Inspire. And be inspired.

Kids; over time the meaning and even the gravity of some words changes. To previous generations, the word awesome depicted something at the limits of human understanding. Something so incomprehensible, normally, that it not only filled the observer with awe but shook them to the core of their belief. eg. As he cast his eyes upon the ship named named Titanic his eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open. Although first stuck silent he said "it is awesome". Captain Smith 1912 *

Nowadays (2012 I'm writing this) it's a common word used to describe anything that is good eg.

As he cast his eyes upon the meatball and grilled cheese sub his smile grew and he nodded his head. "It is awesome."  Me - (2007-current day.)

*(not an actual quote)

My point is that we often exaggerate words or give them little credibility for their true meaning. A more recent example of how this has changed for me personally is the word Ultramarathon. Shortly after completing my first Ultra about 6 weeks ago I started getting itchy feet. It was not some kind of fungal infection, but the need to run again. 

My first ultra had been particularly trying. 26 degree heat, my first go at navigating/orienteering since I was a boy and also the pressure of competing in my first race of this type. And although I was left with a sense of numbness about my achievement which took time to develop into pride, once it did I knew I would be going back to the dark place that comes after running 26.2 miles. The word ultramarathon had gone from being an unachievable pinnacle to something I was capable of doing. No less difficult, but I now understood its meaning.

Since I had first heard of Ultramarathons, one event in particular caught my attention. The Grimsthorpe ultramarathon run by FatFeet was up until last year a 26 hour event with the option to run 70 or 100 miles. These distances seemed way too far for me so when they released details of a 40 mile run for 2012 on the same course I knew I was doing it.

All prepared and ready to run.

When the race pack arrived and I saw my number was 33, coincidentally may age, I felt like fortune may be favouring me this time. A good omen or just coincidence, I felt like I needed something on my side. The race had been renamed the GrimReaper Ultramarathon and was starting on Friday the 13th of July. Some good luck had come my way in that my Dad had very kindly volunteered to crew for me. The race was 4 laps of a ten mile circuit on a 50:50 split of road and trail.

When I arrived at Grimsthorpe castle it was wet, had been raining for some time and showed no signs of stopping. The usual crowd of ultrarunners were there. Everyone form racing snakes to soldiers; from young to old and even some of the more bizarre looking were shuffling around, getting settled and  looking forward to race time. It was looking at these groups that I started to question my right to be there. Never one for huge levels of self confidence I asked why I had the right to be running in an Ultramarathon. The gravity of the word suddenly feeling very present. Not just a run. Not even a marathon. But an ULTRA marathon. ULTRA, a prefix which is commonly added to anything to make it stand out  but means so much more. It suggests elite, the best, the hardest. To complete anything ULTRA can't just be great; it must be awesome (original meaning).

I will interject at this point as when it comes to race reports I follow in the words of the great Franklin D. Roosevelt. Be sincere, be brief, be seated. And seeing as I'm sat down and I'm always sincere, here comes the brief part.

Lap 1) Brooks Ravenna 3 shoes. Felt great set off with a great guy called Tom (more later) and ran together for a few miles. Being impatient I upped my pace to 9:30 min/miles and went off alone for the remainder of the lap. At the end of the lap, refuelled on gels and water and set off again. Kept to my target pace of sub 10 min/miles.

Lap 2) Brooks Ravenna 3 shoes. The rain had now settled in and was staying put the trails had become sodden and in places flooded so feet were wet and starting to blister. Mood was still up but by mile 19, I knew I had a bad blister developing on my right foot near the little toe. At the lap marker, changed shoes, cleaned feet, new socks and refuelled. Again. Kept to my target pace of sub 10 min/miles.

Lap 3) Inov-8 Roclite shoes. Clearly a better choice but having changed to a wider shoe, my already blistered feet now had room to move and rub more! My skin was now saturated and while I saw may pace drop into the sub 11 area I was still struggling. At mile 29 something gave way in my right foot. Like a tearing pain, but not muscular and I had to stop for a minute to regain my composure. I used the mantra "pain is temporary, failure is forever" and kept on going.


Lap 4) Inov-8 Roclite shoes. Strangely all pain had gone. I felt light on my feet, I started overtaking people and feeling good. I started recording sub 10 min/miles again and even overtook three people in the last 2 miles, including one on the final straight(sorry). I know it's about personal challenges etc. but I felt strong and competitive and everyone likes a race right?

So I finished and I finished strong. I ran 40 wet, muddy miles in 6:54 and with an average pace of 10:18 min/miles. I ran 5 miles further than my last ultra in only 5 minutes more! The pain in my foot turned out to be a blister which encompassed the whole toe shearing off and degloving the toe of any skin. It hurt, it still hurts and I will be at the doctors tomorrow to get it treated.





But as usual, the running of a race and the time you get is only half a story, probably less than half.




Along the way I ran with some great characters, each with their own story to tell and reason to run. Some novice, some experienced, all totally individual.


I ran with:




A 20 year old lad who'd never run further than a half marathon before. He overtook me on a hill and seemed to be flying but was shattered at the top of the hill. I caught him and he was on lap 2 of 7 and looked like he was struggling. We spoke about walking up the hills to save energy, I hope he listened.




Two 49 year olds, one who was training to run 50 miles before he turned 50 and another who was on his second 100-mile race. 17 years older than me and matching my pace we ran together for a while. The 100 mile guy finished his first 40 just minutes after me, I hope he did well.




A twitter friend who I've wanted to meet for ages and was as kind and supportive in real life as he is online. A guy who has run ultra races before, but had a bad day and DNF'd. Doesn't even matter to me. He turned up, rocked it and made me push myself harder. 




I saw a girl on the start line who looked totally ill-equipped for an ultra and she chicked me from the start line. Never saw her 'til I finished and she was already walking back to the car!




Others of all shapes and sizes getting round in their own time at their own pace, some walking some running, all completing an ultramarathon.




And I realised that what makes these events ULTRA is the willingness of those to participate or compete, and therefore I could do something ultra because I was willing to try.


Since finishing I got some great feedback and another one of those words used a lot but which I felt had lost meaning was mentioned several times.


INSPIRATIONAL.

Tired, soaked and very happy!

It's used a lot now, so much that I thought the word has been reduced in its depth.


I never seek to inspire others, only to try my hardest so that you kids can see that you can achieve anything if you try. But I guess it isn't our intention to inspire that counts, but the effect you have on others.


Each of the people I ran with inspired me. Some with kind words and useful tips. Others with their pace and form; giving me something to strive for. They probably never meant to but they did. I hope I inspired them and I hope I have inspired you. Sometimes, by no more than our own presence and participation we can inspire others.


So although some words have lost their true meaning, it is in the mind of the person using them how they are meant. For me this was an ULTRA marathon, it was AWESOME and I was INSPIRED.




NB. The GrimReaper Ultramarathon is a lapped course in the grounds of the beautiful Grimpsthorpe Castle. It is a mix of road and trails in a private estate and managed by a great team. On each lap you need to stamp a card twice and have those stamps verified at the start/finish/lap marker tent. It is one of the best organised events I have attended and I would and will recommend it to anyone. I will be going back next year with a better foot and looking to claim the scalp of a 70 or 100 mile ultra. A brilliant support crew and marshalls made for an astounding day.