Thar be piskies up to Dartymoor...

...An’ tidden gude yew zay there bain’t.

I’ve felt ’em grawpin’ at my heart,

 I’ve heard their voices callin’ faint

The Dartmoor Highground was in the right place at the right time in every way. With Spartathlon 4 weeks away I had Carte Blanche from James to run a race that weekend provided it wasn't much over 100km and was going to be training rather than all out racing. 

For the past 5 years I've lived on South Dartmoor, running the tracks and trails around Burrator Reservoir, Princetown and the Walkham valley. These trails had become my second home and, after my fracture, my rehab playground. From hopping one-legged across Yelverton Airfield on crutches to marching along the Walkham trail in my squeaky Donjoy brace, the call of these trails was what got me off my bed and back outside in those early post-injury days, when I felt that my world had crumbled beneath me. I love the open expanses and freedom of the moor. Since my early teens my nickname has been Pixie...I feel at home in the open wilderness.

However, I am also a creature of habit, and poor at navigation to say the least. There were times I would stare out over the moor, longing to just take off, but knowing full well the ease at which the familiar landmarks distort and disappear, and how quickly I would become inextricably lost. With a very real risk of being 'Pixie led' (http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/piskie_led.htm),  my forays into the moor have been limited to the outskirts around my home. 

So the chance to run on Dartmoor, that beautiful, wild and untamed expanse, but on a fully marked and supported route...that sounded too good to be true!

But it wasn't. Thanks to the Freedom Racing crew. They have made the dream come true with this race. 50 miles of open moor. Slogs across bogs, scrambles and climbs up the highest tors, bouldery yet runnable descents to soggy river crossings. This was like a cross between mountain and fell racing. But fully marked! And WHAT markings! The challenge on this route would have been to manage to get lost! There wasn't one point that I wasn't sure of where to go. For me, someone who loves to just run unencumbered by the worry of 'where to', this really was a dream come true. 

An early start was worth it for this sunrise

The race started early, and the beauty of this was that we were treated to a spectacular sunrise across Yes Tor. Bathed in orange light we started the first climb. Tom Sutton (Race Director) had made his way to the first major turn in the route to make sure no one missed it. This attitude pretty much sums up the Freedom racing team. Running their race you are in experienced, capable and very caring hands. 

Boudicca the Bionic Knee takes on the first tor

The first loop was mostly runnable hills and trail. A few stony paths, some lovely grassy downs on the outskirts of Belstone. It eased you into the run in a gentle way. From the first/second checkpoint things got a bit more gnarly. Down one descent I lost a shoe in the sucking peaty mud. This then gave way to more brutal climbs. Although shorter in distance than some climbs in the Peaks and Lakes, Dartmoor Tors have no real paths up them. The ground underfoot is reed and long grass, tussocks, bogs and boulders. You have to focus, pick up your feet, really concentrate on the best line of attack. Sometimes you feel like you should be running, the gradient isn't that steep, but the ground underfoot is so technical you simply can't. It plays tricks on you. 

Down the descent onto the third section I passed the marathon runners coming up the climb. I really enjoy races where there's a bit of a cross-over of courses. It's a chance to give and receive some love from fellow runners. My shouts of 'crack on guys!' were met with yells back of 'you're flying!'. Real camaraderie from people in simultaneously the depths of misery and heights of euphoria! 

The final section was, for me, a mixture of a tough energy-less drag followed ultimately by total freedom. I found out at checkpoint 4 that I was in the lead. I knew Adam Holland was running this race, and having seen a tall dark figure sprinting off at the start, had assumed he was still ahead. Having never met him, I didn't realise that he was the guy who I had overtaken at about 30 miles. When I found out I was now ahead of him, I started looking back over my shoulder. The trouble was, I also didn't realise that the marathon runners would by now be behind me. So I beasted myself up to the final big climb, not realising the dark figures in the distance behind me were actually on the marathon course! I had bonked just before the 4th checkpoint, as I stupidly neglected my fuelling and had wolfed down a load of coke and malt loaf at CP4. This sugar rush kicked in half way up the final big climb. From that point I was flying. Add to that a pretty much entirely down hill 4 miles to the finish...wooHOOOOO!!  The descents on this run were all gloriously runnable. I still struggle with anything very steep and technical, but these were all descents I could really fly down. I was using a pair of shoes given to me by La Sportiva..Helios. They really let me use my feet where my knee starts to get weak. I cruised along the leafy riverside path back to race HQ and the finish, to come first overall in a time of 8hrs 37. Over an hour faster than the guy in second. 

This race was an absolute dream from start to finish. Impeccably organised, in a perfect location and with a course that was so meticulously marked that even I couldn't get lost. I sat with a beer and chips from the café at the finish line, cheering the other runners in, in a happy post-race euphoria. 

Thank you so much Tom and Nicky and all the guys at Freedom Racing. You have created something really special here! 

Thar be piskies up to Dartymoor....

SDW100...I'm back!

Prior to my accident I never used to prepare for races. I'd just enter things, rock up taking my fitness for granted, and run. If I look back now, every race I ran I was woefully underprepared compared to how I've been training in the past few months since my metalwork removal. Under the careful coaching I've had from James, my legs have come back to me far faster than I could have achieved alone. And The races I've done so far, I have been as prepared as possible for. At the shorter distances (marathon), I'm probably running better now than I was back in 2015. But the question-mark over my endurance still remained.

So I lined up at the start of SDW100 uncertain if I could still run that far, but certain that I was as ready as I would ever be at this stage, and knowing that if anything was going to stop me from finishing it would be pure biomechanics due to my right leg weakness and right knee pain.

I started comfortably. I was soon overtaken by Mari Mauland, the favourite for the ladies race. I made a conscious decision to try to keep her pace to see how hard she was going to push. In retrospect, this was stupid. I was so uncertain how my body would hold out in the later stages, I was worried about falling too far behind. The old Sarah used to run to keep pace with the leading runner, and then pull away in the second half when my endurance came into play and I could still run strong in the second 50 miles. I had no idea if I would still be able to do this. So I pushed too hard up to the 22 mile checkpoint. And that was the point that I first threw up.

I've never suffered badly from vomiting during races before, I'm quite lucky. But today was going to be different, and parts of the race became a battle of mind over stomach. From 22 miles I struggled to keep nutrition down. Each time I threw up I felt a little better, which set a dangerous precedent as it encouraged me to keep on vomiting for comfort and prevented me taking on enough calories.

I was terrified that the fast start had scuppered my chances of finishing. Between 30-54 miles I felt dreadful. At 35 miles I saw Jason who was crewing for me. I told him how I was feeling, and his reply was that I was silly to have gone so fast, and had only myself to blame if I'd ruined my run. Tough love. I consciously decided to slow down and do some damage limitation work, ease into a really steady pace, walk a few hills, take regular small sips of coke to keep my sugar levels up. I already felt like I wanted to just lie down and sleep. But, every time I thought how nice that would be, I remembered how much time I had to spend lying down last year, with a big question mark hanging over my ability to run. There was no way anything I could suffer over the course of 100 miles was going to be worse than that. No pain or darkness could be worse than those first few months post-fracture

Each time I passed a checkpoint, someone would say 'Mari is only 5-10 minutes ahead'. But I couldn't and wouldn't chase her. Not if I wanted to stand a chance of finishing. The day was getting hotter and hotter, and the wind was at an angle that was just enough to be a damn nuisance. I was dry, hot and tired, but I carefully plodded my way on to 54 miles, concentrating on making my right leg work (it tends to get really lazy at slower paces, and puts all the effort onto my left which then ends up aching like hell).

At 54 miles I hit the checkpoint, and there was Mari, sitting down. I didn't have much I wanted in my drop bag, I simply couldn't face any more gels. So I had a cup of tea and a marmite sandwich, which miraculously went down nicely! I went straight back out of the checkpoint, and saw Mari get up and head out after me. Sod it, I couldn't race. Not after 54 miles. I could only plod. But my plod suddenly became a lot stronger, my legs picked up a rhythm and I eased into a comfortable cruise. My endurance was kicking in!! It was like greeting a long lost friend who I was afraid had died. I had no idea what my body would make of this distance, having not run over 62 miles in over 18 months. But it was happily easing back into the old habits. I started singing. I talked to my knee. I even managed to crack a joke with Jase at one of the checkpoints. I was RUNNING! Oh, everything was starting to hurt, and I was still intermittently vomiting, my right leg was struggling and cramping in my right calf and quad as the new muscles were introduced to the concept of running beyond 50 miles. But my endurance was still there, a part of me I was so terrified had been lost was waiting patiently underneath, waiting to be given the chance to do its thing. I can't honestly express how happy I felt.

The final 25 miles are a blur. I was really struggling to keep the calories going in. I wanted something, but I had no idea what it was. I practiced a bit of controlled hyperventilation to try to offload some acid which made me feel a little better. The long hills in the last 20 miles let me stride out and use some power in my legs that I had left. The descents were becoming trickier as my right leg was really starting to weaken. At around 90 miles Mati ran past me looking like he was just out for an evening stroll, so comfortable and graceful! I didn't chase him, but I did use his example to put aside the pain I was experiencing into a mental box marked 'problems to deal with tomorrow'.

I sang my way up the final hill, and was directed down the final decent by the heroes at the trigpoint. I wasn't suffering so much that I couldn't marvel at the moon hanging low over the English channel. What a sight!

I couldn't run down that final hill, only slowly sort of skip. It was overgrown, uneven and my right leg was now feeling really weak leaving me at serious risk of falling on the uneven ground. My proprioception still isn't up to running off road in the dark without massive amounts of concentration, and I was so tired I just wasn't up to focusing much. I hit the tarmac at the bottom to find James waiting there for me. Until that point I had no idea what time I was on for, as I had studiously avoided looking at any kind of clock along the way, trying to just run to my own internal pace. He told me I was now at 17hrs 13 mins. I could make it to the end in a faster time than my 2014 effort. And I did. I ran that final mile, ran around the track, and finished in 17hrs 30mins. 6 minutes faster than 2014.

I was an ultra runner once more. And I was performing to a satisfactory level! I was a shade disappointed to not have managed to get closer to or even under the course record, but discovering that my endurance was still there to be tapped into was such a happy revelation. My knee, although struggling a little in the second half, was happily quiet after I finished. Now, a week later, it is still suffering from some ongoing stiffness and the right leg muscles seem to have gone on strike. It's still a learning process as to what it needs to keep it happy and functioning.

Happily, running 100 miles seems to be something that it finds agreeable!

SDW100 - preparation

Since working to come back from my accident I had wanted to aim for something longer, something that would make me feel like I was my old self again. Whilst the metal was in I had no chance, having tried to take part in 24h De Ploeren in December, making it to 105km in 12 hours before the swelling and gait abnormality became too much for my body to manage.

Prior to my metalwork being removed I'd realised that I needed help working out how I was going to get my running fitness and strength back. I had help from physios with regaining my knee mobility and leg strength, but I really needed someone to guide my running build up, to stop me from overdoing things and to make the best out of the (at the time) limited milage I could manage. I contacted James Elson from Centurion Running, and he was happy to offer me coaching. He guided my training with constant feedback from me on the state of my knee and even while the metal was in I felt myself start to run stronger.

Once the metal was out, things improved to such a degree that I felt I wanted to aim for something long as soon as I felt I could make a decent job of it. I was no longer just pushing a broken body around, I was Coming Back from Injury...to me that now meant putting in a good performance. Particularly after I managed to get so close to my old time at MABO. I also felt that I would be better able to manage a longer run with fewer steep decents, those being my real limiting factor at MABO.

I had put my name down for GUCR, and got a place, but that was just going to be too far too soon. Instead I spoke to James about doing the SDW100 - and he didn't say it was a daft idea!! He put it in my training plan as a race and the build up soon began. Aside from a 2 week hiatus when I developed real pain and swelling in the knee which forced me to stop running and get back into the pool (although at the time, I felt this was the beginning of the end again), I managed to put in a fairly consistent effort. My knee pain was, for the most part, manageable. The swelling induced by heavy sessions was offset with some ibuprofen and ice, and consistent gym work allowed me to carry on developing the wasted right leg muscles. I soon learned the importance of continuing my PT exercises...a few days of ignoring my basic static quad sets and it's like the muscle just forgets that it needs to work.

3 weeks before the race James let me test out the knee over a longer distance...Ecotrail Oslo 50 miles. I finished that in first place, with manageable pain, and in a time which was 'adequate' to me. I didn't push myself too hard, just wanted to know I could hold together over that distance without too much fallout. The result was a seemingly happy knee and the ability to go for a slow and comfortable 30 min run a couple of days later...my body was holding up to the distance OK!

So I was as ready as I was ever going to be at this stage. I had a few voices of doubt from some people who know me...was I ready for this? Wasn't it too far too soon? Did I want to risk damaging myself? Each question sowed a little seed of doubt in my head which I found tricky to deal with. But I kept reminding myself, if anything was going to stop me, it was going to be my knee. Not my inability. Not my lack of preparation. and if I couldn't manage this time, then I would just try again after more rehab.

Marato Borriol 2017...so close yet so far!

January 2016 I was told that due to the severity of my knee fracture, I may not be able to compete at trail running again.

December 2016 I received an unexpected Email from Lluis, race director of Marato Borriol:

"Hi Sara
How are you? I hope you are fine.
I'm Lluis, the MABO race director. I write to invite to come here again. I would like see you to run again in Borriol. We can offer a free race registration and accommodation.

Best Wishes, Lluis."

A bit of context: in 2015 I came 3rd lady at MABO. I had applied to run the race late, but Lluis and his team were kind enough to let me run when they looked at my previous performances and saw that I would be racing. I had entered MABO in 2015 for two reasons; One was to increase my experience of mountain racing prior to the World Trail Championships. The second was quite simply as a birthday present to myself. I'm not the kind of person who likes to go out and party hard. A weekend of exploring a part of the world I had never visited before and the change to run around in some new and exciting places is a much more appealing birthday celebration to me. (In fact, my love of endurance running first started when I ran the Jurassic Coast Challenge in 2013 in celebration of my 30th birthday. 3 marathons, 3 days, finishing in Poole, the town in which I was born.)

I was really keen to go back and run MABO again, I had such fond memories of this race, the place, the people, the atmosphere. And it would also be a brilliant opportunity for me to compare my post- to pre-accident performance. But first, there was something I needed to get off my chest....well, off my knee really.

I emailed back and explained to Lluis what had happened to me in the past year, about my accident and how I was waiting for my final operation, and my performance may not be anything like my previous level. He was really understanding, and told me to let him know whenever I could and there would always be a place for me in the race.

Late December 2016 I finally got a date for my operation: 11th of January. That gave me 2 months to recover and get fit in time for MABO. YES, I could do this!! I emailed Lluis and let him know. His reply:

"It's a good notice!"

So 11/1/17 I had my metalwork removed.

                                          Post-op...right before I threw up all over my Dad!

Within 2 weeks I was back on the static bike, aquajogging, elliptical trainer and weights, weights, weights...I was GOING TO MABO! And I was going to do my absolute best. My leg started to work properly for the first time since my fracture, my running pace had improved, my gait was normalising. My 5km time went from 23mins to 21mins 20 secs, just because of the metal removal.

It was just that little aspect of running downhill that was still giving me problems. But I worked at that, I worked so hard! Technical terrain was difficult, but it was still better than pre-op. I was confident that I wouldn't be faced with a repeat of the Mourne Skyline, where I had to take every decent sitting down, sliding down the slopes on my arse because my knee just couldn't handle them.

2 months of training, and I was as ready as I could be at this stage. I had, in my head, set a goal of 5 hrs. Given that my time in 2015 was 5hrs 6 mins, this was optimistic to say the least. But my newfound pace was making me feel invincible!

I travalled to Spain a few day before the race, to give me time to adjust to the climate. Unlike my old attitude to races, where I'd just turn up and have fun, taking my fitness for granted, I was strict with myself leading up to MABO 2017. My diet was good, no alcohol for a week before the race, I tapered (something I NEVER used to do!). I spent the day before the race lurching between excitement at being able to race again, and fear of not being able to complete my mission: to run as my 'old self'. Pre-accident Sarah. This was fear was alleviated a little when Lluis asked me to answer questions for an audience as part of the 'Front runners' line-up. I felt like a bit of a fraud, sitting with the amazing men and women who were in contention to win the race. In particular, Gemma Arenas, the female course record holder. But it was good to be able to explain my story a little and to meet more of the lovely MABO crew.

Race morning.
Lluis had been kind enough to let me stay in his flat while I was in Borriol. I heard his alarm go off at 4:30am. Mine was set for 5:30am. But I had been awake most of the night anyway.

I drank coffee. Lots of coffee. I wandered up to the race start, and the town was already fully awake, the cafes were open, runners milling everywhere. I had another 2 coffees. The Spanish make an espresso to rival the Italians!

We filtered into the staring area, and I tried to find a good spot. Not too far forwards; I didn't want to be caught in the inevitable crazy racing sprint-start. But not too far back; I knew that the trail became singe file pretty quickly and I didn't want to be stuck behind slower runners. I was surprised to see a lot of female runners pushing forward into the front ranks. But then, this was the Spanish Skyrunning champs and there were a lot of contenders for the podium.

A count down from 5 and we were off. Inevitably too fast for my ultra-runner legs, but I didn't want to lose my place on the climb, so I pushed on until we hit trail. Suddenly the air was filled with the scent of rosemary and lavender, crushed beneath our feet. That jolted me back to myself. This was what I had come here for, the experience! Suddenly the fear and doubt were gone, and I was simply running. I didn't have to think about my knee, my lack of ability. 1 year ago they told me I might not run again...and here I was. LIVING the trail.

Despite trying to stay fairly far forward I was soon caught in the inevitable conga line as the trail narrowed. The first climb was real hands and knees stuff, but slowed by sheer volume of people. After about 30 minutes of shuffling the trail opened out and I was able to move forwards at my own pace. I felt pretty good, and the initial decents were all easily runnable. I just enjoyed the feeling of pushing myself where I couldn't before. I allowed myself to breath hard and to really push my legs in a way I just couldn't while the metal had been in my knee.

After about 13 miles we hit the first really technical section, and I inevitably slowed. I just can't bounce off things with any confidence like I used to . I was passed by a few people I had previously overtaken. I found this really frustrating. The problem is, I can't run down anything technical without concentrating really hard. Every footfall has to be planned, as I lack the proprioception in my right leg to run without thought. Add to that the frequent stops to let people pass me, and pretty soon I was feeling mentally exhausted. I was really glad of the next long climb to allow myself some time to recover and not to have to concentrate for a bit! From that point on it was every down that became more and more exhausting, whilst every climb gave me the chance to move forward, push my lungs and recover mentally.

As we hit the ropes section a guy shouted to me that I was in 8th place. Damn! I had been really hoping that I was further up than that. But I knew where I was losing time. I was running without a watch so had no concept of the time that had passed, but I could feel myself losing out on the decents. I pushed hard up the next couple of climbs and overtook a whole bunch of people including one girl. All I could do was keep on pushing up and then try my hardest to keep momentum going down. This was getting trickier and trickier as my knee was really starting to swell and stiffen. At the top of the final climb someone said to me 'hey, it's all downhill from here!'...like that was a good thing! I managed to get down the final hill, when I caught another girl at the bottom. Once we were off the decent my legs picked up and I surged forward, taking her and nearly catching another girl in front as we rounded the corner to the finish.

I looked up at the clock....5 hours 10 minutes exactly. That was such a bitter-sweet time. I knew that if it hadn't been for my knee I could have hit the sub-5 hour time I had hoped for. But, on the other hand, that was only 4 minutes slower than my time in 2015, before my fracture!

So that was it. The run was...amazing. Those climbs, the views, the smells and the overwhelming friendliness of the MABO volunteers and crew! Sure, I was frustrated by my continuing inability due to my knee, but this race marked my first serious effort to perform. And I feel that, despite everything, I did perform. Tentatively, and still uncertain of my ability, but I could have continued on past 26 miles. I could have raced on to 50, and who knows, I may have continued to overtake people as my endurance held out where my knee was failing.

Knowing your weaknesses helps you to find your strength. And when someone tells you that you won't be able to do something, don't take their word for it. Try it for yourself. They could well be wrong.

In anno patellae

1 year ago today I underwent my second fixation for a comminuted patella fracture, having fractured initially on 30/1/16, and then re-fractured on 1/3/16. The bone was in bits, the surgeons were pessimistic about my chances of being able to run again.

Between that fixation and 1/1/17 I have managed to run several parkruns, a few marathons, complete 2 ultras and cover significant distance in other races before having to stop (in the Ridgeway challenge I managed 45 miles and 24hrs de Ploeren I managed 65 miles)

6 weeks ago I had my metalwork removed.

Since then, and having also suffered from a surgical wound infection during the recovery phase, I have managed to get back to training, running with an ease I though would never be possible for me again since my fracture. My leg WORKS now.

I am accompanied by pain at every step, but the interesting thing about pain is that when you know the cause, it can be a lot easier to work with.

I still don't know what my future holds in terms of running. But it's looking a hell of a lot brighter than this time last year.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me along this journey. You have no idea what each kind and positive word has meant to me. I hope to continue to do you proud.