Written by Andrew Kay - http://slightlyathletic.blog.co.uk

First a confession, Hardmoors 110 wasn't my first choice for my main race this year, I had been hoping to run the GUCR but didn't make the draw. I had previously contemplated doing Hardmoors but there were three things that always put me off, the Hard, the Moors and the 110 of them. But luckily for me the race is the same weekend as The GUCR and I'd already booked time off work so I bit the bullet and signed up for the 110.
Training wise I decided against common advice and basically ignored the hills, I am a decent hill walker anyway and considered that being able to run a large part of the downhills and flat more important, so leading up to the 110 I ran the Thames Trot, Green Man, Pewsey Downsaround and a solo 52 mile run from Goring to Pewsey and also a few 20-30 mile runs leading up to race day.
Me and my trusty crew consisting of my wife Cheralyn and our friend Nicky drove up on the Thursday and recced the checkpoints from Helmsley to Saltburn and then recced the coast the following morning, the weather and the views were fantastic and I knew this was going to be something special.

So there I was serendipitously standing at the start of the Hardmoors 110 in the market square of Helmsley, a lovely little village 111 miles from the finish line at Filey, and after the race briefing was off on another adventure into the unknown.
The first 9 miles were across gently undulating countryside, passing the ruins of the magnificent Rievaulx Abbey and then onto Sutton Bank with its stunning views.
After a slice of quiche and a cup of tea it was off in a northerly direction staying close to the edge of the moors with still more beautiful scenery. The temperature was beginning to rise and the sun was shining brightly by this time but the running was still good and Osmotherly at 20 miles seemed to arrive quite quickly and after another slice of quiche and cup of tea I was off again. I knew from studying my map that the next 22 miles to Kildale were going to be hard miles and so they were, but I found the scenery so inspirational the miles seemed to pass reasonably well.
At Kildale I made a mistake of not changing bottles and it wasn't until I was about a mile out of the village I realised my mistake and I wasn't meeting my crew until 8 miles later.
I cannot thank enough the guy in the grey VW camper van who was waiting for his wife to pass through for refilling my bottles, I'm not sure if I could have gotten to Slapewath and I think if I had turned back to Kildale I may well have dropped out.
Between Kildale and Slapewath is Roseberry Topping, it's an impressive looking hill although not terribly high but after looming in the distance for some time makes for quite an effort to climb, especially because it's out on a limb so after dropping down from the moors and climbing it you have to drop down and climb back up again to the moors.
I felt in a bad way by the time I reached Slapewath and sat and ate soup and had a cup of tea and got ready to leave but realised I was not ready and I was feeling light headed so I sat down for ten mins and just rested, it's surprising what a difference a short rest can make and I finally set off feeling not exactly on top of the world but almost human.
Other than finishing the race the only other goal I had was to reach the sea at Saltburn before dark and I just about managed it.
Through the night it was an enjoyable run along the cliff tops and the night was so quiet I could hear people on boats out in the North Sea where there was barely a ripple. I have to say I love running through the night,I love the solitude and the peacefulness.
Daylight started to break just before 4, there is something wonderful about seeing those first strips of light on the horizon, possibly something primeval, knowing that you had survived the night, or it might just be not having to worry about putting your foot in an unseen hole.

Looking back now the coast section seemed to be a succession of up and down steps, I particularly thought how kind it was for the people of Whitby to inform me there were 199 steps leading up to Whitby Abbey, not something I needed to know after 80 miles.
At Robin Hoods Bay where I met Cher and Nicky I felt totally exhausted, mentally and physically and I still don't know what it is that keeps me moving on, I'm not 'hardcore' or iron willed, but it seems I just cannot accept not finishing the job.
And so off I plodded for the final 26 miles, nothing more than a matter of a marathon.
Scarborough has to be unfortunately the low point of the Cleveland Way, I imagine if you were doing a leisurely trek of the Way it would make a nice change, but trying to dodge holidaymakers who are in their own little worlds gets a bit frustrating. One chap asked me how far I was going, I told him Filey about ten miles away, he replied, "wow, that's a long way", I didn't tell him how far I had come, I just said, "you're not kidding mate".

After a little rain during the early hours of the morning the last few hours the sun had returned and it was getting hot once again and the last few miles seemed to drag, I kept thinking I was close to the finish then another headland would show up to be rounded but eventually I passed that lovely signpost telling me Helmsley was 109 miles behind me and ran down into Brigg country park and across the finish line in 30 hours 14 minutes.
I always have a problem with eating food during ultras, suffering as I do with a dry mouth, so decided to eat quiches and soup, with either bread or rice added to the soup and this seemed to sustain me along with yoghurts, grapes and oranges with plenty of cups of tea. Between checkpoints I used salted caramel Gu gels until about half way when I couldn't stand any more and switched to eating oranges

To summarize Hardmoors 110, it is the most amazing race ran along the beautiful and varied Cleveland Way, which passes through lovely moorland villages and quaint fishing villages. The race is organised and ran the way ultra marathons should be ran by enthusiastic, friendly and welcoming people and I cannot praise it highly enough.
Finally I would like to thank my wife Cheralyn and our good friend Nicky for supporting and looking after me all the way round and also many thanks to the volunteers who gave their time, and effort to make Hardmoors a great race and of course To Jon and Shirley Steele for putting on such a wonderful event