 10 miles on Saturday followed by 20 on Sunday. It worked well but I suspect that running 10 hard marathons on 10 consecutive days prepares you as best as is possible. Sure, it’s made me a bit slow, but it’s provided the endurance and included a lot of hill training. That meant that I got round this feeling very comfortable on a cup of orange squash (the E numbers must help) at each of the 10 checkpoints and only half a lucozade sport energy bar. What a difference from Day 7 of the TiT!

Having heard me talk about how fantastic the DD is, Patrick had also entered and we set off together. He’s run several marathons this year and Comrades 5 times so he’d have no trouble, plus he’s a bit quicker than me so I fully expected him to push off as he usually does after about 10k. He decided, however, that he’d rather ease back and keep me company so we ran the whole thing together, the first time I’ve ever run an entire race with someone since my very first marathon. It was surprisingly nice, some of the time we’d chat, some of the time we’d be running alongside each other in very companionable silence and our pace seemed perfectly matched. It helps that I’m now a lot stronger up the hills, there’s no question that even a few months ago he would have got bored after about 10 miles, and it was a revelation to be able to run so much more of the course than I have done in previous years. I’ve always been hopeless on hills.

I’m by no means an ultra runner, but I will keep coming back to the DD as long as I’m able to and as long as it’s on. Sadly Phil Hampton can’t run it any more, it’s a massive commitment and he’s not getting any younger, but I very much hope the Teignbridge Trotters take it over. They have such a huge representation in the race that it would be a big gap in their club calendar. Plus it’s a very special event now, the last of the dying breed of ultra marathons on road. The trail ultra scene has taken off in recent years but the road ultra scene is facing extinction and a large part of it must be because it’s so much more difficult to organise a road race now, with licenses and permits etc. The DD has retained its competitive nature, it’s not just a distance to get round like many trail ultras, it’s a serious competition with some very exciting racing up at the front. It would be a huge shame to see it disappear.

It’s not just because it’s competitive that makes it so special. I’m never going to be anywhere near the front in the DD, I come for the superb organization, the way Phil looks after his runners, the atmosphere among the runners themselves, the weekend away and the stunning route. Of all the marathons and ultras I’ve run, this and Connemara are my two stand out events. Both have those wide open skies and soaring views that are somehow incredibly soothing. In the DD, you run down into wooded valleys, over ancient stone packhorse bridges, past tumbledown thatched cottages, through picture postcard hamlets and up onto the open moor with the tors punctuating the skyline. At this time of year, there are dozens of ponies about and lots of foals, some so fresh out of the box that they appear to be all long, perfectly turned out leg. Funny how several years on, they appear to be all stocky body. Not just humans who suffer that then.

It was the perfect counterfoil to Chester on Monday which was pretty disappointing. We were running well all the way through, even picking people off in the last few miles and not slowing down too much. We’d paced it well, relaxing on the downhills, maintaining momentum on the ups and coasting along the flats, neither pushing too hard nor being lazy. I was pleased with an average pace of 10’15 / mile given there are a lot of very serious inclines and an 11 minute course PB. Energy levels were good, the weather was great, the company excellent and the views fabulous. It was a proper life affirmer of a run.

At the start: L-R Paul, Patrick, me, Riel & Helen