I took part in a great event today, a 6-hour race, organised by Rasselbock Running, at the Holme Pierrepont rowing lake. The format is straightforward; they mark and marshal a 5.5 km route, and the participants complete laps within the time limit. In my case, I try to do as many laps as possible, and that is true for some of the other runners. However, there are many other ways to participate, and that is what I want to highlight (and then I will also tell you about my run 😊 )
Other ways to tackle the 6-hour race
What many people do is set themselves a distance and run that. For example, quite a few people ran two loops and rang the bell to say they were done. That meant they had run about 11km, got a medal, and had no worry about how fast they were. I imagine some people completed just one lap. In this sort of event, the participants decide when to stop, without any penalty. Quite a few others targeted four laps (which is just over half a marathon). For those unsure about completing a half-marathon, this is a safe race. You are never more than 2.7km from the HQ, and you are unlikely to be timed out. In a regular half-marathon event, the cut-off is often 2.5 or 3 hours, but here the cut-off is going to be six hours.
All abilities
In the race today, and in other similar races I have taken part in, there were fast runners, steady runners and runners with all sorts of challenges, including weight, age, and disability. Every time I saw a fast runner passing a slower runner, or somebody who needed to walk for a while, there were shouts of encouragement. Basically, we are all in the same boat.
So, if you want to step up from jogging on your own, with friends, or at ParkRun, this sort of event is a great way to ease yourself into the next step.
My Run?
My plan today was to try to run 8, 9, or 10 laps (43.5 km, 49 km, or 55 km). The outcome was going to be a mixture of my fitness level, the terrain, and the weather. To start with, the weather was very sunny and 25 °C, which is warm for Nottingham. The terrain was 3.3km of trails, through the woods, and 2.2km along a pathway by the side of the rowing lake at Holme Pierrepont – this meant it would be a slower pace than a road race. My training is improving, but I am still below the level I want to be at.
I completed the first five laps in just under three hours, which meant I was on target for nine laps. The last three hours are bound to be slower than the first three, so four should have been OK. However, after five laps, I needed a lengthy toilet stop, and when I returned to running, the fatigue I had been suppressing kicked in. The first five laps took between 32 minutes and 36 minutes, plus about 90 seconds to grab a drink and a snack at the HQ. The toilet stop delayed the start of lap six, and then the lap took 48 minutes. At this point, my target of nine laps was just outside my reach, so I focused on enjoying eight laps. Lap 7 took 46 minutes, and lap 8 took 45 minutes. I completed the 43.5km (8 loops) in 5 hours 26 minutes. Another lap would have taken me to about six hours and 12 minutes – over the cutoff.
The net position? It was a great day running with lovely people (runners and marshals), mostly on trails (the bit along the lake was less attractive), with lovely weather. I was happy with my performance over five laps, but I need to up my training so I can run for six hours without having to cut my pace. All in all, a good day.
UPDATE:
I have just received the results, I was 26th out of 137, pretty happy with that.
