Glyn is no stranger to Sport Walking challenges and opted for the 75k route of the Jurassic Coast Ultra this year. This is his account in his own words.
By Glyn Howells
I signed up to take on three quarters of the Jurassic Coast Challenge this year. I have completed the 100k distance twice in the past, only got as far as half way one year and only walking the second quarter last year.
I camped at Corfe Castle prior to the start as I normally do, and as soon as I got to the campsite I got chatting to Niall, who was taking on the 100k distance. Although Niall does not take on the challenges as a Sport Walker and wears lightweight boots and a backpack, he takes his walking seriously, actually winning and placing on some of the “walk only” challenges.
As I write he is 142 miles into the Wild Horses 200 mile ultra that he started a few days after completeing the 100k, so good chatting to him and others, swapping ultra stories and picking up some more tips to get through the distance.
A 9.30 start on Saturday morning, I met up with a couple of friends that I would be walking with. The day started a bit overcast, but I knew it would soon heat up, so decided to use a hydration bladder in my race vest as well as the two 500ml bottles, one of which I would keep topped up with Tailwind. We started off at a steady pace, not pushing it too much as we knew what was to come, but we knew we would hit the big hills a bit fresher as we had missed the first 25k of the 100k.
After about 5k I decided to stop and take off a layer and apply some sun cream as the day was getting hotter, my two friends decided to walk on. I am not the fastest of walkers but upped my pace to eventually catch them up. I was quite pleased with 9.30 – 9.45 pace I was hitting, just need to try and get nearer that while training out on the trails more.
We had regrouped by the time we had reached Binden Hill or “The Wall” as it is known, this is the first big hill before Lulworth and even though I have climbed it a few times now, it never gets any easier, especially in the heat on the day.
Stuart, one of the friends I was walking with was struggling in the heat, and would the whole challenge, but he is a trooper and is raising funds for a charity close to his heart so would never give in. After a brief rest at the top we pushed on to the Lulworth rest stop, where we would take on a bit of food, a cup of coffee and top up our water before pushing on.
Feeling a bit refreshed we were ready to hit the three hills after Durdle Door, again they never get any easier and a lot of people were finding them hard in the heat. After getting them done it was on to the rest stop at Weymouth and a chance to take on some hot food and a change of clothes and socks, a fresh pair of socks at every 25k really helps the feet.
We pushed on from the Weymouth stop and it was not long until Niall overtook us, he was walking the 100k and had started at 7.30, so he was pushing the pace. It is not too far until the next rest stop where we decided to start layering back up as the temperature was starting to fall and we would be walking in the dark fairly soon.
This section, though flat can still feel tough, especially with the amount of stiles you encounter, not great with aching knees and hips!! It was during this section that I had realised I had made an error in my preparation, making sure I used KT tape on my knee and hips, I had forgotten to tape up the balls of my feet, the one place I am prone to blisters, so a couple of stops to apply compeed were needed. I think I got off lightly compared to how my walking partners feet were doing!!
We reached the Abbotbury rest stop where we had a bit more hot food and another change of socks, then we were on our way towards Chesil Beach and the infamous shingle. The last time I walked here we had mud to contend with as well, it was either shingle or thick mud, not this year though as all paths were bone dry. We did have a bit of a surprise though as the walk along the shingle was a bit further than in previous years, and they even sent us back on to it again for a small stretch before heading inland to the next stop.
Leaving the last stop we had one more hill to walk up, nothing compared to what we had encountered earlier in the challenge and once we knew we were at the top, the path would level out and we would start our descent to Bridport and the finish line.
Having completed 100k in 29 hours in the past, we set ourselves a target of finishing in 21 hours, we finished in 20:50 so were pleased with that. Now it’s on to the Gower Challenge 100k in a couple of months.
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