Pilgrim Challenge 50k – North Downs Ultra Marathon

Earlier this month I tackled a new challenge a 50k Ultra Marathon, this would be my third ultra and it would be a tough one. The Pilgrim Challenge is a race in the North downs Surrey, which offers some of the best countryside views in the UK, the race itself was mostly trail and some hills, in total the race was over 1000m of elevation. My goal for this race was to complete in under 6 hours, I would be attempting this challenge alone and would set my own pace.

3 weeks prior to this I finished the 70k Country to Capital Ultra marathon so in the 2 weeks leading up to this race I mainly focused on cross-training and minimal running to ensure my legs were fully rested, My nutrition strategy was similar to my previous races, I would have one cliff bar every 5-6k after the 10k mark and use gels if needed, I also had salted peanuts and used some food from the aid stations should anything take my fancy.

The night before this race I carbed up on pizza and ice cream (would not recommend this but I felt it was a treat worth taking), I arrived at the race around 1 hour before my start time, dropped my bag off and began my stretching routine. Apart from the time, my main goal in this race was to run in good form and not put too much pressure on my knees and aggravate my IT band.

The whistle blew at the start line and we were off, I was trying to maintain around a 5min/km pace but sometimes would go faster due to keeping up with other racers, after a few miles down street paths we turned down the north downs into the beautiful trails which would be the remainder of the race, This was a mud heavy race and the proper footwear was needed to get through the terrain faster my Innovate X-Talons were fantastic with this, the aggressive tread making the boggy trails Childs play.

I was making a good pace and was already at the 10k mark within 50 minutes! which is good for my skill level on this terrain. As I felt comfortable at this speed, I decided I might as well push on and attack this race with everything I had, the next 7k added a bit of elevation to the race and some nice downhill sections. One tip I can give to anyone in Ultra Marathons is to not spend much time at aid stations you need to get what you need and quickly get back to knocking down these miles.

Focusing on speed seemed to pay off I was still sticking to my nutrition plan but running aggressively I completed the half marathon in 1:55 Hr and reached the 30k mark at 2:44 Hrs. The next section of this race had the largest amount of elevation which would be even harder on tired legs, I made it to the notorious box hill pictured below which had 275 steep steps.

This section was unforgiving, but I continued to power through thinking I was conquering Mount Everest, it was a sigh of relief getting up this hill and my quads were screaming, the next sections were beautiful views and rocky trails. At the 35k mark, I also came face to face with several cows as I went through tight trails, this emphasised to me the point that anything can happen in ultra and you need to be prepared to slow down for nature!

Still feeling good I passed the marathon mark at 4hrs and was near the next aid station, unfortunately, after speaking with other racers and marshals, it looks like I made a wrong turning and rejoined the north downs way path somewhere along the line!

I still had 16km left, this definitely put my head in a bad place and I was angry that I kept paying attention to my watch and not thinking more about navigation, As with anything in life you need to push on when times are tough. More steep hills came my way and I noticed I was very tired by this point and looking back I realised I did not take on enough sodium which could have sent me down a path of cramps, headaches, and vomiting which I wanted to avoid.

By this point, my pace was slowing to around 6:50/km and I was walking most hilly terrain, at the next checkpoint I added salt capsules to my water hoping this would quickly fix the dizziness which I started to experience. The 50k mark was next I reached this at 5:13hr (2 hours quicker than my previous 50k time). Even though I had made mistakes with nutrition and navigation I was happy with my pacing and running form throughout this race I felt no pain except of course for the pain associated with hard work!

After one last muddy and barely walkable hill (in my current state anyway) I made it to the last checkpoint and only had 5k to go, the last part of the race was through the streets of Redhill and was a good break for the legs, I was not going to set any 5k PB at this stage but I managed to cross the line at 5:57hrs, accounting for my navigation mistakes I had ran 57k overall. Crossing the finish line at this race was a great experience for me, not only did I achieve my goals, but I managed to overcome my navigation and nutrition mistakes and still make the time.

The next events for me will mostly be Obstacle Course Races as I lead up to the Spartan season and various half/ full marathons throughout the year, I’m sure there will be more Ultras to follow!

Race Results - https://www.xnrg.co.uk/results/2020/the-pilgrim-challenge-2020.aspx

Pilgrim Challenge - https://www.xnrg.co.uk/events/details/the-pilgrim-challenge-2020.aspx

Best Trail Running Shoes - https://www.inov-8.com/x-talon-212-classic-mens-running-shoes