This was a first for me, so was a learning experience. I went into this race with no real targets other than to see how far I could go. Obviously, there were the milestones that were mini targets to aim for as the day progressed i.e. 1 lap, 1 mary, 50km, 50 mile, 100km etc, but I wasn't really caught up in that, they were just used to get me through the next lap.

Okay, lap 1. Went off alright, tried to hold back a bit as there was a mass start with the relay 24 hour racers, the 10 km racers and the solo 24 hour racers, so I didn't want to get caught up in the sprint off. Hadn't gone out to view the course prior to the race start, as I was thinking I'll get enough chance to view it as I went around. Very pleasant views along the race course, set inside Belvoir Castle grounds that ran along a lake and up a hill that give views right across the surrounding countryside. Weather was overcast to start with, so on the first lap I wore a tshirt underneath a tech shirt. About 8km in I started getting hot spots, which is not good when your going to be on you feet for a lot longer. I stopped to take my shoes off (salomon's) to check my feet. The tape I had used to tape my feet to prevent rubbing of my pinkies had bunched up and caused hotspots :( not good. Took the tape off and ran on in.

Carried on for lap 2. still feeling fine, the 10km'ers had done their lap now and the relayers were flying around, so the field had spread out a bit more. I was walking the uphills at this stage, and shuffling along at about 6min km for the rest, a bit faster on the downhill sections. By now my feet were on fire, really not good. Came in on the second lap and booked off to go to my tent to check feet out and change socks. I had started developing blisters on my pinkys and my instep, exactly were I had taped. I have a feeling that the glue off the tape had caused friction after I had taken the tape off. I slathered my feet in Assos butt cream, donned a new pair of socks and cracked on.

Laps 3 & 4,
Pretty much same thing, run/walk pattern had gone down to 15-20 min run, 5-7.5 min walk. Feet had deteriorated badly. It didn't help that the trail sections of the run were on adverse cambers. The training I do is partly on trails, but this is on either level, rocky ground, straight verticals, or straight descents. This run was run on nobbly grass that had your foot tilting sideways a lot, and part was running along the side of a hill, were your feet were constantly getting squished into the side of your shoes. I had not done anything like this before.
At the end of lap 4 I had a 15 min pit stop to apply more cream, change socks, changed shoes into nike dual fusions (I had cut holes in the sides of the toe box hoping to give my pinkys some relief.), and to get some more food. By this time, I had eaten about 4 bananas, 3 tangerines, 1 apple, 1 snickers bar, 4 pork pies. Tried to eat a swedish meatball but found it too salty. Had no GI up to this point.

Laps 5 & 6 were same old, a bit slower, a lot more walking (hobbling), Sun was about to set on lap 6 so I had stopped to pick up head torch and more food, put on another layer tshirt as it was starting to cool down now.

By the end of lap 6 I was feeling ravenous, so I stopped for about 25 minutes to get food down me. I was struggling to chew my food at this point and had to wash each bite down with water. The tangerines had become too acidic to my taste by now, so I was relying on the savory, fat laden food, which, even though hard to swallow, really gave me a boost for lap 6. I had put on a fleece top and changed my bottom layers as the sweat was starting to cool on me now, and headed out for lap 7.

This hurt, my pinky blister on my left toe had totally engulfed my toe nail now, so any running on the trail part was out of the question. I was praying to get on to the nice level tarmac roads at this point. I think I walked 90% of this lap. It was not fun, but kudos to everyone on the course for the support they give. From the marshals, to the other competitors, to their families, it really was outstanding.

AT the end of lap 7 I booked off to try and sort my feet out, pop my blisters, tape em up, get some food and a bit of shut eye.
Got to the tent and had some food, took my shoes and socks off but started to shiver quite badly so I crawled inside my sleeping bag and set my alarm for 1 hours time. That alarm never went off, my phone battery had died, I woke up 10 hours later (I think I may have woken up through the night also, but its a bit of a blur). Checked my watch, 4 hours left, Sheeeet, perhaps I still got time to get 3 more laps in to take me up to 100 km. Put my shoes back on, and tried to get out the tent, lmfao, felt like I was walking on hooves and someone and put my legs on backwards and set them in concrete. Was I gonna run another step? Was I fook. My legs had totally seized up, so I hobbled up to the race director, handed in my chip, and called it a day.

Am I disappointed I didn't manage to go further? A bit, of course, yes.
Am I happy with what I achieved? Yes, a new distance PB and a wealth of experience gained. A new found respect for all the nutters that can keep going, and going, and going...

All in all, a really top race that I plan to do again. With a race director who stayed at the finish line for the 24 hours and checked on every competitor as they passed for another lap, and a support team that offered encouragement all along the way, it really couldn't be faulted. And on it's maiden voyage as well.

Practice more trail stuff, and not just the nice compressed footpath trails that go straight up or straight down.

Learn to walk quickly. When i was walking I was getting passed by other walkers.

Feet care. I have to get to grips with finding a set up that doesn't blister. It's strange, because I can go out and do 20-30 km runs with no issues at all, go out the following week with the same shoes/socks etc and blister like mad. But I need to work out what to do if I do experience blistering, as I didn't quite know whether to pop them, or how to tape them afterwards.

Hobbled around soaking up praise from other competitors :) Drinking coffee and cheering on the athletes that were still going.

Hung around for the award ceremony.
Male 1st 20 laps
Female first 16 laps
Can't remember the teams.


Experience.
Mental strength.
Not so much faster, but further.(Farther for you Yankee doodle dandees).
Fast walking.