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Date: Saturday January 18th 2025
Strava says: 137.65 miles
Elevation: 8,491 ft / 2,588 m
Weather: clear, dry
Start: Cwrt y Gollen, near Crickhowell
Route type: 4.2 mile laps
Conditions: Dry and firm underfoot
Website link: Limitless Trails
Describe the route in three words: brilliant backyard route
Trails and Tarmac Backyard Ultra – Race Report
Lap description: Leaving the cricket club firstly over grass, back yarders head right on to the A40. A long mostly flat stretch, turn right onto Llangenny Lane and head up a narrow footpath. Short uphill over 2 stiles, a stream, and a third stile, continue to a grassy short climb then run along the hill looking back down to the A40. Through a field and kissing gate to rejoin Llangenny Lane. A little bit undulating turn right onto a footpath to meander down the side of Rheld Wood. The path could be muddy, becomes stony and crosses a stone bridge with a magnificent tree to the left. Short lane before turning right, over a stile. Follow the river downstream through a field, a stile, another field past a horse paddock. One final stile onto a lane, right turn back on to the A40 to return back to the cricket club. Just over 300 ft of elevation.
I was very much looking forward to this backyard. I had recced the route and absolutely loved it, I think the first tip I could give is if you want to do well in a BYU, you need to genuinely love the route, after all, you’ll be spending a lot of time ‘out there’.
The dream team of Francis and Lizzie were reunited once again, I cannot express to you how much I love this man, he has crewed, paced and social ran with me enough over the years to know me so well, I am totally comfortable in his presence and no ask is too much. This would be my second tip, if you are having crew, you need someone ace. I love Fran, he knows that, but on a race, the sole focus is me and whatever diva needs I come up with. We are both comfortable with that, I do not waste energy worrying about being too demanding of him.
We arrived round 8am and set up ‘camp’. I had a borrowed gazebo, table, chair, stacks of food and loads of kit so it took a little while to get everything up and ready. Fran and I had agreed I would self crew at the start and he would join me when I came in off my 3pm lap. Fran headed off to do his long run and add some elevation to his January elevation challenge he completed over 40,000 ft in January!), I relaxed and read my book, The Hardest Geezer, good fuel to the fire I thought!
Race brief was at 9.30am and we were told the first 4 yards cake, gels and the like would be provided and then after that the pizza and good stuff would be rolled out.
98 stood in the starting pen, the countdown began, and off we went. I do find BYU starts quite funny. There is always a group of runners (usually male) at the front who go charging off as if their life depends on it. I made a point of being at the back and walking out. They can race their race, I will race mine.
I reached the footpath off Llangenny Lane at 10:17am. I always pick some significant points on the course and make a note of my time, I then know that throughput the race, I need to be hitting that time give or take a minute depending on if I am doing a consistent lap, a fast lap or a slow lap. There was a massive queue for the stile, my mind flicked back to what Hannah had said to me about this during my pre-race massage, don’t let the queue stress you out, think of the bottlenecks we have encountered at cross country, it’ll only slow you by seconds. I’d had a panic the day before imagining myself getting timed out on the first yard because I’d got stuck in a queue at the stile!
There was a queue for stile 2 and 3 too. I noted the runners around me, a guy in black who seemed to have similar tactics to me, would he be my assist? There was a lady who I recognised as the Geeky Runner (Jody Manning) – she has designed a front facing pack for runners and hikers to wear. There was a lady with great big headphones on, she looked like she had a plan – not to engage with others. I liked that, that is how I tend to roll at the beginning. In fact Instagram buddy Laurie Stephens pointed out to me that I looked like I was in ‘the zone’!
The yard continued and I reached the magnificent tree at 10:37am, this was to be my second timed marker. Heading back onto the A40 it was around 10.43am. I was way too early so I walked a lot of this section, I got in off the first lap in 51m 20s. I sat in my gazebo, had a nibble on something, a drink and read my book.
And so the laps continued, the field remained intact, we lost our first 3 backyarders after 3 yards. On the 5th yard, Brett drove past and honked his horn, it was great to briefly see a familiar face.
On these early yards I learned patience. The first 24 hours of a backyard ultra is very much a waiting game. I did not interact with others, I remained with my own thoughts and enjoyed the route, grateful at how easy it was. My experience on Faccombe BYU is that the route comes up long, and has an enormous amount of elevation, the lap dictated to me my time. However with this BYU, I could really play around with my lap times, choosing an extra walk or an extra run, I was very much in control of my times.
I came in off my 6th lap and Fran was there with a Super Noodle, it was great to see him and hear about his long run that morning, sounded like he’d had a blast. Fran put in a long shift for me, we’d agree at the start of each lap what I wanted when I came in. I was eating really, really well. I put my head torch on for the 4pm lap but did not need to switch it on until the 5pm lap. As we set off on the 12th lap, we were informed there would be chip shop chips waiting for us when we got back, this lifted all of our spirits and cheers could be heard all around.
I love running through the night and was pleased to see that the darkness did not affect my lap times too much. Fran and I came up with a plan that I would try and rest my eyes for a bit when I came in off the 10pm lap. As soon as I came in, I sat down, he put a blanket on my knees, eye mask and ear defenders went on and I closed my eyes until the 3 minute whistle where Fran put his hand on my shoulder to rouse me. I did not sleep, but it was refreshing to take a moment out.
Fran headed home to get some much needed sleep and I would self crew for the next few yards. He returned at 3:30am and saw me in from the 3am lap, cup of tea at the ready. I was aware by now that this was not going to be a short backyard, as the sun started to rise I mentally prepared myself for night two. When I removed my head torch, I handed it to Francis and asked him to replace the batteries, knowing that I would be wearing it again.
The yards continued, on and on. I dedicated some yards to friends, I dedicated one to a stranger’s daughter, two ladies had cheered us out the cricket club, one had told me how proud her daughter was of me for being last lady standing. One of my most enjoyable yards was when I spent the whole yard thinking about Sherwood Pines BYU and all the things I had learned and could apply to that race from this.
My friend Catherine had run an 8 mile road race Sunday morning as part of her preparation for Tokyo marathon, she then kindly drove from Cardiff to come and relieve Fran. Cath joined me when I came in off the 1pm lap, the crew change was seamless, I’ve only met her in person once before but she was absolutely in tune with my needs, she was incredible. I asked her to get Coach to send her a message so that she could read it out to me, sure enough, when I came in off the 3pm lap, she read me the message and it made me cry a little (in a good way).
A couple of times I didn’t know what I wanted as I’d set off on my yard so I would phone Cath during the lap to let her know, one such phone call I asked for a white coffee with sugar, funny really as I’m not much of a coffee drinker and certainly would not normally have it with sugar. Cath said to me “there’s someone here to see you”. Hmmm, Fran maybe? No that doesn’t make sense as she made it sound like a surprise person. Brett perhaps as he is local? As I came in off that yard, I could see a stern figure dressed all in black, standing with arms folded and wearing a serious expression, massive ginger beard. It was Coach! I could no believe it! Where had he come from? Stu told me he had driven up from Brighton to come and support me, I felt a mix of emotions. Cath barely knew me but here she was. Stu had dropped everything and here he was. This was incredible.
The race was heating up. We were down to the final five on the 23rd yard: Kelechi, Henry, Tobias, myself and Lee.
It was still the 5 of us on the 24 hour start line. Certainly a milestone as the end of this yard would mark 100 miles and the beginning of the race. The warm up was over. I’ve shared miles with Henry Drake before, on the Wild Horse 200, he started running with me a bit having been at the front for the entirety of the race. We had a good chat and his company could not have come at a better time as I was beginning to flag a little, the morale boost was very much needed.
Fran returned so I was spoiled with crew and support. On the 26th yard start, Kelechi fist bumped us all as it was to be his last, he needed to give his friends a lift home. Henry kept telling me he was mentally done and that “this would be his last lap”. I believe Henry did 10 ‘last laps’ but in the end, he wanted to make it a round number and did not want to go into a second night therefore Henry finished having completed 30 yards. Henry’s wife Nicola was there supporting him, Nicola of Wild Horse checkpoint 8 fame, I love her, it was great to see her! Anthony was also there (a friend of there’s) last time I had seen him he had rescued me on Wild Horse by letting me warm up in his car with a coffee, he even leant me his socks which I posted back to him along with a Freddo!
And so it was Tobias, myself and Lee setting out on the 31st yard. Tobias had been slowing for some time and I knew he was sleep deprived and hallucinating, he was hanging on in there but I knew he would be dropping soon. A couple of times already I had thought he might get timed out but he’d always managed to get over the line in time. However, on the 30th yard I passed Tobias earlier than usual, he was moving at a snail’s pace. As I trundled along, my mind tapped out for a bit. When I reached the tree at what should have been around 37 minutes past the hour, it was around 42 or 43. At the same time, I heard thundering feet, I looked over my shoulder and was surprised to see Tobias moving swiftly, as if he were in a 10km race. He told me he’d had a lie down and was hallucinating and I should beware the trail snakes, I told him the lie down must have done him good as he was flying now. He told me I “was done”. I couldn’t believe it. He hopped over the stile in no time, once I got over I moved up a gear, it felt amazing, I covered the next mile (my 130th mile) in 10 minutes and 7 seconds! I couldn’t believe how good I felt, the adrenaline really pumping through me.
I passed Tobias on the road and as I headed to the line he put in a sprint finish, I slowed to a walk and was delighted to have made up so much time and crossed the line with 5 minutes to spare.
Cath and Stu turned me around quickly and I set off on 31st lap along with Tobias and Lee. I was fully awake now and kept to my timings.
As I passed the houses just before the narrow path leading to the stiles, a couple were standing outside their house. They asked me my name and they wished me luck.
When I came through the sheep field after the final stile, a head torch came towards we. It was Tobias’ crew. He’d called it in and his crew had gone out to bring him back. Now I knew all I had to do was complete this lap and we’d be down to the final two runners.
When I went out on my 33rd yard, it was just Lee and I. One of us would be the winner, one of us would be the assist. We fist bumped. It was an incredibly feeling. I was quietly confident I could take the win as I had been in complete control the whole time and I had noticed that Lee’s lap times were slowing as I’d started to see him ahead on some of the yards, he’d always been so far ahead I had never seen him before. Every single lap time had been determined by me and I had remained consistent, I really felt I had this, I just needed to be patient.
For the first time ever, my legs decided to throw a tantrum and I could not get them to go properly. I was aware that I was moving really slowly along the A40, a true ultra shuffle. I cried a bit, for fear of being timed out. I had a word with myself, do not walk. I did not walk, I shuffled along. I got to the houses and the couple cheered me on by name, I told them I was having an emotional moment, they told me that they would see me in an hour. I got to the 17 minute marker and it was only 18 minutes past the hour, impressive, I had thought I was massively behind. And then came the stiles, my IT bands were screaming at me, my legs have never hurt like this before and it was a real effort for me to get over those stiles. I carried on shuffling. I got back down to Llangenny Lane. It was 30 minutes past, how on earth had it just taking me 12 minutes to do such a short section? I told myself that it wasn’t over until it was over. I rang Fran to warn him that I was having a slow lap, but my phone wouldn’t play ball so I shelved that idea. By the time I got to the big tree I was massively behind schedule, I carried on shuffling. Do. Not. Give. Up.
As I approached the A40 I looked at my watch once more. I was less than a mile from the end and it was 7:01pm. It was game over. I was the assist, Lee the winner. I broke down in tears. Like, really, really big, sobbing, end of the world tears. An event vehicle pulled up alongside me and asked me if I wanted a lift. Wiping the tears away from my face I declined, I wanted to finish this yard. I also knew that Fran would come for me. Sure enough, in the next few moments I saw a head torch hurtling down the road towards me. Of course it was Fran, we had a very big cuddle and let’s just hope his jacket was waterproof as I was crying a lot. It was a mixture of sadness because I couldn’t do it, I hadn’t been able to go any further, but also happy tears because look how far I had come. I was the last lady standing by a long, long way. I had the ladies course record now and I had come so far. Fran said all the right things, telling me how proud he was and how proud I should be and what a performance. My tears subsided and he told me that there was surprise waiting for me at the finish. I looked up at him, “Is it an Easter egg?” “Oh my God you are easily pleased!” we both laughed and he told me I had to wait and see.
Cath and Stu joined us and we ‘ran’ it in. Cath did a sterling job of ‘running’ next to me, we really did look like we were running. I glanced over my shoulder to see what Fran and Stu were up to, they were just casually walking. Wow, I really was slow now!
The events team, the crew and the last of the spectators stood alongside the finish and cheered and clapped me in, cow bells ringing. Lee was waiting for me, of course when I had got timed out on the 33rd yard, he had not needed to start the 34th yard.
I had a big cuddle with Lee, thanking him and congratulating him. RD Ellen gave me a huge cuddle too and looking me firmly in the eyes told me how proud she was of me and what a pleasure it had been to watch. It really was the most wonderful finish line feel.
We did our award ceremony and I suddenly felt cold, I was ushered inside and my body went into total shut down, I couldn’t move my legs or feet and I was freezing. My friend Vic appeared which was a shock. She had been at Longbridge backyard from Friday evening and had done 24 yards, she had then driven home to North Wales and now here she was with me in South Wales!
As Cath and Vic fussed over me (wow, what a diva I am!) Stu crouched down to tell me about my surprise. The captain of the England Backyard Ultra team had been watching me with interest over the weekend. Would I like a spot on the team competing at the 4 Nations Event in Scotland? Yes please! This was a dream come true!
Thank Yous
Ultra running is very much a team sport and I am lucky enough to have a massive team behind me. I want to do an Oscar worthy speech so please bear with! In no particular order:
Francis Tracey – the majestic beast, we are dangerous together and I cannot believe what I put you through and you never stop smiling and believing in me. You are the bestest running buddy in the whole wild world. Remember… what happens in the gazebo, stays in the gazebo!
Catherine Thompson – Only met you in person once yet you drove over from Cardiff to give Fran a break (having raced in the morning!) and the crew change was seamless, you were absolute phenomenal, you make THE BEST kettle mash and coffee I have ever tasted! I think you even offered to spoon feed me soup at one point, legend!
Coach Stu Obree Obree Coaching – Ran through the night at Longbridge on Friday and then drove up from Brighton to come and support me, that meant the absolute world to me that you would give up your weekend like that for me. Your training plan is clearly working and I am so excited for what’s to come this year for us!
Vic The Happy Runner – also ran at Longbridge, just a mere 24 hours of running / 100 miles and then drove down from North Wales to come and support me! Merrily offered to change my socks too and talc my feet, that was 137 miles of sweat and mud on your hands!!!!
Debbie Mangan, Adam & Kevin Mowat for doing some of my less appealing training runs with me
Lucie Mansell – those long road runs tuned out to be massively beneficial, thank you!
Blaze Fitness UK – Sarah Ayers, Hannah Hall and Matthew Brooker PT for being the absolute superstars that they are and all of the wonderful Blaze gang who inspire me every single day
Lucy Wooldridge – mindset coaching, oh my word what have you done to me? You have turned me into the most creative runner out there, the others didn’t really stand a chance did they with your help!
Hannah – for the pre race massages
Brett Mahoney and all at Mynydd Du running club – the support messages were such a boost
Ellen Wood – you are the bestest RD ever and I loved all the cuddles and support you gave me, I am so happy that Lee and I totally upped the course record for you! The chippy chip shop chips at 12 hours were a phenomenal idea! All the staff and volunteers at Limitless Trails are absolutely fantastic, always smiling and cheering me on!
Ky – my love, my world, supporting me and always believing in me.
And everyone who sent me so many wonderful messages. It really is a boost knowing people care enough to track me in these crazy things!
Yard times and starter numbers
Yard 1 = 98 starters | 51;20
Yard 2 = 98 starters | 52:17
Yard 3 = 98 starters | 52:28
Yard 4 = 96 starters | 51:52
Yard 5 = 94 starters | 52:28
Yard 6 = 91 starters | 50:29
Yard 7 = 91 starters | 53:29
Yard 8 = 86 starters | 54:12
Yard 9 = 61 starters | 52:58
Yard 10 = 56 starters | 51:50
Yard 11 = 48 starters | 52:43
Yard 12 = 47 starters | 53:03
Yard 13 = 30 starters | 53:00
Yard 14 = 22 starters | 54:29
Yard 15 = 21 starters | 51:50
Yard 16 = 12 starters | 49:44
Yard 17 = 11 starters | 50:27
Yard 18 = 9 starters | 51:56
Yard 19 = 7 starters | 51:29
Yard 20 = 7 starters | 54:23
Yard 21 = 7 starters | 55:08
Yard 22 = 6 starters | 52:35
Yard 23 = 6 starters | 49:45
Yard 24 = 6 starters | 50:25
Yard 25 = 6 starters | further yard times not available
Yard 26 = 5 starters
Yard 27 = 4 starters
Yard 28 = 4 starters
Yard 29 = 4 starters
Yard 30 = 4 starters
Yard 31 = 3 starters
Yard 32 = 3 starters | 55:00
Yard 33 = 2 starters | 60:16
What I wore: Saucony Peregrine 12, Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar, buff, Sweaty Betty power leggings, Sweaty Betty merino beanie hat, Injinji socks, Montane long sleeved top, Montane windproof jacket, Dirty Girl gaiters. My sock and shoe combination was spot on, I did not need to change either and I came away with no blisters.
Results
Completed yards: 32
Strava time: 33 hr 16 m
Overall: 2/98
Lady: 1/26
Strava link: click here
Trails and Tarmac January 2025 results: click here
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