Man v Horse

Race: Man v Horse Marathon (22m/4000ft)
Time/Position: 3.18.31 (82nd from 657)
This is another one of those classic events missing from my 'CV', but as with the Yorkshire Three Peaks in April I did not cover myself in glory today: just didn't have sufficient mileage in my legs to keep it going towards the end. In fact, the wheels fell off in time-honoured fashion when I still had five (rather distressing) miles to go. Light drizzle as Jez and I waited in Llanwrtyd Wells for the start: my first time here since doing the almost equally legendary Real Ale Wobble mountain bike loop 12 or so years ago. The rain stayed fairly light, but fell continuously all day. As a result, we kept cool but it was very boggy underfoot at times. A nice atmosphere as we left the Neuadd Arms and headed up the Irfon valley. The route is very complex and very varied, but is essentially a giant loop around the valley taking in some fairly wild mountain terrain at times. A sharp climb up a track after a couple of miles set the scene. It was followed by some narrow, boggy tracks high up on the eastern slopes of the valley. I felt pretty good, and went through the first checkpoint well up the field in just over 50 minutes. I was passed by two horses on a long inclining track, but didn't see any more until high up in the hills near Abergwesyn. I continued to feel pretty good through the second checkpoint, and although horses and relay runners were mixed up with the 500 or so doing the full distance, I felt I was well up the field at this point. However, with about five miles to go the distance and difficulty of the terrain began to take its toll: as did my old bugbear, an upset stomach. I hadn't had time to get my usual running food, so forced down a sesame bar which repeated on me very quickly. This reduced me to a walk on an interminable series of forest tracks where I really suffered. From here, it was all downhill - metaphorically if not always literally. Scores of runners, and horses, passed me towards the end, which was rather demoralising. The last couple of miles, through bog, then tarmac, then a deep river crossing, were not very pleasant and reminded me of the way I felt in my early marathons and early attempts at long fell races more than a decade ago.