Race to the Stones Ultra-Marathon Report
by Mark Gatenby
19th and 20th July 2014
I ran, jog and stomped my way along 100Km with my work colleagues in order to raise money and
awareness for the charity Get Connected. It was my first ultra-marathon. To put the distance into
context let’s say it is a long run from Dudley to Stockport or from Dudley to Oxford ring-road or
100km straight up is the definable edge of space! It took place along the Ridgeway the oldest path in
England on 19th and 20th July 2014, the same weekend that saw thousands of lightning strikes hit the
UK.
Coach pickup from Wednesbury was early at 04:30hrs and dubbed ‘stupid o’clock’. Chinnor is a
South Oxfordshire village just a few miles off M40 junction 6 nestled at the foot of the Chilterns. Our
coach journey was 1.5hrs amidst thunder, rain and lighting it was very, very frightening indeed we
might as well have been travelling to Mordor to do the Fandango.
The coach dropped us off at 0615hrs and the rain stopped thank goodness. Registration and start
line was in a field. Luggage if required was loaded onto a truck divided into colour code dependant
on which package the ‘Stoner’ had signed up to do either 100km non-stop, 100km overnight or
50km. I partook in the obligatory photo opportunity with England Rugby International Danny
‘Enforcer’ Grewcock and the wait for the race start at 0800hrs was over in no time. The surge across
the line soon reduced to walking pace as the course converged to single track then a steady incline
towards the M40 on wide dirt track, parallel with the Chilterns.
Things got near vertical as we made our first ascent, walking become the choice way to traverse the
first major hill climb but the tree canopy overhead gave welcome relief from the rain shower.
Supporters of the 100km non-stop ‘Stoners’ made themselves heard by ringing cattle bells that gave
the race a Tour de France vibe.
The mud was like clay and clung to the sole of my Brooks Adrenaline ASR adding unwelcome weight
to each stride. One of the most iconic photo opportunities of the race comes within the first 20km, a
vast field that contained yellow oil seed flowers last year, they had made way for humungous Opium
Poppy (Papaver somniferum 'Giganteum') seed pods swinging like medieval mace balls to give a
good nut thwacking; could’ve done with jock-strap marriage wreckers.
I reached pit stop 2 quickly and passed up the sandwich refuel in favour of Cliff Shot Blocks and
figured I could make base camp for a late lunch and thus compete without getting the stich. The flat
section along the Thames reminded me of the Severn at Hampton Loade.
After eating yogurt covered raisins at pit stop 3 the route takes a distinctly urban feel, down some
back alleys and along roads in Streatley on Thames with its open air café and across the mighty river
using a road bridge. Some cramp in my quads was developing as the road climbed up towards pit
stop 4 where I met up with World record holder Rory Coleman, ultra-marathoner, MdS veteran and
my coach for the event, he encouraged me to take salt so I grabbed a packet of salt and vinegar
crisps while he filled my water bottle – thanks man. Not wanting to dilly dally in front of Coach I was
soon on my way again. The terrain was gravel paths that went up, up and then up some more my
OMM waist pack was weighing heavy and I was being picked off by other runners including two
blisteringly fast ladies from team North Face Ultra co-sponsoring the race.
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Race to the Stones Ultra-Marathon Report
by Mark Gatenby
19th and 20th July 2014
At 45km the route split in two, left towards base camp or right for the proper-ultras attempting
100km non-stop. It was good for the Ultra’s to be kept away from base camp as they might have
thrown the towel in there and then, instead for me it was an isolated trudge towards the half way
point I was alone suddenly and it felt like I had left the race. A frantic dart through the streets of
Compton, Newbury, West Berkshire and I was the eleventh runner to cross the 48km half-way line in
a time of 5hrs 32minutes.
Overnight base camp was at The Downs School, steel drum and Afro-Caribbean singers welcomed
participants across the line, where I got a tent allocation one of 600 one man tents, Quechua
(Decathlon) and a foam mat, luggage waiting at the collection point and a good shower (not a
trickle). The ‘serious’ ultra-athletes used Dog Oil to aid recovery and wore compression tights to
support achy leg muscles ready for the next day’s running. Uniformed soldiers where present, also
the marines low-key in their civvies. Plenty of time for a chill-out and watch the other racers arrive at
base camp from the comfort of a directors’ chair in the shade of the bar (£4 pint) and massive tent
filled with bean bags, foam rollers and newspapers to catch up on the rest of the day’s news.
Afternoon tea was available from 1400hrs where I found a mountain of cake and a variety of hot
drinks to suit all tastes.
Food was plentiful, besides the veg and potatoes the mains on offer were salmon, pork chops,
chicken & bacon pasta bake or any combination of all three! The canteen also had a selection of
salad including hummus, cuscus, and potato salad. For desert raspberry ripple cheesecake with
cream went down a treat and could’ve gone for chocolate gateaux or fruit tart too.
Late evening the hall set aside for complimentary massage and medics was starting to resemble a
minor humanitarian crisis with a queue of jaded people spilling out of the doors into darkness
hoping for some TLC and attention to blistered skin, bruised feet and aching muscles. The co-sponsor
Rock Tape was well positioned to plaster weekend warriors head to toe in kinesio tape. Sleep was
not as bad as expected with a little help from Hearos ear plugs.
Day Two:
Both continental and cooked breakfasts were available. The only limiting factor was that breakfast
was served 0500 – 0700hrs and coach shuttle back to the Ridgeway available between 0600 –
0700hrs so it was matter of how much could you stuff your face in that time and whether or not you
could yomp your way across the Downs in blistering heat with a belly full of sugar, grease and
gristle? Suffice to say I enjoyed juice, a bowl of cereal with honey then a delicious warm-chocolate
croissant with butter, marmalade and a hot tea, delicious. Then I emptied my tent, dropped off my
luggage and hopped on the bus back to the start on the Ridgeway.
Day two began with a flat section along the Downs and past The Monument a Memorial of Lord
Wantage a founder of the ‘British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War’ latterly
called the ‘British Red Cross Society’. Hazy cloud cover and gentle breeze made that first 15km
stretch to pit stop 6 a little easier, I felt for the 100km non-stop ultra-athletes who had made their
way across this long section in thunder storms and golf ball sized hail stones 18hours before.
However this was a new day which saw the pit stop gazebos inundated by walking wounded already.
The long distance to that first pit stop of the day was far enough to end the hopes of many who
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Race to the Stones Ultra-Marathon Report
by Mark Gatenby
19th and 20th July 2014
wanted to reach the stones instead they became DNF losing out on a finisher’s medal. Enough time
to take some raisins, banana, and bottle refill then I was back on The Ridgway again.
A swarm of flying bugs got me because I was wearing a yellow t-shirt in support of the event charity
Get Connected; it wasn’t just me they were after as they swarmed anything yellow including the
livery above pit stop 7 but they were harmless. It is funny how different regions develop
microclimates and differing bio-diversity as I had never seen anything like them before. The heat was
so sweltering I was drinking as much water mixed with NUUN hydration tablets as I could carry. The
course wound its way along, up and over hill-trails. I missed out on seeing the Uffington White Horse
as it was off the official race route but the Ridgeway made up for that with breath-taking, panoramic
views across North Wessex Downs AONB from the Iron Age hill fort atop Barbury Hill.
The final 10Km of the route wound its descent down a track churned up by off-road vehicles which
made for difficult footing. In order to incorporate the 3000 year old Avebury Stone circle that lends
its name to the race its competitors are tantalised as they have to pass by the path that leads to the
finish line, go around the stone circle and then go back along the path from which they came, then
onwards to the finish line which was a just few kilometres from the stones and south of Royal
Wootton Bassett.
The finish line was welcome as the heat blistering, the roar of the crowd cheered as I crossed the
line, it felt great to get much sought after medal around my neck. The finish area had showers, water
station and luggage collection. Finishers ate complimentary food including salad, chilli and BBQ, a
bar was available too. Six hundred finished the 100km non-stop race the quickest runner completed
the course in just 09hrs 23 minutes followed by his brother in second place a couple of minutes
later, amazing! The quickest 48/52km overnight finish time was 10hrs 55minutes, individual race
times were given out on request, my finish time was 14hrs 23minutes, I was 59th out of 376 finishers.
You can get involved by helping me to raise money for the charity Get Connected. You can still
sponsor me at my Virgin Money Giving page see link below:
LINK:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MarkGatenby
You can see photos of the event on Flickr (I am in photos IMG_6040, IMG_6046 and IMG_6048):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/thresholdsportsuk/sets/72157645779693643/
Race to the Stones 2014 Official website:
http://www.racetothestones.com/
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