The STORT30 is an out & back 30 mile ultra race along the River Stort in Hertfordshire. The route is mostly grassy trail or footpath. Importantly it is generally flat although uneven underfoot and muddy in places. There were checkpoints every 5 miles.
The weather was pretty good being cool, dry and only a little wind.
Given the distance Liam & I planned to run at a modest pace with the emphasis simply on completing our first Ultra rather than trying to finish in a predetermined time.
The first 10 miles went relatively well albeit we probably ran faster than we should have given the conditions underfoot and the race distance. However by the time we reached the halfway checkpoint I was suffering. One knee, my calves and in particular those muscles just above the knee were painful with cramp.
Unfortunately I only managed a further 5 painful miles when given that there was still a another 10 miles to the finish I decided to retire and was transported back to base by a nice young lady.
Liam, having stayed with me until about mile 17/18, was relatively "fresh" He continued the race and despite suffering some painful cramp in the latter stages completed his first Ultra in 5 hours 59 minutes. He would have been at least 15 minutes faster had he not stayed with me for so long.
Liam was placed 145th out of a field of approx. 200.
.JPG)
