Tuesday, October 11 2011

Life starts after a marathon...

By Julien on Tuesday, October 11 2011, 22:06 - Health

To those who advise against exercise during pregnancy, this woman ran the Chicago marathon... just before giving birth!

Ultra life start

5 comments

Tuesday, October 4 2011

World's Ultimate Running Races

By Julien on Tuesday, October 4 2011, 19:42 - Books

I've just received the recently published World's Ultimate Running Races - 500 Races, 101 Countries, Choose your adventure. I guess it would be best defined as an illustrated guide book of the most iconic races in the world.

world's ultimate running races

It certainly contains a variety of races, from 5km to 3100 miles (4989km), grouped in 10 categories (cross country, mountain, multi-terrain, road, snow, stage, stairs, track, trail, and ultra).

That said, I am not entirely sure how Angela Mudge has selected the "most exhilarating and remarkable races". Why including the Belfast Marathon but not Dublin's for example? Furthermore, the selection is heavily Anglocentric. About 70 of these races take place in the UK, but less than 30 in France. This seems rather disproportionate, since the ahotu calendar lists 424 races in the UK, against 1199 in France. Are the French ones statistically 6 times less "interesting", or has the author's origin biased the selection?

Pictures certainly make you want to travel the world for these races. How long until someone takes on the challenge to run them all? Not that I could take part in the challenge, since I wouldn't be able to enter the "Adidas Women's only 5km" in Hyde Park and the "Women's mini Marathon" in Dublin...

Little game: how many of these races have I completed? And let's get even more playful: a bottle of Champagne for the first to give me the exact race list without prior knowledge of the book. Leave answer in comments.

Ultra challenges

6 comments

Thursday, September 29 2011

A rant against the new Decathlon hydration pack

By Julien on Thursday, September 29 2011, 21:37 - Equipment

I'm rather unhappy about the new Decathlon hydration pack I have bought a few months ago. Up to that point, you're thinking "nothing extraordinary" :) . Less obvious: I bought it to replace a previous Decathlon hydration pack that I actually liked, which was coming to the end of its life. Yes, you read it correctly, I was satisfied with a Decathlon product. Funnily, that's exactly what the website product description reads: "to replace your old hydration pack!". Odd description, first-time buyers: this one is apparently not for you :)

But I digress. This replacement was a big mistake!

First of all, the bite valve is of appalling quality. It was chewed off after two runs only (OK, the cumulative distance of these two runs was about 280km, but still). On top of that, the older one had a better flow.

And one of the reason I had to bite it hard(er) is that they added their "new" push-pull valve between the bite valve and the pipe. They claim it's to avoid leakage. But if the bite valve was well designed in the first place you wouldn't need this extra valve! Guys, it's simple, the clue is in the name: "bite valve". You bite, the water flows. You release, the water stops. Hence it's a valve... Otherwise it would just be called a "bite"! So essentially the only reason for adding this extra valve is to allow them in fine to reduce the quality of the original bite valve. And indeed, the new bite valve leaks whereas the previous one didn't. So Decathlon product designers, you might as well remove the bite valve now, since it's pretty much useless. Luckily I kept the older one and used it as a replacement.

And last but not least, the new pipe might be slightly lighter, but it also pinches rather easily when forced to take a "sharp" bend. And the only way to solve that is to remove the bladder, put it back, shake the bag, change the pipe side for good measure, and hope for the best. How long until they come up with a kind of extra sleeve to support the pipe along the bending areas, yet another "innovation" designed to fix a problem that didn't exist in the first place?

To come back to their "replace your old hydration pack!", well just don't. Really. The old one was far better.

Ultra leak

one comment

Wednesday, September 28 2011

Hardmoors 60: sea, run, and sun

By Julien on Wednesday, September 28 2011, 23:52 - Hardmoors

On Saturday I was once more back in the North Yorkshire Moors, this time to run the first edition of the Hardmoors 60.

As you know, the Hardmoors 110 route is composed of two distinct sections: the first half in the moors (Helmsley to Saltburn) and second one following the coast (Saltburn to Filey). Last year Jon created the Hardmoors 55 on the first half of the course. This year he naturally added the Hardmoors 60 on the coastal section. Slight issue, the total distance was a bit under 60 miles, so a loop had been added at the end, forcing us to run an extra 10 miles after passing 100m from the finish line...

I pitched my tent in Filey on Friday night, and took the coach for Saltburn on Saturday morning, in which I met the usual suspects: Steve, Flip, ... and slept a bit. By the time we were greeted by Jon at Saltburn, the sun was up, and a gorgeous weather was waiting the 50 of us!

The conditions in the morning were perfect, and I kept running with my head looking left towards the sea :) The section on the beach at Runswick Bay was particularly nice. Much easier to enjoy than on the 110 after a night out in the moors...

Unfortunately, things started to change after Sandsend. I started to feel diarrhea looming. The whole section between Whitby and Ravenscar turned into a difficult moment. Aside from the pain and the technical challenges of the condition in the middle of a race, it left me relatively weak and probably dehydrated, since the weather was relatively warm.

Luckily, after a great deal of help from the marshal at the Ravenscar checkpoint (32 miles), who fed me with soup and rice pudding, I was back on track and enjoyed the rolling section to Scarborough, and even ran the whole promenade despite the hardness of the concrete and the density of pedestrians.

As I left Scarborough (43 miles), I thought I had only 7 miles to Filey Brigg, then 7 miles to Stocking Dale, and logically 3 miles to the finish line. As I asked for confirmation at Filey Brigg (50 miles), about the 10 miles left, I was told that it was actually 12... I know I was a bit confused after 11 hours on the trail, but was still fairly confident that 60-50=10. Then I started to think again about the map I had roughly memorised, and thought it would be strange for this loop to be about 6 miles on the way in, and only 3 on the way back. And indeed, the total distance happened to be 63.5 miles (102km)... Jon's such a joker ;)

After I passed next to the finish line and my tent, I switched on my head torch for the final 10 miles loop, where I didn't see a single runner, but a few animals a bit surprised to see me: a couple of kittens blinded by my head torch, an owl, a rabbit who didn't know where to run away and was just zig-zaging in front of me until I nearly stepped on him, and a few cows that didn't seem too bothered.

Not only animals were surprised. As I was close to finish, I got stopped by a farmer who was patrolling, a bit worried by all these lights in the fields in the middle of the night. He told me that he was concerned we were poachers or metal scrappers. I convinced him that after running 60 miles, the last thing we had in mind was to carry a metal gate or a sheep back home...

I pushed a bit to arrive 15th in just under 14 hours (13:58). Just in time to discuss a potential Hardmoors 160 and maybe even a Hardmoors 1000 :)

I have too say I was not too keen on this final loop, not only it doesn't bring much in terms of scenery, but it's not a natural ending after following the coast for 50 miles. And passing by the finish line 2 hours before finishing is a bit depressing. It might be scrapped next year.

As I came back to London, I was subject to a new form of craving: I was really keen on getting a dozen of oysters. Something to do with water and salt I guess. Or maybe the consequences of a run by the sea?

Ultra coast

Rather unbelievable

By Julien on Wednesday, September 28 2011, 14:26 - Misc

Weather - September 2011

Especially after the ridiculously bad summer we had...

Ultra hot and sunny

Monday, September 5 2011

Another thames challenge to follow

By Julien on Monday, September 5 2011, 10:07 - Misc

David Walliams has started this morning his attempt to swim the length of the Thames in seven days. Apparently colder than expected, he's eventually decided to use a wetsuit. I cannot blame him really...

As they advertise it, "WARNING DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF. The tidal Thames is incredibly dangerous and many people have drowned in its waters which have powerful tides and unpredictable currents". So up to Richmond is fine then :) Lewis Gordon Pugh, who has actually done the full length from the source (starting by running) to South-end-on-Sea, said the biggest danger was coming from objects immersed just under the surface. For Charlie Wittmack, it was probably more a bacterial threat, as he became violently ill during his attempt.

Ultra swim

Wednesday, August 31 2011

A week of ultramarathons (behind my PC)

By Julien on Wednesday, August 31 2011, 11:15 - PTL

It's been a good week, following events unfolding in Chamonix.

I didn't realise how much fun it would be to follow the PTL live GPS coverage. I was mostly following Team Green, but it was rather entertaining to see other teams getting away from the original path. Sometimes it seemed to be planned (shortcut the Mont Rogneux like us last year). Sometimes not. Sometimes they gave up... Sometimes it was clearly a GPS mistake ("Pierre qui roule" rolled down to Milano, before coming back on track). Sometimes it looked like some had forgotten to give back their beacon: "Team du Risoux" ended up in the Jura, not far from the eponymous mountain range :) Easier than running it!

It's been sad to see Jon dropping from the TDS, Andy, Flip, and Jez from the UTMB. But so goes it during tough events like those.

It's been good to see Börkur flying through the super tough UTMB this year. First delayed start to 23:30 to avoid the storms. Then extended via Martigny while the race was on to avoid a dodgy section near Catogne. It must have been tough to take this news en-route... And all that in a visibly cold, misty weather, with snow on the ground.

Well done to you guys, you made me want to do it again! Or not...

Ultra armchair runner

one comment

Friday, August 19 2011

Yet another last week-end of August

By Julien on Friday, August 19 2011, 14:20 - UTMB

For the second time since 2005, I will not be in Chamonix on the last week-end of August :( It feels a bit strange.

All the best to you all who are going to start running on Monday, Thursday, and Friday. I envy you (kind of). Andy, Börkur, Eoin, Jez, Jon, Phil, Philipp, and Shirley, I will follow you online.

Unlike here in London, the weather in the Alps seems rather warm and dry at the moment, so perfect running conditions so far. Have a great run!

And for a little warm up, listen a few times to this before the UTMB/CCC/TDS and this before the PTL.

Ultra nostalgic

Thursday, August 18 2011

Cheap Ultr4m4th0ns!

By Julien on Thursday, August 18 2011, 13:09 - Hardmoors

Jon has set the prices for next year's Hardmoors series, and all have gone down, against the trends! The 110 registration is now only £40 for early birds, against £60 last year. At 36p per mile, it's a real bargain. It's actually ten times cheaper than most big marathons that now cost around £80 (ie. £3.05 per mile).

Next year's Hardmoors 30 and 55 fees are currently £15 and £25, when this September's inaugural Hardmoors 60 late fee is a mere £35.

Ultra discount

Monday, August 8 2011

166km

By Julien on Monday, August 8 2011, 09:30 - Misc

If you thought that the UTMB's 166km were a long way to go without sleeping, think again. Diana Nyad is attempting to swim the distance...

Updated 11/08/2011: Unfortunately, she had to stop half way due to shoulder pain, ocean swells and asthma. Well done, nevertheless!

Ultra swim

one comment

Sunday, July 10 2011

Thames 2 - Julien 0

By Julien on Sunday, July 10 2011, 18:18 - ThamesSourceQuest


Thames Barrier at 4am.

Second time unlucky... But whereas last year was a disaster, this year was at least half-decent. I completed nearly 5 marathons out of 7.


Tower Bridge.

Friday

Things went generally as planned until Staines, where I pulled out last year. I had my first hard time "only" a bit before Windsor. Nothing alarming, a bit of time lost, but I managed to pick up the pace until Bourne End. I could see it would be a difficult one, but to keep hope, I decided to focus on getting to Oxford, and think about the source later


A new landmark has emerged since last year: The Shard.


Battersea power station.

The night

From 5pm, I could see all the boats stopping for the night, their occupants having chilled out apéritif and starting barbecues. It was hard to see that, while knowing I would have to go through the night. And indeed the night was pretty difficult. I was not only feeling rather chilly given the humidity near the Thames, but I also wanted to sleep all the time (some would say, as usual). A big surprise at Henley, the Regatta parties were going on next to the Thames. One kilometre of loud music and colourful lights, walking amongst thousands of drunken people in rowing blazers, after hours on my own in the dark. Surreal. A bit later, I had a quick nap on my backpack mat, wrapped in my survival blanket, in a effort to relieve me from both the cold and the tiredness. Not sure it worked out.


Sunrise near Sonning Bridge.

Saturday

As the sun rose, I picked up speed, but I carried on losing time on schedule at a rate of about an hour per half-marathon. Partly due to my running speed, and partly due to longer breaks than planned. I even managed to get a bit lost in one of the three hilly sections of the course, as the path leaves the Thames for a few kilometres.
The path was certainly less and less busy as I moved upstream, and some long monotonous and lonely sections felt hard on the mental side. I finally reached Oxford, a fundamental milestone in my mind at nearly 9pm, 10 hours behind schedule. I calculated that I wouldn't make it to the source before Sunday night, and decided to give up.


Speed (km/h): planned (blue), actual (red), with "planned" rest time removed (green).

Things that went well
  • Food was well chosen, and the pre-packed mini-meal concept developed with Leo worked well.
  • Water filtering worked as planned. I had a short anxious moment, as I was pumping when a boat came passed. The water turned cloudy with the turmoil, and the filter clogged up nearly instantaneously. I followed the on-field cleaning procedure to remove the silt, and the water flew normally again. Pfff. In total, I drank 11 litres of purified Thames Water for 28 pit stops.
  • Recovery was surprisingly quick.

Thames Water inlet. Where do you think your tap water comes from?

Things that could be improved
  • Blisters under the feet. As I carried two spare pairs of socks, a change half-way might have helped.
  • Chaffing. I could have sorted out something with the Nok cream I carried.
Things that went wrong
  • Sleepiness at night, could be managed with a caffeine-based product and an even stricter sleeping pattern on the week before.
  • A light waterproof jacket would have been useful to insulate me against humidity during the night.
  • Book more time off, to remove completely the time constraint.

A sign I've seen countless times...

A third attempt?

My mind has slowly drifted on that matter:
Saturday: I'm happy about what I've achieved today. I won't try again.
Sunday: Reaching Oxford is good, but it would have been better to finish. I might run the remaining section on its own one day.
Monday: Why didn't I carry on? I might try again, but maybe with support.
Tuesday: I'm so stupid I stopped. I should try again solo and unsupported.
Wednesday: Why the f*** stopping "so close" to the end? I should try again in September.

I certainly gained a knowledge of the challenge which should allow me to complete it on another attempt. But it's a big commitment in terms of preparation. We'll see.


Should I stay or should I go? A recurrent question.

A big thank to all of you who supported me. I'm sorry I didn't make it to the source, but solo and unsupported is mentally very hard on such a distance.

Ultra river

3 comments

Tuesday, June 28 2011

Follow me!

By Julien on Tuesday, June 28 2011, 16:56 - ThamesSourceQuest

I plan to leave on Friday morning at 4am from the Thames Barrier.

Detailed schedule is the following: TSQ 2011 (PDF, 59KB).

You will be able to follow me on Twitter @ThamesSource, hopefully with live pictures this year! As usual, the route is available on GoogleMaps and on GoogleEarth.

If you haven't done so yet, please consider donating a small amount to WaterAid, and bet on my finish time!

Ultra second chance

3 comments

TSQ final preparation

By Julien on Tuesday, June 28 2011, 16:45 - ThamesSourceQuest

The mental aspect of the TSQ is fundamental, as it will be run solo and unsupported.

I've now fully realised that whilst the flatness of the Thames Path appears to be an advantage at first, it might not be such a good thing overall. Indeed, long trail races such as the UTMB are typically cadenced by a succession of climbs and descents, and every low and high point creates a tangible milestone. These natural milestones are of great relief for the mind, and on races without checkpoints such as the PTL, every high point is mentally ticked off with joy. There will be no such milestones on the Thames. Aside from the psychological aspect, it might well be that the regular changes between downhill and uphill stages help to rest some muscle groups while others are working.

The flatness of the course is even more of an issue because I will attempt it solo and unsupported, so there will be no psychological support from a team mate, and no milestones other than the ones I will create in my mind. These milestones will not be as prominent as the Col d'Enclave, so I will have to find a way to materialise them. For this reason, I have not considered purely virtual milestones such as arbitrary points in distance and time. Instead I will use towns on the way, but not all of them, as this would defeat the point by overloading my mind. Roughly one every half-marathon, so 14 in total seems a fair compromise: Westminster (first half-marathon), Richmond (1 marathon), Weybridge/Shepperton (1.5 marathon), Windsor (2 marathons), Bourne End (100km/3.5 marathons), Henley (4 marathons), Purley-on-Thames (half-way), Wallingford (4 marathons), Culham (4.5 marathons), Oxford (5 marathons), Newbridge (5.5 marathons), Lechlade (6 marathons), Cricklade (6.5 marathons), The Source (finish).

This leaves a few key places such as Hampton Court, Reading, or Abingdon aside, but I have to trade-off between the distance covered and the importance of the place. Furthermore, since passing by a town will make no difference to my body, I need to increase the significance of these milestones in a way or another, probably by the means of food rewards.

Ultra ready... hopefully

Thursday, June 23 2011

It's all about water

By Julien on Thursday, June 23 2011, 16:28 - ThamesSourceQuest

On Saturday, I ran my last long training session, a nice 64km on the Thames Path. Despite my muscles being relatively tired, the pace was adequate, and most importantly, I felt generally strong.

I was greeted by a rather powerful thundery shower from the start, leaving me soaked for the remaining 6 hours. To make sure I didn't dry up on my way back, a spring tide forced me to run in the overflowing Thames.

It was also an opportunity to test the MSR SweetWater filter in real conditions. It took me about 10 minutes to filter 2.75L of water, including unpacking, setting up, and repacking. In terms of taste, let's face it, it's like drinking from a swimming pool, but it's reassuring in a way. I hadn't intended to use my water bladder, but the provided filter adapter just happens to fit well on it, and the refilling worked pretty well. In the light of this experiment, I've decided to take a water bladder and a bottle (for various additives such as rehydration sachets) on the TSQ. With 3L of water, I can run up to 4 hours if it's hot, and more during the night. I guess it's a matter of trading off between the the time to filter, and the water weight to be carried.

All in all, the water element was rather keen on communing, with or without my consent, which is a good omen.

Now, it's relative rest, increased nutrition and hydration for the next 7 days.

Ultra water power

2 comments

Thursday, June 16 2011

TSQ take two: D-15

By Julien on Thursday, June 16 2011, 17:03 - ThamesSourceQuest

As you might have guessed, I have decided to give the Thames Source Quest (TSQ) a second attempt. I will try to run the whole length of the Thames Path (184 miles / 294 km) non-stop, solo, and unsupported. I will start from the Thames Barrier in East London on the 1st July and hope to reach the source in the Cotswolds on the 3rd July. Non-stop means that I am not planning to sleep on the way, although this might happen accidentally :) . Unsupported means that I will not pick up any food or drinks from human sources on the way. In practice, I will carry all the food required for the entire event from the start, and will drink purified water collected from the Thames river itself.

I hope to be better prepared than last year, both physically and mentally. As planned, a few changes have applied, including:
  • This is my only major event this year.
  • I will take it a bit easier on the target time. If I need 60 hours, so be it!
  • MSR Sweetwater purifier (pump-based microfilter + chlorine) and two Camelbak Tritan 750mL in a hope to increase my water consumption, but heavier in the bag.
  • Less food (3 kg for 11,000 KCal), as I don't think I can eat more than 5,000 KCal/day whilst running anyway.
I will however not start much earlier in the year than for the previous attempt, but this was necessary to ensure a decent training.

This year, I have decided to raise money for WaterAid. It seems a fairly obvious choice. Whilst I will be fortunate enough to carry a purification system that will (hopefully) provide me with safe water from the Thames, "one in eight of the world's population does not have access to [clean water]. This, and lack of safe sanitation, result in over two million people dying from water-related diseases every year." Please consider donating at this page. Donators might want to place a guess on the time I will take to complete, and the distance covered if I don't finish. Small prize for the closest guess. Thank you!

The planned scheduled is based on a 50 hours finish time, as opposed to 48 hours last year.

Ultra ready for take two.

2 comments

Station de Trail

By Julien on Thursday, June 16 2011, 10:49 - Misc

A "Station de Trail" (trail resort) has been opened in the Chartreuse French mountain range. Alike a ski resort, it features a range of marked trail routes for different abilities and an information desk where an experienced trail runner provides personalised advice. The aim being obviously to boost local economy by attracting runners (and there families) in the region during the summer, mid-season and snowless winters.

Whilst this is generally a good idea, it is also one step further towards the integration of trail running into a well-formatted sport. Let's hope it doesn't go too far.

Ultra trail resort

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