This year has been a year of individual milestones for me, the first of which being a return to the mighty Maryhill Harriers in the autumn after a temporary hiatus running with Glasgow FrontRunners, a club I hold in very high esteem and am still a member of alongside the Harriers. Another milestone for myself this year was completing my first ultramarathon in the summer, cheered on and supported by the aforementioned FrontRunners throughout. Ultras were something I had always been inspired to do by my fellow Harriers and other running friends, but something I figured I would get involved in much further down the line rather than in my early twenties. Yet, here I am writing this, having completed two ultras in the last four months!
One of the people that inspired me to delve into the crazy world of ultra running was a good friend of mine from the early days of Ruchill parkrun, Agnieszka Magierecka. Unfortunately, after a short battle with cancer, Agnieszka passed away in the spring of this year. It was a real shock to me, and I immediately felt the need to do something in her honour. The first thing that came to mind was to step up to the plate and take on the challenge of my first ever ultramarathon, the 24 hour endurance event aptly named Endure24. This race was chosen because a large group of FrontRunners were headed down to the race in Leeds to take part in the relay element of the race, so I would be supported and encouraged from all sides by my clubmates. Fast forward to race day, for one reason or another it didn’t quite go to plan, perhaps two months of rather haphazard training wasn’t enough to take on the monumental challenge I got myself involved in, who’s to say?! Despite the best efforts of the FrontRunners, the Harriers, other running friends and wider friends and family, I struggled to find pride in what I’d done for a number of reasons and it was for that reason that I started to consider a second ultra, my redemption ultra as it were!
Enter Noanie and Angela, organisers of the Jedburgh Three Peaks Ultramarathon. After having met them at a workshop merely a week after Endure24, we got chatting about ultramarathons and more specifically the race that they organise. It peaked (no pun intended!) my interest greatly; it sounded like a really fun, well organised event, and most importantly, it was sold to me as an LGBTQIA+ inclusive event where I would be able to run in the correct gender category. I was pretty much sold from our discussions, and I signed up a matter of weeks later to Noanie and Angela’s great delight!
Race day rolled around and myself and Masha, another one of my great ultra running inspirations, toed the start line as the sun rose over the tree line and Abbey setting the scene for a perfect race day! The Jedburgh Three Peaks is a tough race, 38 miles long and as if that wasn’t tough enough as the name would suggest there is plenty of climbing! The route took us from the start line in Jedburgh, through some gorgeous woodland trails, not too dissimilar to the illustrations found in The Gruffalo books, surrounded by autumn leaves and mud, along the banks of the River Teviot before hitting the first checkpoint at Maxton. The route then follows the River Tweed as far as Rhymer’s Stone, and that’s when the climbing begins! Up and over the Eildon Hills before heading into Bowden (where you *must* go down the slide in the play park), back towards Maxton and then re-tracing your steps to the finish line in Jedburgh.
On the stroke of 8am, we set off on our way! Masha and I ran within sight of each other for approximately 300m before she shot off, the experienced ultra runner taking the course at a canter despite our conversations before the start alluding to a lack of training and preparation. Masha proved that she is built for this sort of event, the trails and mud offering no such challenge to her as she disappeared into the trees. I went off at a more conservative pace, a mere beginner in this realm I wanted to make sure my legs still worked once we had 20 miles in the tank!
Despite one wrong turn from Masha along the way, we both made it to Checkpoint 2 at the bottom of the Eildons intact and ready to tackle the climbs to come. I don’t think either of us expected them to be quite as steep as they were though; as I hit the bottom of the first of the ‘Three Peaks’, I looked up and all I could see ahead of me was a single file train of people trudging up an incredibly steep climb. My initial thought was “We can’t be running up there !”, but of course I was mistaken! It was impossible to run, kudos to anyone that tried, and also to the numerous people who passed me on the way up. Rest assured I made some ground back up on them on the way down again, my gung-ho, no fear attitude to descending straight out the Chris Hever textbook of running techniques!
As we came through Checkpoint 3, we went through the climbing frame and down the slide at the ‘Playpark of Doom’, took on some well earned water and sugar before ploughing on back towards Maxton and Checkpoint 4. As we both hit the final checkpoint of the race, 20 minutes or so apart, we had realised that we had got ourselves into podium positions for our respective genders, 2nd Female and 1st Non-Binary. We also both realised that we were being tailed very closely by the next people behind us in those categories and as our competitors came into view at the checkpoint, we grabbed our packs and headed off on the final 10 miles hoping to keep our leads over our rivals into the finish line.
As we headed back along the familiar paths towards the finish line in Jedburgh, we could feel the end was in sight! The over 6 and a half hours of running was worth it as we weren’t far from home, it was within touching distance! One last deceptive climb into the town before we turned the last corner back onto the final stretch of pavement, a final stretch of pavement that seemed much longer than we remembered it being on the way out. Masha motored up the final grassy hill and over the finish line, holding onto her 2nd Female title by a mere 10 minutes and finishing in a very respectable 7 hours 7 minutes! Masha’s obvious strength and talent in races like this proving that a lack of training isn’t as important as it maybe would be to others! 20 minutes further down the road, I started the final climb and then found the last bit of strength I had to carry me along the pavement towards the finish line. It was at this point, with the red archway decorated with flags of all colours and countries in full view, I pulled a very special thing out of my ultra pack. Much to the later disgust of my fellow Harriers (I jest!), it was a Garscube Harriers vest. But this signified much more, it represented the woman who inspired me to toe that start line in the first place. It was Agnieszka’s vest. I held it aloft for all to see as I crossed the finish line, breaking the tape over the line in the process, something I never thought I’d get to do in my life. I buckled over the finish line, tears streaming down my face. I’d done it, just under 7 and a half hours of blood, sweat and tears (literally for all three!) was worth it, holding onto my category win by 15 minutes.
After finishing up, we got warmed up with coffee and soup back at the rugby club where we’d left our bags and waited for friends, new and old, to chat about our experiences on the course. That’s the amazing thing about ultra running compared to road running; the camaraderie is like nothing else! You get chatting to folk throughout the run, be it runners or volunteers, all encouraging each other to the end of our collective journey. The only environment I can compare it to in regards to friendliness is a parkrun, an environment where we all encourage everyone to get around the course and most importantly enjoy it. Ultra running is the same; it’s not about time or pace, it’s about enjoying it and getting round in one piece. Plus you get to do it surrounded by incredible scenery, you can stop and walk as many times as you like (without judgement or concern), and you get to snack continuously! What’s not to like?!
I’ve decided that after successfully completing an ultra in Agnieszka’s memory, and raising a rather significant sum of money for Macmillan in the process, that I will be taking a hiatus from ultras. I will do more, I have a bucket list that I intend on completing (including unfinished business back in Leeds), but that will be for the future. It’ll be back to the short stuff again for now, although I will miss the snacking and walk breaks!
Results
Masha Mott, 7:07:09, 31st, 2nd Female
Finn Boyd, 7:25:03, 39th, 1st Non-Binary
