The Nottingham Ultra - 50km

One fine day, about 2 years ago, I went out on a little jog and came across a yellow arrow painted on the floor. I looked up and saw another one, pointing in the direction I'd just come, which was a very nice trail, so I decided to follow the arrows to the source...I know, rubbish treasure hunting skills! But what I found was treasure, a new favourite trail. After an hour or so, it was time to turn back but I knew I'd find out what these arrows were and I would return. It turns out there was an ultra right through my back garden: The Nottingham Ultra!

I always envisaged doing well at this race, having the home advantage. However, October came and so did the Freshers Flu and my leg felt like it was snapping in half (probably too much running, not enough R.I.C.E!) but there was no way I wasn't starting! Father Bear and Anna came to watch too, so I knew I could be rescued if it was going terribly! :-) I'd never done an UltraRace race before and have always thought it was funny that there was a parallel, niche series of ultra runners to the RunFurther gang..I was keen to meet them! The race was very well organised, with a great set of maps and lots of spray-paint and stickers...there was literally no excuse if I got lost!

Team Italia and me on the start line...Riccardo came 6th at the Ring O Fire!

The race started and the first 100m felt terrible but I limped along, keen to get some exercise, even if it wasn't 50k. It was a fantastic October day, the mist was rising off the fields and the sun was heating up. We were soon in Sherwood Forest and it felt like a great adventure, following the yellow arrows again! We ran past some graffiti that said '£3.20p', the terrible grasp of units annoyed my inner physicist! The route then took us through loads of beautiful fields, onto a platform of more fields from which you could look down at the towns below. I really love running along ridges and getting the great views and was just thinking how Nottingham was really stunning, how it was misjudged as being all rappers and guns, when a gunshot went off! I half expected the runner near me to keel to the ground but we were all good...I decided to quicken the pace through that section though!




In pain, getting double-papped! :-)


Just after the 20k checkpoint, I came across a dancing man-sized rabbit waving at me...far too early for hallucinations! The route took us past a massive car boot sale, with lots of well-fed civilians tucking into burger van burgers and totally unaware of the excellent sporting event happening mere metres away! The track entered a wood and somehow...I got lost!! It dawned on me that I hadn't seen any of those exceptionally regular markers for a while, then some lovely dog-walkers told me all the others were over the other side of the golf course so I legged it back that way! Back on route, I payed more attention and was saddened that the adventure part of the race was nearly over, I regularly ran the sections from checkpoint 3 to the end, so I had a nice little walk, the sun shining on my face, running my fingers through the crops. It really was an excellent day to be out and the new parts of trail I was discovering were awesome! I found a new favourite set of fields, possibly cabbage, near the motorway and will definitely be going back! Rory, one of the race directors and an amazing runner, used to live nearby so he'd obviously figured out all the good bits! :-) It got lovely and muddy on the way to checkpoint 3 and I literally wanted to run around new routes forever!

Passing the Hemlockstone!

From checkpoint 3 to 4 is one of my favourite sections, it goes through loads of fields with great views then onto a really straight, flat track. I love this track because you can just switch off and enter a zen-like state of running. I find the repetitive nature of running along here really addictive, I always feel like I want to run continuously along this track, with the seasons changing around me, days and nights passing by. Sometimes I go and do a few lengths, but then you start to get recognised by walkers you've gone past several times and have to move on! :-) I'd made good progress on this section and although I wasn't competitively racing, it was still a nice little surprise when I started to pass several runners. The home spirit was definitely helping and as we neared checkpoint 4, we passed my back garden and I was tempted to pop in for a cup of tea!

The support team came to cheer at checkpoint 4 then raced me to town on the bus. The euphoric stage, normally reserved for about 50 miles into a race, hit me really hard and I had to put all my effort into not giggling out loud! I sprinted along (probably looked more like a limp), highly excited about seeing an ultra race go through Wollaton Park, my usual lunchtime run arena then past the university where I study! I bumped into Riccardo's brother, who was doing exceptionally well for his first ultra and merrily cheered him on. I spotted some other runners up ahead and hunted them down, coming across more and passing them before cranking up the speed to ensure no-one would pass me...so much for taking it steady! The final few km were along the canal, which I never thought would be such a pleasure to run along! I hoped I wouldn't bump into anyone I knew as I'm sure I looked slightly crazed, sweaty, muddy and had ripped my shorts on a branch! The route took us past endless tyre and furniture shops before eventually sweeping past Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem then steep uphill to the finish at the castle! There were spray-paint smiley faces on the final stretch and I definitely needed them to encourage me to continue running! Father Bear and Anna had just got there on time too :-)

Fab day out!

The Castle pub was conveniently on the finish line, so tea, a sit-down and cheering others commenced :-) I've always loved running in the mountains and run to be in the mountains, but I found a length of Nottinghamshire was highly enjoyable! I'll definitely be trying more of the UltraRace series....perhaps one day, a little JOGLE!

Riccardo came an amazing 7th! And saved my feets lives by lending me his flip flops :-) And that's Robin in the background!