“In theory, running round and round a 400m running track for 24 hours seems like a pretty ludicrous proposition. When I found myself on the start of the Sri Chinmoy 24hr track race in Battersea on Saturday, the actual reality of it seemed even more bonkers. Yet there I was, prepared to spend from midday Saturday to midday Sunday running in circles in pursuit of a fairly arbitrary goal (in my case, a quest to run 100 miles in under 20 hours), surrounded by 50 or so other athletes, each there to pursue their own dream, reach their own target. Not only that, but there were support crews, race staff and lap counters there to make sure each of us had the best possible chance of smashing our goals. In my case, the very wonderful Kevin Munt was there to crew for me. It was actually his fault I was there, as it was his experience from racing the same event the year before that had inspired me to enter this year (yes, madness is contagious!) I have always said that running ultras is, for me, about exploring beautiful places and having a sense of adventure and that I’d never do an event that involved running around in circles. But I’d been drawn to the mental challenge of a track race, and the chance to deliver a running performance in optimal conditions.
I’d written myself a schedule and managed to stick to it fairly consistently. It was humid to start with, but that didn’t deter many of the runners from starting off at an impressive pace. Kudos to the lap counters – surely the only thing weirder than running in circles all weekend, is being the person counting the laps of the person running in circles. (They were there for back up in case the technology failed). They managed to say something encouraging on pretty much every lap.
The night turned cooler and there were strong winds blowing gazebos and tents and the finish line around. I started to really struggle to get food down; my stomach was truly not very happy with me and I had frequent visits to the trackside portaloos. Round and round we went. Many runners had struggles from quite early on, yet shuffled and limped determinedly round. Others were having their own battles with sickness and some took an hour or two off to sleep and regroup. The lovely thing about being in such close proximity to all the other competitors was that we had lots of chances to exchange a few words and so became quite invested in each other’s races.
I had a bit of a wobble at some point in the night when I thought I’d lost time against my schedule, although it turned out that was only due to my Garmin not being accurate on the track. I had to push pretty hard to keep the last of my splits where I needed them to be to make my sub 20 goal, and I was down to walking a lap and running a lap which seemed to be the only way I felt I wasn’t going to pass out or throw up. I kept checking in with Kev – am I going to make it?! The lap counters counted me down to the 405 laps that made up the 100 miles, and I struggled not to cry for those last laps, overwhelmed by knowing that I was going to get my target. A few supporters got worried and asked if I was ok – don’t worry, I said, these are happy tears! I notched up 100 miles in 19 hrs 48 minutes.
I had thought I’d step off the track at this point and quit the race, as I had done what I’d set out to do, and would have an officially recorded time for a 100 to prove it. But somehow I was placing second female, and it seemed churlish not to carry on when I knew I could, albeit at a slower pace. The day had dawned and was lovely and sunny; Kev got me an apple danish and a coffee, and off I went for a little power walk around the track for the next four hours. It was a lovely chance to talk to other runners and enjoy the spirit of the event. The support was spectacular. At various point people turned up in fancy dress, there were trackside parties going on – I’m pretty sure there was wine involved! – and one group brought along a speaker and a sign saying that they were taking song requests from the runners. As the event drew to its final hour, the party atmosphere intensified. One lady supporter said to me, you’re so inspirational, I’m going to cry when you finish! Don’t say that, I said back, you’re going to make me cry! And then the clock ticked over to 24 hours and we were done.
There was so much more to this event than I expected and so much of what I love about running – human endeavour, running passion, pursuit of dreams, mutual support, community. For me also, it delivered a 50 mile PB (8.57), a 100 mile PB (19.48), a 24 hour PB (112.6 miles) and a trophy for second lady.”
