Race to Home,not Race to The Stones

Saturday 12th July.

Oxford weather forecast 34 degrees.

Planned event Race to the Stones.

Distance 50km.

As you know, after the Manchester Marathon my next planned event was the 50km Race to The Stones. I had entered the event in 2024 but because I hadn’t completely got over an old injury by then I decided to pay £25 to defer my place to 2025.

Manchester Marathon in 2025 went well, and I was really pleased with how my body held out and recovered. This gave me great confidence to start training for my next goal of achieving a 50km ultra for the first time.

I wrote and followed my own training plan incorporating 2-3 strength sessions per week, 3 runs and 1 swim and the odd cycle. I really enjoyed this build and was getting excited for the event.

Two weeks before the event I went on holiday to Corfu where I still trained but with much lower mileage and intensity which gave my body the chance to absorb all the hard work that I had been putting in.  It was also a great opportunity to rest and fuel on all of the delicious food on offer.

As the event day loomed as I’m sure all runners were, I was closely watching the weather forecast. The UK was amid a massive heatwave with temperatures peaking on Saturday 12th July....event day! This was really concerning to me as whilst I don’t mind warm, this was going to be next level! Seeking advice from friends and family they all advised me not to do it thinking that to run that far in this heat would be insane however they know how determined and stubborn I can be, so they never told me not to do it but instead just let me know their true thoughts. I also realised that I hadn’t received any emails from the race organisers about my start time. How strange. I contacted Threshold trail series and long story short I wasn't registered! When I originally signed up it was with Active.com as the organisers and then over the following year they swapped to the Letsdothis.com platform with my deferred entry getting lost along the way. Luckily, I had the receipt of my deferred place, so I knew I’d done it. Threshold were great however and said I could still have a place but come down to the registration tent on the morning of the event and fill in all the info and pick up a 'blank' pack. The only problem with this is that I wouldn’t be able to start until a lot later than I’d hoped and this concerned me as the later I started, the later I would finish and the longer I would be in the main heat of the day. This is what eventually swayed my decision to not go.

The whole week I battled with making a decision as Id trained for the event and had been looking forward to it for over a year but was also nervous about the heat. My hotel was booked and I had until midnight on the Wednesday to cancel free of charge, so a decision had to be made by then.

Was there a reason my place was lost, was the universe trying to tell me not to do it?? Maybe, who knows, but on Wednesday whilst sitting at my desk at work I made the decision not to do the event.

With a sense of relief and disappointment I told my husband. He was delighted that I’d come to the decision own my own as he said he was really worried about the thought of me putting my body through all that stress.

I wasn’t however going to let my training go to waste so I decided that no matter what I was going to run that distance that day anyway!

I carb loaded, I hydrated, I tapered, and I planned all my food on the days leading up to 'my 50km'. I treated it like I would have done if I was going to the event itself as 50km is to be respected no matter how or where you do it.

I set my alarm for 3.30am with intention to beat the heat as much as possible. At 3.15am I naturally woke up. I came downstairs, had my porridge and a cup of tea, got changed, packed all the snacks and was headed out the door by 4.20 am. The sun was just coming up and it was gorgeous.

I’d planned a route which covered roads, country lanes and canals, programming it into my watch so I couldn’t get lost. As always, the first 5 miles I wasn’t really feeling it, this is standard for me so I know to keep going until my body switches on. From then the miles ticked by nicely. Keeping my pace slow and heart rate low I kept having to pull myself back as I knew if I upped the pace I may blow up before I complete the distance. This was challenging for me as I was feeling good.

My bag was packed with a variety of fuel options. Gels, malt loaf, skittles, cheese and marmite sandwiches, jam sandwiches, pretzels, water and electrolytes. I was well prepped.

Before I knew it, I was at the halfway point and I was feeling great. It was starting to get warm, but I was ok and luckily my route did have quite a lot of shade which I was grateful for.

I carried on, still enjoying myself and still feeling good.  I looked down at my watch and saw that I had completed the marathon distance! I was delighted as I knew from this point on this would be the furthest I had ever run, and I knew that now I was officially an Ultramarathoner! Approximately 6 ish miles to go then my 50km would be complete!

As I turned down my lane for the final few metres my husbands car turned in behind me, following me down to my finish line.  This was such a good feeling as he was going to be at the finish line of the actual event and now he was at the finish line of my event.

Finally my watch beeped! Distance completed!  I was so pleased and proud of myself! 50Km done and I was in 1 piece!!

The remainder of the day was really chilled.  I had a shower then a bath then pottered around the house, watched some tennis then enjoyed a curry and a couple of drinks in the garden on the evening. Bliss.

The next day I woke with an anticipation of how my legs were going to feel.  ……..

Fresh! What the heck! My legs felt good! No blisters, no struggle on the stairs, no nothing!  In fact I felt like I could have run again !! I was so relieved.

Despite feeling this good I know that I had still put my body through a lot and I needed to respect the recovery as you don’t know what has gone on inside.  Therefore the week following has been about gentle movement, refuelling and recovery.

In summary I am so glad I made the decision to do my own run early and from here.  The race report from Race to the Stones was quite an upsetting reading.  Many didn’t finish, some were taken to hospital with heat related issues and a lot had to amend the goals they had set for themselves. I’m glad I didn’t put myself at that risk and didn’t put my family through that stress of wondering if I was going to be ok. I was pleased with my carb load and the food choices I had on the run. I was pleased with how my training plan worked too.   I really feel I had the right balance between strength training and run volume as I was able to stay injury free on the build up, feel strong during the run and recover really well afterwards. 

This experience has been great, and I see it as a fabulous dress rehearsal for doing an official Ultra this year, so watch this space!