Curlews, Oystercathers and Bunnies: The Tyne Trail Ultra

 I count it as a real privilege that during my early childhood, my parents took my brothers and I on long day trips out into Co Durham and Northumberland. Alston and the South-Tyne Valley was one of their favourite spots. So when the opportunity to run the length of the South Tyne emerged, it really was a no-brainer. A couple of years ago, I did the North Tyne Trail Ultra and event was its southern counterpart.

The idea of the race was to run the length of the South Tyne from its source to where it meets The North Tyne at Warnden. Unfortunately, the road doesn't run all the way to the source of the river, so the race starts with a stiff climb, but from there it is all downhill - well, mostly downhill.

I arrived at the finish in Warden, where a bunch of us boarded a coach which took us over the hills to Garagill. It was my first time on any sort of public transport for well over a year; quite the adventure.

Registration for the race took place on the village green at Garrigill, which made me rather sorry for any villages who had decided to have a lie in that day. Anyway, by eight thirty, we'd all set off, the village was returned to its peaceful normality and I slowly drifted to the back of the pack. My calves were really tight at the start and I struggled up the hill, but after about three miles, things eased off and I was able to move much more easily. We turned round at the stone which marks the source of the Tyne and I started to gallop down the lane at a fair old lick, only to have to turn off onto a poorly marked path through some muddy fields and over more stiles than any reasonable person would want to climb in a day. Many of the stiles were refreshing in their lack of attention to modern fads such as health and safety. About eight miles in and after my first detour, I arrived in back in Garrigill and headed off on a good path to Alston. The whole early section of the run was enlivened by the burbling of innumerable curlews and the piping calls of Oystercatchers which always sound like they are having an argument.

The Path from Garrigill to Alson

Along the way into Alston I felt my left heel growing very sore, so sore that I couldn't run at all. I was concerned that I was going to DNF (did not finish), so I stopped and took off my shoe and sock to inspect the damage. It turned out that my sock had slidden down my heel and was doubled up under my foot. When I sorted it out, the pain was gone, so apart from having to hitch up my left sock every now and then I was able to carry on fine.

It was around this point that I was caught up by Elly, with whom I would spend a good deal of the day. It's good to spend time with someone on these long days. We fast hiked the last few miles into Alston where I topped up my water and Tailwind at the check point. Then we set off for a long and rather dull section along the South Tyne Railway. I know some people like to run on flat tracks, but I find it both boring and exhausting, give me rolling countryside any day. After a few miles of fast walking, I decided to start running again and broke into a slow jog, leaving Elly behind. However, I soon started to develop a blister on one of my little toes. I had some tape that I could use to bind up the blister, but I hadn't cut any into little toe shaped pieces and had no scissors. Thankfully, I came across a couple of mountain rescue team volunteers who were helping out on the course; they had some scissors in their van which was a little distance away. Eventually, I patched up my foot, and just as I levered myself to a vertical position, Eli appeared along the track. We probably spent the next 15 miles together, walking hard with the odd burst of running.

The halfway point occurred near the wonderful Lambley viaduct. When I was a lad, trains used to run over it, but sadly those days are long gone.

The second checkpoint was at Haltwhistle, where the South Tyne valley widens out. We arrived just as the guy ahead of us was leaving; we caught up with him a few miles later and discovered that he was called Sam. Coming out of Haltwhistle, I saw one of the most bizarre sights I've seen in a while. Having spent the day delighted by the sounds of curlews and oystercatchers, I was intrigued by a bird song that I couldn't recognise. I looked up and realised that it wasn't a bird, it was a very frightened bunny being carried off by a heron. Not much fun for the bunny, but herons and their chicks have to eat.

From Haltwhistle,  the route was more or less all along roads, but the countryside was lovely, so I wasn't complaining. I mentioned in my last blog about an ultra, that I really enjoy the last stages of a race and somewhere about 32 miles in, I started to feel really good. By now there were three of us together, but at the bottom of a long steep hill (I'm sure rivers don't flow up hills!), I took out my poles,  speeded up and left the other two behind. I was walking really strongly. At the top of the hill, I started to run and basically ran to the end of the race (sort of). Dropping towards final check point at Haydon Bridge, I heard some good natured heckling and saw my friends (a father and son duo) Ben and Dave waiting for me a hundred yards or so later, we met their much better halves Rachel and Sophie who stayed with me for the ten minutes or so it took to fill up my bottles, grab a bag of crisps and cross the bridge over the Tyne. It was a huge encouragement to see them. I waved goodbye, called out that I'd see them quite soon at the finish - there was only six miles to go - and headed off down the riverside path.

It was here that things went very wrong. A short distance down the path, I should have taken a tunnel under the railway and joined the road, but I carried on down a riverside path which became more and more overgrown. I was running where I could, but bits of this path would have been difficult to walk on with fresh legs, never mind legs with 30 odd miles in them. Eventually, I looked at the GPS trace on my phone and realised that though I wasn't far from where I should be, there were numerous fences and a mainline railway between me and the route. I turned back on the horrible path, only to meet a couple of volunteers who had seen my GPS trace go off track and had come to look for me. All in all, I lost forty minutes or more flailing about in the woods - but the river looked nice.

This stretch of the Tyne is beautiful - but I could have done without seeing it!

Back on the road, I realised that Eli and Sam had overtaken me and were a good way ahead. I inhaled a Mars bar (for energy) and a mini-pork pie (for morale) and set off at a slow jog down the road. Somewhere in the last couple of miles, I passed Sam who had also gone off track and I arrived into Warden sometime just after ten. I had hoped to finish in12 hours, but it took thirteen and a half. However, given that I lost over an hour due to diversions and foot problems, I wasn't unhappy with what I achieved.

Old Man (in shorts, not tights) After 45 Miles

 I generally have two aims on days like this; the first is to finish the race and the second is to have a good time in the process. Those two were met without too much trouble. The weather was good, the countryside was spectacular, the company pleasant and though I might be slow, I can keep going. However, this time round things were a little more complex. In just over a month, I'll be lining up on the start line for the Spine Summer Challenger, a much longer race over significantly tougher country. I wanted to finish the Tyne Trail, but I didn't want to damage myself so much in the process that it would compromise the big event. I think I achieved that. Two days later, I feel a little stiff and I've a couple of blisters, but I'll be ready to run again tomorrow. 

Some reflections:

The Tyne Trail Races are really good fun; they take place in beautiful country and the organisers (Cold Brew Events) are really friendly. They are ideal first ultras for anyone looking to get into running silly distances. 

OK, I was slow and very much at the back of the pack, but I kept going and finished really strongly. This gives me a degree of confidence for the Spine Challenger, where endurance rather than speed will be the key. However, I think I also need to learn to trust my training more than I did on Saturday. The fact that I finished as well as I did shows that I could have pushed much harder through the whole race - the issues are psychological, not physical. Then again, if I gone for a much faster time, I may not have recovered as well for the Spine. In general, I think I got the balance right. 

It is a little dispiriting to see people vanishing down the track and out of my sight in the first few miles; then again, I keep reminding myself, that I'm a few years (decades) older than the faster ones. I'll just keep choosing races with generous cut off times and grinding out the distance.

Equipment: I had thought about carrying all of the gear that I need for the Spine Challenger, but decided against that and just ran with my normal race pack with the minimum gear suggested. As usual I carried a bum bag for my phone and snacks. This was the first really long distance in my Hoka1 Challenger shoes; they were ok, but not as well cushioned as I'd hoped they'd be. They were also next to useless in the boggy bits in the fields early on. To be honest, if it hadn't been for the couple of miles of bogs and the extra trip down by the riverside at the end, I could have run the whole thing in road shoes, which would have been more comfortable.

Food: Chia Charge flapjacks and Tailwind are great for energy, while Baby Bel cheeses and mini-pork pies provide a bit of salt and a great morale boost. My coach Dave also suggested carrying a handful of crystallised ginger and dipping into that at times. It's an absolute game changer, the combination of sugar and fiery taste really picks you up and it helps to calm your stomach when it starts to protest at being hauled over half of northern England. 

Coaching: I'm sure that the focused work that Dave has had me doing over the last six months allowed me to finish stronger than I would have done otherwise. I also picked up on his suggestion to take a mental break and consider how my body was doing every hour or so to be very helpful. Without it, I might have tried to run through my foot problems, which would have meant a DNF. 

Next Steps; just to put the Spine Challenger into perspective. The distance from the start to the first checkpoint in 48 miles over tough country - longer and harder than the Tyne Trail and after that, there is still another 60 miles to go. As the TV chefs say, this is taking things to the next level. I'm not sure that I'm ready, but there is only one way to find out. 

Relive 'Tyne Trail South'