Endure 24 is an annual 24 hour trail race ran over an undulating 5 mile lap at Wasing park, Aldermaston, near Reading. Competitors can chose to run in a relay format in teams of 6-8, 3-5, pairs or do it solo. It starts at 12 noon on Saturday and continue throughout the day and night until 12 noon the following day. During the hours of darkness, other than a few glow sticks here and there, you only have your personal head torch to guide you. In 2014 the event won endurance event of the year at The Running Awards.

This was my third consecutive year. In 2013, in what was my first ever experience of ultra running, I was in an all male team of 7. I ran 7 laps/ 35 miles and we won the 6-8 category setting a course record. From that moment on I was fascinated by ultra running and couldn’t believe there were people actually doing the event on their own. It was a challenge I couldn’t resist so in 2014 I was back as a soloist.

I was very inexperienced having only ran my first ever marathon 2 months previous but managed a very respectable 16 laps/ 80 miles in torrential rain that turned the course into something that more resembled an obstacle course race than a trail run. For the following 12 months the target of 100 miles was almost a constant fixation in my head. This past weekend I was back to give that magical milestone my best shot.

The build up

I spent most of the remainder of 2014 doing obstacle course racing then as 2015 arrived my focus changed back to running. At the turn of the year I’d still only ran 2 marathons, both way back in April before my last solo effort at Endure 24 but that soon changed as I first attempted (and failed) to break the world record for the fastest marathon dressed as a postman (my day job) at the off road Cambridge boundary marathon in March and followed that up with a win in a 12 lap trail marathon in my home town of Northampton on Easter Sunday.

3 weeks later I was at the London marathon where I ran a PB of 2.46.12 and a fortnight on I paced my sister to a sub 5 hour PB in the Richmond park marathon which was a great bit of event preparation as it was ran at a similar pace to that I planned to run at Endure 24.

I still managed to fit in some obstacle course races as they are the events I enjoy doing the most but I used almost all of them as preparation by doubling or event tripling up. After Tough Guy I did the 5k and 10k at Mud Sweat and Beer and the Suffering and 2 x 12k at Iron Run all on the same day then I ran 3 12 mile laps of Tough Mudder over a weekend 2 weeks before the big day.

As well as plenty of longish training runs, the furthest being 20 miles and a couple of weeks of several back to back days of 10 mile runs I also did some night runs with my running club. We met up on a Wednesday evening every week from a month before the race weekend at 9.30pm and ran either laps of a lake or out and back along a canal with no lighting other than our head torches.

Event weekend

The time had come. 24 hours of running was upon me. It was time to put all the training and race preparation into motion. On arrival into the event camp I didn’t think my luck was in as once again the rain was coming down. Surely the weather wasn’t going to make what was already the toughest challenge I’d ever embarked on even harder?

Thankfully moments before the klaxon sounded for the race to start the rain stopped. A thick cloud covered the skies blocking any chance of sunshine but for the remainder of the event it stayed dry.

My planned pace for the early part was around 10 minute miles. I was slightly faster but felt very good and as early as lap 2 I was walking the 3 most significant hills on each lap to conserve energy and still clocking 9.30 miles. The first 5 laps absolutely flew by. I’d completed close to a marathon in just over 4 hours and barely broke a sweat in what was now muggy conditions in the predominantly woodland surroundings.

I then took my first proper break off course. I grabbed some food and drink from my car and headed over to the team camping area to join up with my club mates from Parklands Jog and Run. It didn’t seem like more than 10 minutes since I was last there before the race had started. I couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the day but I knew there was still a long, long way to go.

An hour later at 5pm I headed back out. The plan now was to get another 5 laps in to reach half way towards my target before darkness fully set in then take another longer break for a hot meal before taking on the night shift.

This all went according to plan and almost dead on 10pm I have completed my 10th lap still feeling relatively good. It was at this point the year before that my race went to pieces. The rain had just hit yet another heavy patch and I couldn’t face going back out until I’d had a sleep. This year however I was actually quite looking forwards to cracking on with the hours of darkness.

After digesting a jacket potato from the catering tent I switched my head torch on and headed off up the long hill stretch that started every lap. I chalked up another 2 laps both around the 1 hour mark meaning the distinct lack of vision had slowed me slightly but it was nothing to worry about and I still had plenty of time to spare.

Slightly more worrying however was the fact that towards the end of lap 12 my stomach had started bubbling up. I was releasing more gas than a hot air balloon and feeling sorry for any runners directly trailing me. I just made it to the portable toilets in the event village and was forced to spend the next 15 minutes sitting in an enclosed space uncomfortable and losing energy fast.

The lap that followed was by far the worse so far. That toilet stop had really stiffened my thigh muscles to the extent that lifting the legs had become a huge task and they were buckling every few strides. In the space of one lap my target that was always an ambitious one but one that had seemed realistic for so long was beginning so slip away.

Once I’d finally made it round I couldn’t help but take another break. To add to my problems blisters on both my big toes that I’d been doing my best to ignore since the early evening were now throbbing. I took my shoes and socks off for the first time and tried to stretch my legs out. Stupidly I hadn’t brought any protection or medication for blisters so I had no choice but to kit back up and get back out there.

I knew this would be the last bit of darkness I’d have to face and the sun would rise during this lap. These should have been invigorating moments but I was experiencing the opposite. My upper legs were horribly heavy and my entire body felt like it was shutting down. I walked almost the entirety of lap 14, it felt like it was never going to end. When I finally reached the finish line I stepped of course again and for the first time entered my tent.

It was at this point that I was seriously contemplating calling it a day. I felt like I had nothing left to give. I’d completed 70 miles but another 30 felt like an impossible task. I just about got my brain to work enough to make some calculations and realised the 100 mile dream was all but over. I decided to have a little sleep and see what the rest of Sunday would bring.

An hour and a half later, just as my alarm went off at 7.15am, my mum who was there running in a team of 8 from my club called me to check if I was ok. Her words echoed those of my wife who had just texted me from home. The gist of it was if I’m not going to achieve my target is it really worth going back out and killing myself for a few extra miles. This isn’t the was my mind works though and as exhausted as I was, deep down I knew I’d be going back out at some point before the race was over. I couldn’t leave there without knowing I’d given it absolutely everything I had.

I always set my targets high because that way even if I don’t reach them I can still achieve things along the way. The 100 miles was out of reach but matching or maybe even beating the haul of 80 miles I’d ran last year was still there for the taking.

Just before 8am I got myself back out on the course and the sleep had done me the world of good. I was energised and my muscles had loosened somewhat. I managed to run almost the entirety of not one but two more laps knocking them both out in just under one hour.

From that moment on I was happy again. I began to feel a real sense of achievement as I knew that every step of lap 17 was the furthest I’d ever ran before. Added to that the amazing spirit in which this event is ran meant that almost ever runner that passed me gave a compliment of respect that is held for all the soloist.

As I got closer to the finish line for the final time an immense amount of pride and emotion set in. I’d been running for the large majority of a 24 hour period, throughout daylight and an entire night time. I’d been to hell and back and had to dig deeper than I’d ever dug before but untimely I’d make it. I’d set a new personal best distance of 85 miles and still had a little time to spare to watch and support as my team mates came in along with a whole host of hugely inspirational characters all with their own targets. Some of them included the winning male and female who covered an incredible 130 miles and 115 miles respectively and an 85 year old man who achieved 50 miles. Then there is one of the most touching scenes this event continues to offer as the final leg runners are joined by their entire team who all run in crossing the finish line together.

I collected my medal, it was certainly one that was worthy of such an effort, it was huge and matched the class that almost every aspect of this race produces. I can not begin to imagine the amount of organisation that must go into putting on an event like this yet every single detail of it is done with such precision. It’s very hard to find any fault with it which is why it continues to grow in stature and reputation and thoroughly deserves that title of best endurance event. There is so much that could go wrong yet so little that actually does.

The aftermath

I learnt a hell of a lot this year, a lot of things that I should have learned the year before but the naively of it being my first attempt resulted in me thinking I could find those extra 20 miles purely by the weather conditions being better. This year I realised that as bad as that weather was there were so many more factors I could and should have improved on. The main one being my time spent on and off course.

Running faster early on allowing for more extended breaks isn’t the way seasoned ultra runners do it. They keep going and going with very little breaks at all. That’s the key and something I feel I’m now equipped to have the confidence to do. I also need a support team or at least one person helping me to get what I need when I need it which would save valuable time and unnecessary effort.

There’s no doubt about it, I’ll be back at Endure 24 next year but ideally I’d like to go back into a team. A strong 3-5’s team takes my fancy. When running as a solo you do miss out on some of the many things that make this event so special. Mainly the team camaraderie and enjoying the superb event village, then camping experience and the off course atmosphere. On a personal note I also miss the competitive edge. As a soloist I’m not able to get near the top honours over these sorts of distances. My 17 laps/ 85 miles put me in 29th position from 100 males.

I certainly have unfinished business with the 24 hour race though and am currently planning my next moves towards one day achieving that elusive 100 miles.