Ultra_Tales_Issue_13

EVENT REPORTSTRATFORD GRAND UNION CANAL ULTRASTRATFORD GRAND UNION CANAL ULTRABY ANIA GRUSZCZYNSKAThis was my first ever ultra event, a "safe" distanceof 50k chosen to dip my get a feel for the beyondmarathon distance; a sort of dress rehearsal inpreparation for the key race of the year,Ladybower 50 at the end of September. I wasquite nervous beforehand and unsure how I wouldbe able to handle the distance but I ended the dayon a real high (finishing second lady helped, too!).To start with, I loved how informal the event was -there were only 68 entrants, and it was nice to seesome familiar faces, mostly in "100 marathon club"T-shirts that I am beginning to recognise from theevents I've done in preparation for Ladybower. Therace headquarters were at the Stratford-upon-AvonCricket Club where we could leave our bags; hangout before and after the event and mostimportantly, had access to proper showers whichfelt very civilised. There was a cricket match goingon at the day of the race, so that ensured ongoingentertainment for race widows awaiting the returnof sweaty and hungry runners.The entrants had a choice whether they wanted torun in the competitive race (starting at 9 a.m.)where prizes would be awarded or the noncompetitivesocial run which had a staggered startbetween 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. The 44 non-competitiverunners could also choose to run a slightly shorterroute of 28 miles. I started off in the maincompetition and the 24 of us set off to the words ofShakespeare recited by Chris Seeney, the racedirector. No chip timing or any other gimmicks, butwe did have to make sure that our bibs would bemarked at the turn-around point to prove we haveindeed done the distance. It was a couple ofhundred yards to reach the canal and from thenonwards we stayed on the towpath.Stratford - Preston Baggot (Miles 1-9)Thankfully, the event didn’t require any navigationas the route was mostly straightforward out-andbackalong the Grand Union Canal, with only oneslightly awkward loop which was very clearlymarked. Basically, as long you could see the canal,AniaGruszczynskaTwitter@akgruszczynskaStratford Grand UnionCanal UltraFinish Time4hrs 22minsFinish Position5/44 Starters (2nd Lady)you could safely assume you were on the righttrack. Mentally, I tried breaking it down into smallersections just to make sure I wouldn’t be toooverwhelmed about the need to go 5 miles beyondthe longest distance I've ever covered. Obviously,this was nothing to some of the seasoned ultraveteransamongst the participants - we did haveRory Coleman with us, with 848 starting bibcorresponding to the number of events he'scovered already but I knew that at some point Iwould be entering unknown territory.Funnily enough, it was the first third of the racewhich felt the worst, I found it quite difficult to findmy stride and the towpath on that section of thecanal was quite overgrown in places and not themost comfortable to run on. The first aid sectionwas at about 3.50 miles at the footbridge betweenBishopton & Wilmcote but I didn’t feel the need tostop. At about 6 miles, we passed the EdstoneAqueduct which happens to be one of the earliestcast iron canal aqueducts in the country and is thelongest in England. We carried on to the next aidstation at Preston Baggot where I grateful for achance to grab a cold drink, the day was really hotand the water in the hydration vest was gettinglukewarm. The vest wasn’t strictly necessary as the25 ULTRA TALES | OCTOBER 2014Sponsored by thehttp://