It’s been a while… but we are so back!

Clearly, we all needed the training weeks and months to get this one in as our first PROPER weekend of 2024. Ultras and Marathons were the name of the game – Greener Miles Running’s Bridges to Boundaries Ultra, Saturn Running’s Rhino Run and Trail Outlaws Dark Skies Kielder Marathon.

We’ll start on the banks of the Tyne in the very early hours of a surprisingly sunny Saturday morning – we had a huge turnout; many aiming to complete their very first ultras.

We’ve been lucky enough to get some first person accounts from some of the legends who completed the full 55km distance…

Starting with Vicky Parker and Gemma Carr:

“Absolutely fab day out with friends! Running along that beautiful sunny river side was just epic! Highlights being the DVRC celeb spots along the way! It became a game to tick off DVRC royalty and those smiling supportive faces just kept us going and going for 34 miles! Singing GOLD and YMCA just mint! Louise shouting at us to “Look lively!” “I AM LIVELY!!” Gemma’s potty mouth from mile 22 but also her tears of joy when she crossed the finish line. All in all a flipping brilliant day out. Thanks to Greener miles who put on the best event and pull out all the stops to make sure everyone has a great day.”

Pic our your faves!

Next up, Lindsey Dover:

“So last year I decided to sign up for an ultra, it’s canny flat so let’s give it a go. The day came and I was nervous and excited so much so I could barely speak. Got there and I relaxed a bit after seeing everyone and remembering there wasn’t just me running my first ever ultra. We set off I felt great then at just after 10 miles hit the biggest brick wall ever, I was so overwhelmed at the distance I still had to do so what did I do I sobbed! But Glen had my back and I remembered Kev Watlers pep talk before I set off “just enjoy it”. My legs ached my feet hurt it’s not pleasant at all but the achievement is everything! Massive thank you to everyone that supported, marshalled and genuinely had each others back. Extra special shout out to Sarah Reay, who has just been amazing from start to finish with her support”

Charlotte Bowes added:

“Such a gorgeous day and so nice to be at the start line with DVRCers. Never thought I’d run an ultra marathon but all the nutters in DVRC said it would be fun. And truly it was! Very tough after 40k ish, and a mental battle. But knowing there was a shandy at the end spurred me on. Wonder what my next challenge is going to be. And my final note is saying I couldn’t have done it without all the training and support from dvrc with recces etc. With a special shout out to Claire Thompson and Deborah Swann who were my two main lasses pushing me through training”

Claire Thompson continued the theme:

“The Greener Miles Ultra, 34 miles of pure joy. I thoroughly enjoyed myself yesterday, and when I signed up to this, the furthest I had ran was a half marathon. All the training runs (which I thoroughly hated and counted each horrendous mile) paid off and I pushed through to the finish in under 7 hours, smiling and enjoying the sunshine all the way. Greener Miles, thank you for holding such an inclusive event, marshals you were fabulous. Massive shout out to my DVRC team for all the encouragement during training runs and running with you in parts yesterday. Im on cloud 9, I can proudly say, I have ran an Ultra.”

We can’t finish off the report of the day without the special mention to a couple of the Blaydon locals, who truly got into the ‘spirit’ of things in more ways than one – forming a two-person finish line and shouting some slurry encouragement to a load of our lot… I’m sure they woke up this morning with some bad heeds, but their drunken antics certainly took the minds of the miles for our lot!

We’ll leave the last word on the day with Chris Morris and his top tip for Ultras: “My learning point from yesterday’s activities (other than try to remain injury free next time so I can do more training) is that if you make lemon curd sandwiches for consumption around the course- make sure they are tightly wrapped. & if they aren’t tightly wrapped (& you didn’t eat them cos you couldn’t be ar5ed to stop (again) to complete unpack your running vest to find them) then definitely don’t wait until the next day to find that cheap Tesco Lemon curd has leaked all over your running stuff!”

Wise words, Chris. Wise words.

Saturday night took us over to Kielder, where Nick Armstrong was going looking for one better than his 10 miler, last year – over to Nick:

“At this moment in time, yesterday was my first and probably last marathon.

A year ago I took part in the Dark Skies Kielder 10 (actually 11 – there’s a running theme here), which I really enjoyed. Training for that race went well. I gauged my pace as well as I could on the day and came away with a performance I was proud of. I received an email about this year’s races and a little voice inside my head suggested I try the marathon. Where this crazy idea came from considering I always thought 26 and a bit miles was too far for me, I don’t know.

The aim was to train over the winter and see if I thought I was fit enough closer to the entry deadline. What with a couple of niggling injuries, the busyness of Christmas and a virus, I wasn’t anywhere near the distance I wanted to be at on my long runs and by January I felt a bit like glass – adding miles to my schedule made me paranoid that I was going to injure myself again and I didn’t feel strong at all. I kept at it though and within about 7 weeks, a couple of races and a lot of running (for me) I pulled the trigger and entered.

The race start/finish area was based at Kielder Lakeside Tipis, somewhere which I know well from taking the kids to visit Santa over the last couple of years. Registration was well organised and there was a good selection of cakes, snacks as well as hot and cold drinks to purchase. I had about an hour after registration before the race would start and found myself standing there looking around at all the runners looking like gazelles and suffering from my usual imposter syndrome. Before I knew it, the pre race briefing was taking place and we lined up at the start line. And then we were off – 126 of us running through the twilight.

It was nice to be able to start in the light and see some of Kielder Water’s beautiful scenery. Apart from a looped section near the start (up a hill of course), the route wound it’s way anticlockwise around from the southern edge of the reservoir along the well surfaced path, slightly undulating. I found my natural position in the field with plenty of space to run my own race, making some overtakes stick. At mile 11, we reached the dam at the end of the reservoir and my legs started to tire. I’d been warned the north side of the route undulated even more and as the miles ticked by, the hills began to feel harder and harder.

I’d been listening to music all of the way around so far to keep me occupied but my battery on my watch wasn’t looking the best and I didn’t want it to run out before the end so stopped listening. The run was getting harder and harder. The furthest I’ve ever ran was 20 miles (the week before) and as I passed that milestone started to reason with myself that there was only 10k left. There was more than that though. The last miles were really hard. I’d been successfully chugging gels at regular intervals and they’d been doing their job to keep my legs moving but I got to the point where I couldn’t face any more and just decided to face the last few miles without anything. I started playing little mental games with myself – naming a band or singer where the first letter starts with the last letter of the previous one or when I got to about 4 miles left, imagining and visualising the route I was taking along the Derwent Walk on Thursday nights as part of my training to try and tie it into the distance I had remaining.

So close to the end but two things happened in the closing stages which really threw me off. The race director mentioned in the briefing that the race was a little longer due to a fallen tree that hadn’t been removed from the route (thanks Forestry Commission). This meant that the race was actually a mile and a quarter over the marathon distance – on dead legs the end never seemed to come. The other thing was even more cruel.

Around mile 27 I turned a corner and could see the tipi finish line in the distance, what I couldn’t see however due to the darkness was that I was looking across multiple peninsulas and the reservoir water itself. The path kept turning back in to follow the waterline and kept zig-zagging in and out At this point I just ignored the lights in the distance and concentrated on my small cone of light just in front of me and the threat of a headtorch I could see a little way behind, chasing me down, kept my legs moving when I just wanted to stop. The tipi mirage suddenly materialised into reality and I found myself running past static caravans on either side. One final marshal to point me into the complex and I entered the tipi finish line to applause, was handed my medal and after a brief chat with one of the organisers pose for what is probably a ridiculous photo – I was so tired I didn’t know how to hold myself any more.

It was done. I could stop running. The end. I’m pleased I did it, I’m proud of the training that goes into preparing for this distance and my performance (I came 30th, 8th in my category) but it’s hard work!”

Finally, Sunday morning took us to Durham and Kelly Rodmell made her debut in the prized DVRC vest – taking on a full marathon distance at the Save the Rhino timed event.

“Well first run in DVRC vest today must be lucky. Felt so good after spending last few days with sickness bug so wasn’t sure what I would manage. Longest run to date 20 mile today just short of 27. I wish I could have gone further but last 8 miles my IT band was playing up and so so sore but managed to strap it and keep going. Next up 50km!”

The first of many weekend roundups – never let it be said that DVRC doesn’t have range! It’s not all about the times and positions – but the experiences we gain along the way…