Vartry 50mile 2016 Race Report

Last weekend was my second running of the Vartry 50mile Ultra and overall it was certainly a more positive experience then last years despite the lack of training going into the race.

Before I even traveled to Wicklow for this race I always had in my mind that I honestly didn't care about the time, the aim was merely to put time in the legs and I expected to finish in between 10-12hours due to this.

As always it was an early start from Kilkenny as I left just before 3am to arrive with plenty of time, driving through Glendalough didn't look particularly good as there was seriously heavy rain but as I got closer to Roundwood things started to clear up abit...but still the forecast for the day was pretty much rain so I had ensured to bring changes of clothes just in case I needed them.

By the time I had arrived the 100mile racers were already out for around 10hours, I chatted to Dom the race director and various other runners before the race.  As always some runners I'd never met before but there's always a few familiar faces that are always good to see at ultra events and its always enjoyable to share experiences.

Just before the start I met up with JP & Paul who also ran this race last year and who I planned to run the event with, the basic plan for the day was take it relatively easy, have a chat and just tick off the miles and use the whole race as a training run.   So off we went bang on time and he started to endure the rain.

Unfortunately despite the weather forecast showing breaks in the rain before 9am and before lunch time this didn't happen and the wind and rain kept up for pretty much all of the day, so this meant every so often I'd also have to remove my gloves and wring the water out.      Still, despite the rain and wind only my hands and face occasionally felt the cold and I wasn't worried about getting too cold.

The 50mile route consists of 5x 10mile looks with some small out and back sections in order to give an even 10mile on each lap, I've done ultra's before of 5km loops and I honestly find them unbearable but doing 10mile loops is actually fine. Its a nice distance to have for a loop whilst still allowing you to pickup food, clothes etc at the start/finish area.

As time passing went the race flew, although to many such a long time on the feet might seem endless and crazy I honestly found it went seriously fast which was no doubt down to the fact that myself, JP & Paul chatted and joked for basically the entire race.       It was also great to meet up with others taking part in the race to cheer them on and just said hello, shouts out to Ray who also won the 50km race.   I even met up with a fellow ultra runner blogger who's blog I read.

As the loops ticked by I decided that unlike last year I wasn't going to bother with changing socks at the 30mile mark as my feet felt fine, so instead I just changed my t-shirt and long sleeve top and off I went again.

By the 40mile mark I decided I felt pretty good, in fact I felt far better then I felt at this stage back in 2015 so with around 1hr 50min to go I decided to see if I could beat last years time of 10hrs 10min and run the last 10miles....sorry JP & Paul for abandoning you :)

Whilst I did run a lot more of the last 10mile then I did the 30-40mile section I missed out on beating last years time and finished in 10hours 22min 43sec.  Still, I'm not at all disappointed considering I wasn't planning on setting any specific time, the reality is I'm actually surprised because I finished in much better shape then I did last year so that's a nice boost for my confidence.

Finally, for those interested in taking part in the race next year you might be interested in the garmin profile of the race (compare this to the original 2015 looped course which started and ended in Roundwood). I've also included elevation profile and loop profile below:

Race Elevation

Race Route

Last week consisted of:
- Sunday: 2mile walk
- Monday: Rest
- Tuesday: 11miles @ 9:30min/pace
- Wednesday: Rest
- Thursday: Rest
- Friday: Rest
- Saturday: 50miles @ 12:22min/pace

Miles This week: 69 miles
Miles this Year So Far: 430miles

First 30mile run of the year

Its been a good week of training, started it with an easy walk on Sunday with my wife Tramore, Co Waterford and then upped the miles to my first 30mile run on Monday morning...certainly a different way to start the day!

I felt absolutely fine during the 30mile run but didn't want to overdo it too much so I did walk on some hills now and then but finished it in good shape and felt fine.

30mile Run Route in Co Kilkenny

 Over the next few days I did have some niggles in my left leg muscle, this teaches me a very valuable lesson for not stretching properly after such a long run!.     But after I did some stretching throughout the day over the next few days as well as a walk on Thursday that cleared up and I felt fine again by Friday, thankfully.

I really have to make sure I'm stretching enough or this muscle pain is coming to come back to bite me again.  I finished the week with a nice fast 8mile run this evening to finish the week with just over 60miles.   All in all a good week training.

I have the Vartry 50mile run in two weeks time so I'm going to start winding down the miles next week after one last long run and then take it easy ahead of the race. I don't think I'm in as good a shape as I was last year going into the 50mile race but it certainly reassured me to get that 30mile run under my belt before hand.

This week consisted of:
- Sunday: 3.02miles @ 20:16min/mile pace (walk)
- Monday: 30miles @ 9:53min/mile pace
- Tuesday: 4miles @ 8:28min/mile pace
- Wednesday: 10miles @ 8:58mine/mile pace & 1mile recovery walk
- Thursday: 4.15mile @ 23:24min/mile pace (walk)
- Friday: Rest
- Saturday: 8miles @ 7:09min/mile pace

Miles This week: 60.22 miles
Miles this Year So Far: 330miles

Plans for 2016

Finally back with some updates,

Although I was injured in November and December I know things have bounced back and as long as I look after my left leg I'll be fine, I hope!

Originally for 2016 I had two big races planned, the Vartry 100 mile in March which I hoped to do in sub24hours and then the Connemara 100 in August which I've wanted to do since I did my first 50km event in 2012.

Due to my injury issues I've had to scale back my plans and now instead of doing the Vartry 100mile its going to be the Vartry 50mile as I don't feel I'd be anywhere ready for the 100mile due to recent loss of fitness etc.

Last year I took on the 50mile looped course and took it easy enough and finished it in 10hours 10min (I was aiming for 10hours). This year I'm again seeing it as a training run but so far I have no time in mind.

Taking on the Connemara 100 in August will be my second 100mile event and the Connemara 100 thankfully this time is 100 road and hilly which will give me plenty of time to rest on the uphills.    As strange as it may sound the flat course last year at Thames Path I found difficult, the 75% trail route I had to endure during it also really knocked the stuffing out of me because I do 99% of my running on road so I'm confident I can perform much better on a 100% road course.

So now my aim is to work towards a sub 24time in Connemara, I just need to find a support team for the event...anybody want to volunteer? :)