From Petra Bijsterveld…
Photos: Dawn Turner, Will Worboys, Petra Bijsterveld
The Dalesway Ultra (81 miles), by local ultra running organisers Punk Panther, has attracted quite a few Harriers in its previous outings in 2019 and 2021, and having fallen for the attraction of running/marching/walking a long way whilst eating loads, I somehow decided that if I could run 42 miles (my previous longest distance, the Welcome Way in March) and still feel good I might as well just double it. Sensible people might have done a 50 miler or a 100k first but the temptation of the beautiful Dalesway was just too great, and I knew that I was in good shape having trained since the winter for my recent mountain race in Val d’Aran. I had put off entering the Dalesway until after Val d’Aran, and as soon as that run had gone well and I came out injury-free I decided to go for it.
The event takes the route from Bowness on Windermere back down to Ilkley. It gives a strong psychological advantage that you are running ‘home’. I did not know the first half from Bowness to Gearstones (near Ribblehead) but as it would be daylight for this, the route is well waymarked and I would have a gpx file on my watch I was not worried about that. I had recently thoroughly recced the parts which I knew I would be doing in the dark, from Gearstones to Grassington, and obviously like most Harriers I am pretty familiar with the sections south from Buckden anyway.
I was hugely fortunate and grateful that Harrier ultra running legends Andrew Merrick and Jane McCarthy straightaway offered to help me on the night section. Having not done such a long race before I also never had to run through the night so, although I wasn’t scared of it I did reckon that some help would be invaluable, and night support is allowed by the Punk Panthers. We worked out a plan where Jane and Andrew would meet me at Gearstones, for Andrew to run with me to Kettlewell where Jane would then be waiting and run with me to Barden Bridge. Efficient as ever they said they would take total charge of all the car logistics so I did not need to worry about any of that.
As the day of the race approached the weather forecast gradually went from ‘pleasantly warm’ to ‘hotter than the sun’ and the emails from the organisers urged us ever more strongly to carry extra water and electrolytes, and to wear appropriate head covering. Many runners wisely turned up wearing the legionnaires sun hat more commonly seen at the Marathon des Sables, I managed to find a fetching whiteish sun hat with a wide brim in the cupboard. Not the most trendy look for a runner, but definitely the right item for the job, keeping my ears, neck and forehead well covered. As the day went on and got hotter I dunked the hat into streams and rivers regularly to keep my head cool. There was also iced water provided at daytime checkpoints to pour over our heads and soak our hats, much appreciated as normally water stations need to preserve the water for drinking, but they had laid on extra supplies.
I took the optional coach from Ilkley to Bowness on Saturday morning for an 08:30 race start, leaving our cars at the tennis club. I met fellow Harrier Simon Stokes at the start, nice to put a face to the name! Ryk (PP chief honcho) sounded his claxon and we went on our way to face a journey of 80 miles, with a checkpoint more or less every 10 miles, and a few extra mobile water stations laid on by the organisers by the road side, which we came to be hugely grateful for.
With a small field of only 38 runners I had expected to be mainly running on my own as has often happened to me at the PP events. But I was quite pleased to spend all of the first half with others, three of us, Matt, Sarah and I stuck together with the odd one or two runners attaching themselves to us and then falling back again or going ahead. At about 25 miles Matt started to struggle in the heat and feeling dizzy, we stuck with him, in such hot conditions it definitely did not seem right to press on and leave someone behind. Sarah and I made sure he was safe at checkpoint 3 at Dent and then pushed on together to Gearstones where our drop bags were awaiting us, as well as hot food.
Arriving there at 8 pm I changed my socks and shoes and put on a clean t-shirt, had some food, put my sunhat and sunglasses away and got my headtorch out instead. I was keen to press on and make the most of the remaining light, I was already 90 minutes later than I had thought (I would normally cover an average 4 miles an hour on these kinds of events so had expected to take 10 hours, but the heat had slowed me down significantly in the afternoon, as well as making longer stops at checkpoints to refill all those bottles, organise my electrolytes and so on). Sarah wasn’t feeling so great and wanted a longer break but was happy for me to press on, and I knew she could team up with others to face the night. So I trotted back up the road where Andrew and Jane had parked up, and Andrew and I set off up the Cam road with a lovely sunset behind us, towards Oughtershaw and eventually the Buckden CP. Darkness fell whilst we were on the moor and when we reached Oughtershaw the most amazing huge orange moon rose over the hills. Cooler now, I managed to run quite a long stretch on the road (downhill) which made up a little for the time lost earlier and we even managed to cover an amazing 5 miles in an hour. When I wasn’t running we were marching. Andrew kept reminding me to eat and drink (he had kindly asked if this would be helpful and it definitely was!) and took charge of opening and closing all the gates for me which was hugely beneficial, as well as checking navigation and being all round moral support. We had bunched up with some other runners and they were also very grateful for the free gate opening service! After a stop at Buckden we marched on to Kettlewell having picked up another runner we were now 3 for a bit. The route along the river is rather boulder strewn, so power walking was my preferred option at this stage with my tired legs and clumsy feet. There really is barely any difference for me in pace between very slow jogging and fast marching, and it saves energy and prevents stumbles. It felt like a long 4 miles to Kettlewell, I normally think of that section as really short but it dragged on. However, the thought of the promised pot noodle at Kettlewell kept me going! And there was even melon for afters. Jane took over from Andrew and we set off at 01.15 am to tackle the last big climb, out of Kettlewell and onto Grassington moor. Like Andrew, Jane looked after me superbly and again took charge of navigation and gates. I managed to run down the road to the checkpoint in Grassington car park but for the rest it was all power walking again. After a lovely cup of tea we pushed on to Burnsall, the sun rose somewhere between Burnsall and Barden Bridge which was very welcome as it was, dare I say it, a bit cold now! I also had a bit of a head torch issue and found that my Petzl does not last an entire night on one charge and conked out just before Burnsall, I definitely need a spare battery, so you can keep charging and swapping batteries over. My spare head torch was pretty rubbish so I was glad Jane was able to shine her superior light onto the ground for me. I felt annoyed with myself and could feel myself getting crotchety, 4 am is physiologically the low point of the day and never the best time to be faced with problems. It is probably the only thing in my planning that went a bit wrong, but lesson learnt.
Night support over, I pressed on by myself from Barden Bridge to the final CP at Bolton Abbey. Strangely enough I was able to run again, I think the combination of daylight, a good surface without trip hazards, and the excitement of being nearly home gave me a boost and I ran all the way to the Cavendish Pavilion. Just before I got there I was delighted to see Lynn Donohue coming towards me, she had come out unexpectedly to see and support me, having had very recent ultra experience in the heat too. Considering this was before 6 am that was just amazing! Such a boost. We ran to Bolton Bridge together where she treated me to some sugary tea and a banana she had brought especially, there was even a choice of more options. I slurped down the tea and then I did want to press on, with a sub 24 hour finish within sight now. I knew the Turners would come and run with me somewhere along the final miles and I was delighted to see them appear at Addingham (+Enzo), then Will Worboys appeared too, it was a proper welcoming committee. Peter Roll was waiting at the Dalesway finish sign (or start, to be more precise) by the Old Bridge, which I had to visit having come through the tennis club already, and then run back to cross the finish line.
I crossed that line after 23 hours and 20 minutes as 2nd woman and 1st F50, absolutely thrilled to bits with that. I was pleased to learn today that my companions from the first half, Matt and Sarah, both managed to finish too, and so did Simon Stokes who had had his own struggles with the heat and also took an unfortunate wrong turn along the course adding on a few miles, which he said was very disheartening at the time. The fact that 12 out of the 38 runners did not make it to Ilkley is pretty reflective of the difficult conditions.
This event was definitely one of the high points of my running journey so far and I enjoyed it hugely, though some parts dragged a bit I had no major low points. In my mind I broke it down in 10 mile chunks from checkpoint to checkpoint, rather than thinking about the entire 80 miles. My mantra had been that ‘unless one of my legs falls off’ I will get to Ilkley, the generous time allowed (36 hours) ensures you could actually walk the entire course if need be. Hydration and nutrition worked well, and due to the dry conditions no issues with wet feet and all the foot misery that can bring, in fact not a blister in sight.
Finally, I am very grateful to all those who provided support, not just physically, but also the amazing WhatsApp chat which developed whilst I was moving, and all the kind comments on Strava. Truly blessed to be in such a wonderful club. Thank you!
(1 16:29:19 Stephen Kirk)
13 23:20:23 Petra Bijsterveld 1st FV50
20 28:45:17 Simon Stokes
38 ran
26 finished