Written by Dave Boxall

Two years ago I was out for my weekly run, an eight-mile loop to the North of Bath, which I run with my father-in-law. We return into Bath down the Cotswold Way, and as we started our descent we saw a group of three runners on the ridge ahead of us. As we descended the path we started to catch up with them. This made no sense, as they were serious looking runners with mud splatters, hydration packs and everything. As we got closer the only thing I could think was that they must have run a long way, perhaps 20 miles, and so be a bit tired. When we drew level I asked, “Have you come far?” “Chipping Camden” was the reply. A bit of further chat revealed that they were racing the whole of the Cotswold way non-stop. They were completely mad, or they were supermen (and women), surely nobody normal could do a run like that.

The simplicity of the challenge proved to be compelling, to start running at one end of a long-distance path and to keep going until the end. Not to mention the convenience, as I’d be running home. So after two years, my first marathon, three ultras and a lot of coaching from Cotswold Way Race Director Kurt Dusterhoff I lined up with 92 other runners outside the Market Hall in Chipping Camden for the start of the 2015 Cotswold Way Century.

The Cotswold Way is an evil route, in fact legend has it that some of it (Cam Long Down) was placed there by the devil. In order to include every viewpoint and chocolate-box village the route zig-zags up and down the escarpment. To be a National Trail the route has to be a minimum of 100 miles long, so there are plenty of loops and wiggles in the trail, and did I mention that it’s hilly?  

The race started in bright sunshine after a few days of fine weather so once we left the roads of Chipping Camden and started walking up the hill it was a relief to find the trail was pretty dry. We ran steadily through the afternoon, ripping through the miles that I’d spent days walking when I rehearsed the route few weeks earlier. The first 50 miles or so were pretty enjoyable. I chatted with groups of runners, scenery was fantastic, although the afternoon was a little hot. The Route seems to take an age getting around Cheltenham but finally, as the sun was setting we started to leave it behind us.

My previous night runs have all been quite short, a couple of hours at most, so a full night out was a new experience. I don’t mind night running as it shrinks the world to a little bubble of light and tends to draw me inside myself. The route south of Cheltenham spends a lot of time in the woods. The full moon was little help here and I was glad of my recent knowledge of the path to make to the route finding easier. I fell in with a couple of runners, David Anderson and Jim O’Brien, on this stretch and stayed with them until a little after the “half-way” checkpoint at Painswick.

I started to suffer during the early part of the morning. By Stroud I was on my own again, unable to keep up with David and Jim as my legs tired. Somewhere between Stroud and Dursley my quads began to hurt so much I could no longer run the downhills, so I was reduced to trotting the flats and gentle downhill slopes and walking the rest. I found the section around Dursley very hard. Cam Long Down is an isolated hill away from the main ridge with a great path around the bottom of it, but of course the path goes straight over the top. After Dursley comes another morale-sapper. The path takes a two-mile loop around Stinchcombe golf course. The views would be great, but it’s dark, and at the end of the loop you’re within 400m of where you entered the course.

Between Stinchcome and Wooton-under-Edge the sun came up. It raised my morale a bit, but did nothing for my legs and as the morning became warmer my progress reduced to a walk and I started to worry about making the cut-off at Tormarton at 1:15pm.

Finally I reached the checkpoint at Horton. Frome here the route was familiar, as I’d run it several times in training. While at Horton I calculated that if I could maintain twenty-minute miles then I’d finish the race with about half an hour to spare. After a brief stop, I hauled myself out of the chair and struggled on.

My 20 minute mile plan held together through the fabulous grounds of Doddington House and Tormarton village, but by then I was almost hoping to be stopped at the Tormarton checkpoint. By this stage the only thing that was keeping me going was the thought that it was so awful that I couldn’t bear having to do it again… about a mile out from the checkpoint I met my wife, Monica, who had walked out from Bath with a friend to meet me. We walked the mile together, then I started out on the final fifteen miles through Dyrham Park and Cold Ashton to the finish.

There’s not a lot to say about those last fifteen miles. It was hot, I was incredibly tired, my stomach was churning and I really, really wanted to stop but the path kept going up and down the hills. After the final big climb to Lansdown Hill I felt much better. The route was really very familiar now as I’d run it dozens of times before (just never this slowly). I was able to jog some of the flatter sections and as I descended the final slope with Bath visible ahead of me I felt such relief. At the bottom I met my father-in law who would accompany me to the finish line, and at the last checkpoint Monica and her friend, Sally, were waiting. After topping-up a water bottle we were off. The path has one last twist. Instead of following the obvious and flat route into central Bath the path climbs, first up Primrose Hill and then up Sion Hill. After Sion Hill it really is “all downhill from here” and soon I was passing through the crowds of Sunday shoppers into the Abbey Square.

I wasn’t elated to finish – more very relieved, both that it was over and that I’d never have to do it again… Of the ninety-two starters, fifty-seven of them finished, and twenty of those finished during the last hour before the cut-off.

I think there are several things that made it possible for me to complete the Cotswold Way Century. The training is obviously very important, and after an injury at the end of last year I signed up for coaching from Kurt Dusterhoff at Cotswold Running. He made me feel confident that an “ordinary runner” can complete an event like this. Having the right gear is important – and nothing more so than shoes. I was lucky that during my training I found a shoe/sock/footcare combination that worked for me. Although my feet were sore at the end of the race, I had only one small blister. Having walked the Cotswold Way a month before the race also helped a lot. During the night the route finding isn’t easy and having a fair idea that you’re on course without continuous reference to the map or GPS is a great confidence booster.

Daniel Hendriksen won the race in 21 hours 29 minutes. First Woman was Angie Sadler in 27hours and 13 minutes. My finishing time was 29 hours and 38 minutes. By then, I was almost past being proud.

Ultramarathon running is a thing you do alone, but with the help and support of so many people. Monica, who has tolerated and even enabled this new obsession, The volunteers and marshals at the races who give their time to support us, and the other runners and passers-by who often encourage us and lift our spirits in the dark moments.