Wenlock Olympian Walk

Well here goes round two of typing this post after it mysteriously vanished. Not too happy about that one!

So Saturday I woke at my normal silly early time however the night previous I had prepared all my things for the Wenlock Olympiad Walk (WOW), a 53 mile tour of Shopshire starting in Much Wenlock, UK. It is an event that is part of the Wenlock Olympian Games. Not really a race but an opportunity to cover the distance with aid stations. Many people walk it as well as run.

I left home stopping to get some cash, extra breakfast, and then a cup of coffee. The girl at Starbucks asked if I had any big plans for the day? I chuckled and replied "just a running race" as if 50 plus miles was no big deal. I got my coffee and was off to the bus stop. The bus to Bridgnorth arrived 15 minutes late but the friendliness of the driver calmed my nerves. 

On the bus ride we drove through beautiful countryside my fingers tapping away to Willie Nelson on my iPod. I never thought good ol' Willie would get me fired up for racing but he does a pretty damn good job. I was all smiles all the way to Bridgnorth excited to get out and see Shropshire.

Upon arrival to Bridgnorth I noticed the bus pulling away was the number I needed to get to Much Wenlock. No big deal, I've got time and the bus schedule I printed off said another bus will depart in 15 minutes. Out of curiosity I peered at the posted schedule. Hmmm, it differed from what I had and in a bad way. I texted the bus company and got an auto reply of the next buses departing. My printout was wrong. The next bus would not get me to the race on time. So off I went to find a taxi, 45 minutes to race start and I'm 7 miles away.

Being before 900am nothing was open for tourist info. The guys at the post office laughed both at my accent and also my question of a taxi! With a smile, "sorry mate, no taxi stand here, good luck, things move a bit slower out here." So I worked my way over to a big grocery store hoping to spot a cab, nothing. Then the wife reminded me that I have a smart phone that had Google on it. Duh. A quick search, a phone call, and I had a taxi on the way. I was cutting it close, I had 25 minutes to race start!

Much Wenlock photo from Wikipedia

We rolled into Much Wenlock with 10 minutes to spare. Fortunately all I needed to do pre race was sign in, take my casual shorts off, switch shirts, and slather up with sunscreen. I spoke briefly with Darryl who I'd raced with before and was introduced to another guy named Daniel who had a pretty impressive marathon time. We all would most likely run together. I was given a punch card to clip throughout the run to prove I completed the course and we all gathered outside in the church yard around Dr. William Penny Brookes' grave, the man who inspired the modern Olympic Games through his formation of the Wenlock Olympian Games which the WOW is part of.

There looked to be about 30 of us starting at 1000am. I'm not sure how many people started at 800am, which was mainly walkers versus runners. After a brief talk from the organisers we were lead through town to Wenlock Edge (a big ridgeline across the land) and the Shropshire Way where we were left on our own for the rest of the course. A small group of us went off the front letting a local lead us along the maze of single track and through farmland to the first punch point. It was nice to have the local knowledge to follow initially but I became reliant on it and the guys with the course downloaded to their GPS watches which kind of made me complacent as to where I was on the map. I tried to follow along but it was hit or miss, trying to match place names of farms and cottages with their label on the map. 

start of Wenlock Edge photo from Nat'l Trust

Conversation was good for the whole race. I met some great people and played catch up with acquaintances. Of course at the beginning we all feel good and are chatting away. The first aid station was in an old church at Holdgate. One thing I hate about these races is that you see some beautiful places but being a race situation I am reluctant to carry a camera thus much of the race is a blur. Anyway, at Holdgate I refilled my water, grabbed a snack and then chased down Darryl as he was in and out ASAP. Daniel, this being his first ultra, didn't realize how little time was spent at aid stations, ditched his coffee, and quickly chased us all down. Darryl had just ran the Coast to Coast over a few days and had mentioned his body was pretty worked so he was likely going to drop out at the second aid station, The Yeld. Daniel had moved ahead of us all striding along like nothing, so I sprinted back to him for the climb up Brown Clee Hill.  We chatted the whole way to The Yeld on the way getting off course a bit, averaging 9 minute miles since the start. Pretty much the pace we both planned on. 

Soon after the second aid station Daniel began to pull away from me. We had been catching many of the 8am starters which was reassurance that we were on course. Now being away from Daniel, who had the GPS, I needed to be more diligent with my map reading. In trying to read the map my pace began to slow even after snapping out of the down I hit when Daniel left me behind. I made it to Nortoncamp, well I think that is where I was, took a wrong turn and ended up thrashing through nettle and brambles adding on at least a mile and of course lost time. With my legs buzzing from being covered in nettle crystals I regained where I went wrong and bumped into a few 8 o'clockers who pointed me in the right direction. 

Away I went, feeling great, cruising downhill. I could see the town of Craven Arms below in the valley, the next aid station. After some time descending a rough dirt road I realized I was off track. Shit. I could see where I needed to go but didn't know how. I considered going all the way down to the main road adding miles to avoid climbing back up. But back uphill I went. Finally spotting a tiny sign pointing down an overgrown trail. I weaved my way through farmland, foot bridges, up and over stiles. Finally into town and luckily the directions to the aid station at Craven Arms were easy. 

I refilled water, had some juice, off I went. From here it appeared easy route finding. Get out of town back up onto Wenlock Edge onto the Shropshire Way to easy cruising for a while. I doubted a few of the fields I crossed but finally made it to the climb up to Wenlock Edge and picking up the pace, feeling good, caught up to the 8 o'clockers that I saw at Nortoncamp. It was nice to be on a continuous trail.

that's how far my watch made it

And route finding puts the brakes on my speed. Off the Shropshire Way and into farmland where a wrong turn means added miles. Through gates, stiles, over bridges, and through a perfectly cut single track through a huge field of wheat. The laser cut line running down a gradual slope through the field of gold looked like a Pink Floyd album cover. The wheat was waist high I ran and laughed dragging my hands over the tufts of grain. Working with another 8 o'clocker we zig zag our way through the maze of fields, creek crossings, and woodland edge to a bridle way that brings us into Hope Bowdler and the final aid station. 

I run in and just outside the door is Daniel! He was looking a little frazzled! He was on his way out but decided to wait up for me. I ate some food and had some juice, my reservoir seemed ok so I decided not to fill it which ended up being a mistake. Anyway on we went towards Hope Bowdler Hill the high point next to town. 

According to the directions we were given we're suppose to go around Hope Bowdler, according to Daniel's GPS route we go up and over! At first my thoughts were, "well the directions say go around....." but then on second thought with no check point to get to it really doesn't matter. I was a bit turned off at first peering up the steep incline but Daniel's enthusiasm and energy kept me going up which was great! I most likely would have gone around if I was alone. Once up high we could see some 8 o'clockers below going around. Fortunately for us our fitness levels made it more efficient for us to go up and over.

We were now in familiar terrain to me being right behind Caer Caradoc which was part of the Stretton Skyline fell race I had done last September. So now we went up and over Little Caradoc and dropped to the crease between it and The Lawley, also in Stretton Skyline. We ended up bush whacking a bit through a small field of thistle and popped through a hedge onto a road. A girl walking two dogs looked at us and laughed as I asked her which way to The Lawley, then I told her it's been a long day as she laughed yet  again.

The Lawley from top of Little Caradoc

                                              

So up The Lawley and at it's summit the final punch point. We half walked and ran, once again me power walking and Daniel once again pushing the pace making me run! Up high on the ridge and summit it was super windy. Sure would be a shame to lose a punch card in the wind up here Daniel joked as mine wasn't fixed to my race vest, just a piece of Tyvek in the wind! 

Straight down the side of this monster and we were on our way bush whacking once again; nettle, brambles, thorns, thistle. I think by now we were immune to these plants thrashing our skin. I stopped for the first time since near the beginning to pee, yep, coca cola colored, and of course I was out of water. Luckily somewhere we passed a farmer watering his flowers. Sure we were near the finish but I ran over and asked if he could fill my water up! Hey, placebo is an amazing thing! He insisted we go inside versus filling up from the hose, then shook his head at us as we told him what we were doing!  You've got to love a race that isn't marked and you can accept outside support like this! 

We were nearing Wenlock Edge for the last time however the persistent fields over and over again were endless and mind numbing. Why is it that the last 5 miles goes on forever! We ended up on a country lane that was downhill, it was nice to be able to stride out and run on a smooth road for a change. We start seeing people involved in the race, volunteers or spectators helping us go the right way and giving us an idea of how much further to go. Always nice! Then finally we saw the National Trust sign for Wenlock Edge. Downhill to Much Wenlock, into town, and for a second we forget which way to go. Good thing Much Wenlock is tiny! 

WOW elevation profile from Daniel's blog, 6600 vertical gain

We roll on into the Priory Hall and we are finished! Long day out. Daniel tracked it at 58 miles, my watch battery went dead at 43 miles but I estimated mine at about 56 or 57 miles total. We finished in 10 hours 27 minutes. So we definitely ran a bit further getting lost. Oh well, part of the game I guess. Far far off our estimate of 8 hours which with a marked course I think we easily could have done. 

finisher's slate coaster

I'm tired of typing! I'll have a run down on what worked and what didn't; food, gear, training, etc. in a few days!