So where to begin?

How about with the small but perfectly formed “Shane’s army”. The happy and hopelessly cheerful volunteers made arriving at each camp a positive joy. An enthusiastic welcome for everyone, an erected tent, and kit bags ready and waiting: beats a mountain marathon any day!  Dr Mike, in particular was rather good at a very affable “Now how are you?” whilst carefully scrutinising faces for subtle signs of distress. How did the controls miraculously appear on the hills? How did our half way bags always get to the right point in time for us? What lovely maps each day…you get the picture, the background boys had a very busy week indeed whilst we all basked in the limelight of achievement, real graft was happening behind the scenes on our behalf.

And the food. Oh the joy! Hot tasty soup, conjured up fresh from real ingredients in the van. I saw potatoes being peeled for leek and potatoes soup, fresh ingredients went into the main meals. No mean achievement for the huge number of starving folk that were constantly demanding calories. The kindness of the catering staff who had to pander to all sorts of vagaries of the runners, never faulted. As an army of runners, we certainly did march on our stomachs.

It was commented at the end that so many folk wanted to know how 2012 compared with 1992. Allowing runners to enter as individuals certainly made the event more sociable. I was no longer working in a pair against everyone else; I was looking for friends to work with against the course….. and Shane’s plans! It resulted in more friendships, more running with other people, and getting to know folk I had never met before and I wish there had been more time to spend doing so. It soon became clear that it paid to work to your strengths, and whilst I may have felt like the Larson cartoon of the deer with a target on his side “Bummer of  a birthmark Hal”, it is apparent I would not have completed the event as fast nor as well as I did without the rest of “The Posse”. Patrick, Jim and Mark ran faster than I would have chosen to do had I been on my own. It is because of them I did so well over the full course of the event. Thank you.

Keeping body and soul together is one thing. Eating right, drinking right and going in the right direction keep the show on the road and the heat made this all the more critical. Drinking became a fine art with hydration and salt balance juggling act. Food that on training events had been fine, suddenly became unpalatable. One runner binned a whole box of sandwiches, whilst I made up mine daily. As a result, the inevitable depletion started to be a limit on day 4 and 5 as fatigue and sore bits started to grind at the body.

Many folk had hideous foot problems, blisters and anterior shin / foot pains being the most common symptom. Certainly footwear can help with this, but simple overuse is hard to accommodate for on multi-day events.

The Dragon’s Back Race is a bit like a pension. You never know if you have done enough or the right thing until its too late. Did I get it right? For me, yes. I surpassed my goal of finishing and was terribly excited to finish in an unexpected 4^th place.  The 13 months of preparation were just about right for me. And I think therein lies the key: know thyself! Working on my weaknesses, minimised the problems, and maximised the parts I could do well. I should have done more navigation as I did stuff up spectacularly on a few occasions. I did do the right strength work (old ladies loose muscles and the Dragon is all about staying upright and moving forwards to the best of  your ability), and the speed work was probably as much as I could do without further injuries. It has been a fine line all year getting the body in shape for this; I now plan to seriously enjoy not having to!

For those who want more day to day detail:

The possibility of a hot week in Wales seemed as remote to us all as it probably has seemed to the Welsh all summer, but we got the week that was summer! Frantic kit changes ensued for most of us athletes as the forecast remained consistent without last minute hurricanes materialising. In went sunhats and sun block, but none of us really believed it until day 3 and by then we were all burnt to a crisp.

Day 1 set us off into the welsh heat (got to use that description whilst I can). Not content with the simple monstrosity of the Dragon’s Back, Shane gave us all the Welsh 1,000m peaks to do as well. Route choice discussions centred on the feared Crib Goch and the best way to negotiate the precipitous ridge with 10 hours of running already in our legs. Local gossip helped confirm the decision to go to the col first from Llanberis but this entailed facing the dreaded ridge twice. Sat down in the comfort of an arm chair with a good cup of tea, route choice is so much simpler. Fuelled by fear, fatigue and fear of failure, the brain makes less predictable choices. Encouraged by Patrick, who was quietly steady, and motivated by Jim, more scared than I, we managed the scramble and survived to tell the tale and complete the event.

Day 2 was going to be shorter than the 11and half hours of day 1 … we all hoped. Already people were starting to show signs of having underestimating the Dragon. Setting off into the mist behind the singing (but not navigating Spaniards) meant a slightly erratic line to the summit of Cnicht. Terrible line off as couldn’t see the route of choice ended up with wasted time bog flogging but at least secure in the knowledge of heading in the right direction. The Posse takes shape and works well together tackling the hills, roads and forestry in turn.

Day 3 was the day I had dreaded all along. I knew it was going to be a long one. Cadair Idris at the start of the day and Plynlimon at the end are the two redeeming features of this day. There is a lot of runnable less pleasant stuff in between that doesn’t really play to my strengths. The Posse keep me going. Day 3 is crux day. Get through it in good shape and it bodes well for a finish. Finish tired and the Elan valleys could take you out of the event on day 4. I finished tired but body intact, and managed to eat and drink well that evening which really made up for the heat of the day.

Day 4 in the Elan valleys was cut short. All the bog, tussock and man-eating mires were taken out. This was possibly a good thing for the remaining competitors, and as an organiser I may have done the same, but it was a shame not to follow the original route to the summit of mid wale’s highest hill, Drygarn Fawr. The amount of road running made this a particularly fast day but also brutal on sore feet and legs. The tarmac put pay to a few runners and triggered some serious injuries slowing down many folk. However sore, all managed a trot across the finish line next to where the dinner tent was laid out, all cheering folk in.

Day 5 Any one still in the race was going to finish and the determination was palpable on the start line…. No more banter…this was it! Whilst the first half of day 5 was “green and pleasant” the latter half reverts to ankle twisting rock and heather. Not so the lovely green ridge that is envisioned whilst trotting over Fan Bryncheiniog, but grinding uneven stumbling to reach the final checkpoint above Carreg Cennan castle. A not-so-quiet sob at the relief at having finished, in the privacy away from the impending cameras at the finish, then down the hill to the old fort.

I feel so privileged to have been able to do this event twice and to have met so many lovely folk, many of whom I now owe so much, not least my gratitude. Resurrecting the Dragon was always going to be a monstrous undertaking. To repeat history was never the aim, and I am glad the race had individual characteristics that made it unique. After all, isn’t that why we entered? I always knew I was going to be out for 10-12 hour days. I prepared accordingly and wasn’t disappointed.

To Shane, Marshalls, Caterers, Medics, volunteers and fellow competitors I would like to say a big Thank you to you all, particularly Patrick, Mark and Jim. In some way you all kept me going, motivated and to the finish. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Last but most importantly, without my family and Jonathan, I wouldn’t have been there at all. I owe it all to you.

Berghaus Store

For outdoor clothing from Berghaus including men’s waterproof jackets, women’s rucksacks and more then please visit our online store.
You can find a wide range of gear for climbing, hill walking, mountain biking and other activities.

So lest you think a Solo run means it’s a Solo effort, I’d like to publicly thank the many folk for their roles in getting me to the start line. Anything that happens from this point on is my fault alone. I apologise to anyone I have forgotten.

Here goes in no particular order:

My long suffering family who have made it possible for me to spend so much time away from them running, training and racing, and for keeping me grounded in the aspects that matter more in life than a race…however scary that race is. Without Jonathan’s initial impetus, I wouldn’t have entered in the first place. Without his unfailing support and childcare, it simply wouldn’t have been possible to get to this stage.

My Mum who got up at 6am nearly every day for 2 weeks to babysit so I could train whilst at home in Greece. And my Sister who also did the same, even driving me around to run up hills when they both should have been in bed on holiday.

Cath for her words of wisdom and practical support. For driving me around Wales in a van for yet another very soggy weekend. For lending me her kit and expertise.  But mostly for her unfailing moral support. Thank you, I would have had no chance without you.

Sue for her companionship on fast and fabulous runs at 6.30am in the wet and dark, hard hill reps and support when I needed an ear to bend and a shoulder to cry on. Despite our joint commitments it’s always terrific fun training with you. You kept me going. Thank you.

Gary and Jane for the loan of various bits of kit and showing me how to use electronic gismos, the use of their house as a base on various training weekends, babysitting, and especially Jane’s amazing cooking.

Dave Jelley of Jelleylegs fame for taking me out on the runs I would choose not to have done, and making me do them fast and well. For making it enjoyable, and for his positive, encouraging and enthusiastic approach to all things running. And for the marmalade.

Pete for his sound advice and mentoring; I have tried so hard to do as you suggested and whilst it hasn’t all gone as planned, hopefully I have got faster, stronger and fitter as you specified 13 months ago.

Alison for doing the last and painful set of hill reps with me that so nearly cost me the start line of the race.

Ian for his great Tuesday night sessions with Harrogate Harriers that made the dark wet cold winter such a painfully rewarding experience. I must include all the Harriers for great company whilst doing nasty sessions. Special thanks to Mark and Martyn  for support above and beyond the call of duty, even doing bike reps with me when running was out of the question.

All the podiatrists at work for their invaluable advice.

Andy Horwood, Podiatrist extraordinaire, for working on a pair of decidedly dodgy battered pins, with fabulous success.

Dave for sticking a needle into the tendon sheath of my foot, and working his magic when all seemed lost, and my GP from Moss and Partners who was fabulous in helping me get to see him in the first place.

Imre at The Nuffield Gym; I had no idea there were so many different ways of hurting in a gym, thank you for all your expert advice with weights and introducing me to the TRX. Special thanks go to Sandra Daltry for putting me on the right path in the first place all those years ago, post babies.

Ilkely Harriers Ladies who haven’t seen me all year but just kept in touch and let me know they care. Thank you for your support.

All my friends at work for feeding me coffee, whilst putting up with my fatigue, injuries and constant need to eat.

Berghaus for gorgeous clothing that actually does what it should do, despite the conditions I persisted in using the kit in: on my very long days out I seriously abused the clothing subjecting it to floods, snowstorms, drenchings on various Scottish and Welsh hills, dunkings in many many rivers, 39 degree runs in Greece and the abuse that running with a pack on subjects fabrics to. And guess what ….It works!…still!   Thank you!

Berghaus Store

For outdoor clothing from Berghaus including men’s waterproof jackets, women’s rucksacks and more then please visit our online store.
You can find a wide range of gear for climbing, hill walking, mountain biking and other activities.

Now, having moaned in a very British way about the weather, I have to confess that Day One of the LAMM was glorious. It didn’t stop me going seriously and stupidly wrong on a number of occasions, and even trying to go up the wrong hill. In fact it was only when (in desperation) I decided I would navigate as if I couldn’t see, that I started to go in the right direction consistently, it’s the truth! I blame it on the weather…

Ben Cruachan was spectacular. It is always fabulous to be back in big mountains with serious climbs and good company of like minded runners. There was only one worry. I have run with Angela Mudge in the past. I know she thrives on big hills and long days out. She loves a hard run. So when, in capacity as course planner, she said “it’s very long and very hard” my mouth went dry and I packed a few more sandwiches. Good heavens, the Multiple World Mountain Running Champion thinks it’s hard? I’m going to die!

10 hours later as Andrea and I finished day One, I had to agree. It was long and hard, but hey, that’s the “elite” for you. Go for a different class if you don’t want to hurt. Good training it most certainly was, and followed by eight hours of running on day 2, I definitely I had had my money’s worth and fulfilled many a fell runner’s adage: you should not travel for longer than the race is in time. Based on that, I could have been racing in Australia.

The weeks are numbered ‘till “D-Dragon Day” and amount to fewer than the fingers on my hands. The joints are aching and feet sore. The washing machine is on constantly, and with the wettest ever June on record in the UK, so is the tumble dryer. It’s hard to stay happy on the hills when it is such a flog. The fear of not being fit enough is worse than the weather. So I put on some soggy shoes and trundle out again with a cagoule on. At least with the legs covered all the time, I don’t have to worry about shaving them.

Berghaus Store

For outdoor clothing from Berghaus including men’s waterproof jackets, women’s rucksacks and more then please visit our online store.
You can find a wide range of gear for climbing, hill walking, mountain biking and other activities.

1.  What matters in a training programme is not how you manage when things are going well, but how you manage when things are going badly.

2.  Large gaggles (pl noun?) of muscle bound men in sweaty gyms are, despite the testosterone banter and formidable appearance, quite nice really, even when asked by a weedy old woman to move … please.

3.  Single parents are heroic.

So to begin with the most important of the three;
Respect ….to all the single parents out there. It’s only 2 weeks that I’ve been a single parent and the end is in sight. Unlike most single parents I know, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Someone will be coming to take over at some point and give me a breather. I will be able to go for a run without sourcing a baby sitter. I will be able to have an evening catching up with emails, phone calls and my friends.

I now know if I need a job doing I will give it to a single parent. They are adept at “fitting things in”, and manage to get things done despite not having any time to do it in. They are organised as they have managed to sort out “the essential” from “the desirable”. They should be running the country, NATO and sorting out Afghanistan. These unsung heroes really know how to make it all happen.

Running has been on a back burner whilst my foot settles after the injury. This is just as well. The logistics involved in getting out for a run would make a warship commander weep. Hence my time spent in a gym, yes, one of those horrors with all that scary fresh air replaced with the safe air conditioned variety. Complete with pumping music and TV’s … why? I am there to sweat not watch the news. I found that at 6.30 am not many people go, in particular those intimidating men with tattoos and frighteningly tight lycra. They tend to accumulate after work – doing what? Eating small children?? After the initial pulse raising request for “my turn”, my feeling of being a small child in a big school playground receded as I found they were indeed nice people, after all.

So with only 3 months to go and nearly 8 weeks out of running, I am now tentatively back on the hill, just in time to scare small flocks of fluffy yellow spotty Grouse chicks. Now doesn’t that just make all the hard gym work worthwhile?

So it should just about be possible to get to the start line of the Dragon’s Back race, it will just hurt a lot more, oh and my new best mates on the metal pumping machines will get you if you don’t let me win.

Berghaus Online Store

For outdoor clothing from Berghaus including men’s waterproof jackets, women’s rucksacks and more then please visit our online store.
You can find a wide range of gear for climbing, hill walking, mountain biking and other activities.

Helene, the Dragon’s Back is a daunting race with an almost mythical status, how does it feel entering the race again?

It’s very, very scary. I have forgotten most of the pain involved in it which is why I probably have entered again. I am very much looking forward to being there and taking part without any pressure or expectation. I really want to go out and have 5 really nice days of running in wales. I have 2 aims; firstly to get to the start line. Secondly, I would very much like to get across that finish line. Neither are foregone conclusions.

In the twenty years since the original race you have had a family. How do you balance training with your family?

As best I can. I get up early to fit sessions in so it affects the family and work less. I have a very understanding husband who wants me to do the Dragon’s Back. That makes all the difference. I am very lucky and I know it.
I have never been one to do millions of miles, even when doing long races years ago – my body didn’t like it … and I got bored too. I try to make what I do count. I have always been a firm believer that running slowly for miles makes you good at running slowly for miles. It doesn’t make you faster or better.
I try to mix it with days out the family and combine days out on the hills with walks with them or sometimes I just have to enter races to make myself do harder longer runs.

Training for races such as the Dragon’s Back must mean sacrifices. What is it you miss the most?

It’s good to have something to aim for. I am not sure I sacrifice much – my family makes the sacrifice by giving me time to disappear for long hours at a time and putting up with a shabby heap of sweat that reappears in a grumpy state that’s too sore to play “tig”.
Running for 5 days in the Welsh mountains, with over 45,000ft of ascent must require a massive amount of determination. What keeps you motivated during races?
Finishing!
Actually it is very enjoyable doing long distance travelling across mountains on foot. I love being in the mountains (any mountains…and deserts too for that matter), the views, and the wilderness. I enjoy the navigational challenges and the skill of maximising your own chances. It’s hard to keep body and soul together after a time and how you eat, drink and what you wear makes all the difference.

You’ve obviously got a huge passion for running, how did you get started?

I used to skip PE as I hated volleyball – it hurts you! Then one day we had a new PE teacher who made me go out and actually ran around with us. Kate introduced me to windsurfing, rock climbing and I ran my first marathon with her from Marathon to Athens (where I was at school) in 4.00.25 at the age of 17.

We’re incredibly excited about the Dragon’s Back race and wish Helene and Steve Birkenshaw, our other sponsored athlete, the best of luck.

I need mental molly coddling and a fell runner rings me to chivvy me up, sends me silly cards and emails reassuring positive murmurings. I need exercising so another fell runner sorts out his own job and family commitments to take me out on a bike to join me doing hill reps. Then just as I need some medical guidance another fell runner is there with sound advice, suggestions and practical tips for the way forward.

I am probably fairly typical of most fell runners. Independent in a way that borders on the anti – social, intolerant of many social ills (litter, dog pooh, bad manners and undies hanging over the top of trousers – for goodness sake what is all that about anyway?) and absolutely convinced I am right in that “boring-old-fart” kind of way my granddad did. However I digress. Its not that I don’t like folk, I just like being in the hills with folk I like. I look after people for a living. I look after people at home. I don’t want to have to look after people when it’s my turn to play. Petulant? Damn right it is. There is nothing like an injury for making you realise what is important. The running? The hills? The friends I choose to play with?

How lucky can a girl get?!

Whatever the cause, the end result is a very sore foot. Initially settling well after a week of rest, I returned to the hills to find I was very sore indeed. The only problem was it took a few hours to get home and by then walking was a problem.

So back to resting but this time without recovery. A good going inflammation of the tendon sheath was failing to resolve. A month down the line and a lovely man put a bit of steroid into the tendon sheath and lets hope that works. I can now get a shoe on so that’s a definite plus.

I have finally dragged myself out of my funk and kicked my backside back into a gym (yuch) onto a bike (really these things are only a mode of transport in my eyes…) and into the water (with a float between my legs so I don’t flap my foot about) the future is looking up – well it is all relative. I am probably the only athlete entered for the Dragon’s Back who is hoping it floods and we have to swim most of the distance with our legs tied together with the occasional break on a beach pedalo ….at the moment….

Saturday was the Howarth Hobble 53 Km of runnable hell. Only one real hill that is justifiable to walk up (although I did walk a couple more…) .  Setting off into the drizzle I remembered why I hate this race. Its fast, furious and not terribly scenic. Oh, and I usually cry mid event. I decided at around the 20 mile mark that there is no way on earth I am ever going to be able to get fit enough for the DB. What was I thinking of in my deluded rose tinted ageing glasses? My knees and ankles hurt, my quads wouldn’t work, and my hamstring kept “twanging” intermittently in an attention seeking kind of way. Luckily I have survived two toddlers. I could ignore this. I had managed to eat my sandwiches but had made a mess of my pacing and was moving very steadily backwards thru the field. I’d forgotten how to do the long distance shuffle and couldn’t for the life of me remember if this is how it was supposed to feel. Did I used to hurt this much? Could I plead senile dementia and back out?

I decided the 10yr old Jura Single Malt on offer at Mankinholes checkpoint probably wasn’t going to make much difference. How wrong can you be? If you are ever very short of money, and very desperate to get the alcohol induced spinning effect, running for 3.5 hours and then having a shot is the way to do it. A stiff climb to Stoodley Pike soon had reality and pain restored. Fortunately later in the event I was swept up by a friend who had set off with far less exuberance and a great deal more sense and she kept me going till the end. Cat ended up with a PB and I ended up not crying. I guess that’s a good outcome for starters.

Its wet (of course), its rocky (no surprise), and I cant see further than 5 meters (oh joy, Navigation practice too). Fortunately I phoned a friend, and what a friend. She actually enjoys running in this stuff as well and greets each section of the route with happiness, the longer the better. Andrea  is an enthusiastic, happy person who greets every small navigational success in this pea souper with shrieks of delight even louder than mine. She is also is faster, fitter and much more able runner than I am. Fortunately she hasn’t brought a map with her and she has to wait for me.

Its probably is 20 years since I last ran some of the more remote hills in North Wales. Its lovely to be back and I had forgotten how much I love the wilderness of it all. Every day or so the terrain changes completely from grass, rock, tussocks, cliffs and back again. The geology is spectacular and the mountains so varied, it makes the Dragon’s Back a spectacular geography lesson. Providing it isn’t examined at too close a quarter.

After four days of mixed weather, during which my long suffering family dropped me off, met me, fed me and repeated the process frequently, I barely covered 2 days of the old route I last ran in 1992. How on earth did I once cover these hills in 7 hours? What on earth made me think I could possibly do it again? Thankfully I have told so many folk about it, backing out without some serious physical impediment is now an impossibility.

So on I go, running in the rain. My joints hurt, I haven’t got enough food with me, and the snow blasting straight from the west has sandpapered my face (“mummy why is your face so red?”). I persist in getting myself crag bound and on a spectacularly memorable occasion fail to pick up the track leaving a road – I ask you. Am I safe to be out on the hills on my own? Probably not…not yet that is. But come September, I just might be….lets hope so!