The Hardmoors 55 is an Ultra Marathon held on the North York Morors during March. It starts in the picturesque market town of Helmsley and finishes after traversing 55 miles along the high exposed moorland routes of the Cleveland Way in Guisbrough. As I live only a few miles from the finish, what better event to enter for a first proper Ultra Marathon than the Hardmoors 55 ? after all I am familiar with the latter part of the route and its on my doorstep.
The day dawned with excellent and ideal running conditions, glorious sunshine and very light winds, not the sort of weather we had been used to for a while.
The pick up point outside Guisbrough Cricket Club at 6 45 am saw ultra runners gather for the organised coach to take us to the start at Helmsley.
This was my first real attempt at an ultra marathon so I was entering the unknown and what an eye opener it turned out to be !
My normal running distances both on and off road are around the 26 - 28 miles distance mainly within the North York Moors, except for two road marathons at Edinburgh which were run in temperatures of 70 and 77 degrees respectively, unfortunately for me I do not do heat very well but managed to complete both marathons sucsessfully despite the temperatures on both occasions.
Having run off road now for around 2 -3 years in events like The Hanging Stone Leap, Osmotherly Phoenix and the Pathfinder, admitidly not all actual Ultra Distances but good events, I felt a bigger challenge was needed to push myself that little bit further and earn my legs the accolade of becoming an official Ultra Runner, after all im fast approaching 50.
So the Harmoors 55 was entered and preparation started, at this point I did not realise how different the rise in distance would or could affect me.
It soon became apparent on race day that my choice of kit and pack was a big mistake.
I turned up with a monster pack carrying enough supplies for a 5 day adventure race with the exception of the tent and sleeping bag and enough water to see me through a stage of the Marathon des Sables (Thanks Wendy for the valuble advice and conversation we had on the coach travelling down to the start).
Having done some mountain biking in the past I had used a Camelback pack for the rides, how I wish now I had taken this on the Hardmoors instead of the 25 ltr Karimor pack I opted for without the 3 ltr bladder of water.
I knew today was not going to easy and I was destined to struggle to complete the course or even make halfway. (Not that I ever expected an event like the Hardmoors 55 to be easy, after all there is a clue in the name Hardmoors).
We arrived in good time at the start venue in Helmsley to register and have our compulsory kit check, pick up our numbers and settle down before the race briefing. The sun was beating down and the temperature rising, everyone contemplating what the day would bring. Soon it was time to assemble for the start, a welcome and countdown by Malcolm Hodgeson, Cleveland Way Officer set us on our way.
First stage was downhill into the market place and onto the official Cleveland Way route towards the White Horse control at 9 miles. This section was fairly fast paced with kissing gates and stiles in the first few miles helping to regroup competitors before everyone settled into thier own pace for the duration of the event. Onto the village of Cold Kirby to the top of Sutton Bank, across the main road and along the hardcore path accomponied by gliders taking off alongside us as we headed towards the steep downward steps to the control in the white horse car park.
Considering I felt the impact of my heavy weight at around 6 miles I reached the first checkpoint around 1 hr 50 mins of which I was happy with. Now came the test for me, the next section was the longest being 13 miles to the1st bag drop and 2nd control at Osmotherly. It was out of the car park, through a wooded plantation to loop back uphill onto the hardcore track before reaching the top of Sutton Bank again. Just before the junction with the hardcore track was a steep track up some steps and a welcome hadrail alongside to help me. At this point I was starting to slow even further and struggled but finally reached the top with the help of the handrail.
In reality my body was rebelling at a far earlier stage into the event than I had expected at the start. Power walking became the order of the day now as it felt easier than trying to run. Even the slight undulations and flats were difficult to run along. Trying to keep runners in sight for morale it was not long before I was on my own.The views were magnificent we even had a light tail wind which did not help me.
All efforts of trying to eat cereal bars and drink were difficult as I found it hard to swallow, even energy gels were difficult to digest so my race had now turned into a walk I just had to keep moving and get to Osmotherly before the cut off time.
Thanks to the runner who joined me for the section through Paridise Farm, (Sorry I did not get your name) it was good for morale and the company was most welcome.
On reaching square corner, 2 miles from the control in Osmotherly, I remembered the route to the village hall from the Phoenix, it involves a downhill section to Oakdaledown some stonepitched steps. It was at this point my wheels, sorry legs fell off. My right hamstring decided to cramp up and both calfs felt compressed and to top it all my left leg went into spasm and was shaking uncontrolably while trying to plant my leg down onto the stone steps. (Normal for Ultra Running im told ).
Not a good prospect knowing what was to come after the control at Osmotherly to Kildale. On reaching the reservoirs of Oakdale it was onto the section involving the steep steps up to the backs of the houses and onto the tunnel into the market place.
Again the magic wooden handrail was fully used as I climbed each step one by one gasping for air as I ascended to the top of the steps. What a welcome sight to see the marshalls at the end of the tunnel (Yes there flourescent jackets were the light at the end of the tunnel).
By the time I arrived at the checkpoint I knew my racewas up as I physically couldnot carry on besides arriving bang on the cut off time of 5 hrs. To carry on would have been inconsiderate and foolish so I made my decicion to retire and return to conquor next year better prepared and without excessive weight.
My Hardmoors 55 turned out to be 22 miles in 5 hrs.
This Blog was my account of the event and my personal experience, for novices looking to undertake an event of this calibre please do not make the same mistake I made, although it has made me wiser and stronger, choosing the right kit and hydration method is a personal choice and subject to individual finances but advice from experienced Ultra Runners is Priceless.
Many thanks to Jon Steele and all the organisers and marshalls for a great event, a very big thank you to all the Ultra Runners who encouraged me and gave me invaluble advice for future events (Sorry I havnt named you but you will all know who you are).
