Dartmoor Discovery

Listed by paskha
Entrants (1) Club PB SB Pred Time WAVA
paskha Dartmoor Discovery 4th Annual Open – 32miles 637yds – Saturday 15 June 2002 There is nothing quite like the Dartmoor Discovery. Started in 1998 by Phil Hampton who had organised the Two Bridges 35 mile race in Fife, Scotland in 1968 (these two events are now twinned, info on both at www.twobridgesrace.org.) It is a typical Ultra (YOU against the distance for the vast majority of us – plus the climbs and descents of over 4,000ft in the Dartmoor event) and has become my personal pilgrimage. But this year I wasn’t going to be able to do it ….. Since the Treetops 5 mile race on Jubilee Tuesday, where the pain in my gluteus maximus had me hobbling, I had felt aches down my right leg, eventually making an appointment to see a doctor the day before the race. I ran two painful miles to check how I was and went straight into the surgery to ask, “Is it sciatica? and how do you treat it?” The young doctor (a locum) thought it was, then simply said: “The race? It’s possible – it depends how badly you want to do it.” I was astounded, he was talking about pain and taking pain-killers to get you round. It emerged he had done just that. He had started the London Marathon with a painful knee problem – and completed it. So I went! I left Penzance at 05:50am the next morning, doing my first long run on the bike (Yamaha SR125, not a huge beast, but big enough) 92 miles to Princetown arriving at 08:10am. Race start time 09:30am. I was so excited when I got on to the Moor, I lifted my visor and yelled “I’m here, I’ve made it! It’s wonderful, oh it’s fantastic!” (Obviously already adrenalised.) And I started! I chugged round with Selina (da Silva) on her 68th marathon, chatting for the first two and a half hours before we even checked the time. Mostly undulating and sharp descents as the course took us from chilly and misty Princetown down to Ashburton, where it was much warmer, also very humid. A marshall offered to take my jacket and hat but I knew to expect changes later, once we had climbed back on to the Moor. (And it did – rain and a cold wind blowing.) There was a long steady climb out of Ashburton, then the road wound up and down through some of the best places for sheer serenity and gentle ruggedness. I was definitely touched (hmm) by the magic and mystery of the Moor and it’s very hard to put into words …… when the light changes and the next bend takes you by surprise .… Rolling hills, wooded valleys, streams, ancient bridges, all can be seen in other places, but on Dartmoor (where you can get seriously lost) with all your senses awake, the totality of it somehow gets to you – and you are literally in another world in time and space. I did have a lot of problems this time though. Selina went ahead after about 20 miles as I was pulled up with rectum cramp. (Please, does anyone know how to prevent this? Or relieve it.) The usual bashed toes (sharp descents) and unnecessary blisters (how many times do you have to be told not to wear nearly new trainers?!) The cramp eased eventually, but it took over 10 minutes, and there were tears. Pull out? The man behind me did. I stopped to put on another plaster as the back-up car waited patiently. I should at least get to the Marathon point, where a few entrants had decided to finish. But before I got there I heard good news (England were 3-0 up against Denmark!) and bad news: Selina had taken a wrong turning and was now 2 or 3 miles BEHIND me (but in good spirits). The race had plenty water stations plus boxes to leave snacks, drinks & other items to go out on the course. There were Marshals and signs at every turning. So this was unusual. Selina would catch up with me, but not before I had met up with another Teignbridge Trotter, Robert Tinnyunt, V60, who I’d “sprinted” to the finish with in the 1999 race. He had seized up. He took one of my ibuprofen and we attempted a jog. At Mile 27, with just 5 miles to go, I was in the ambulance having a look at the blisters. I was told we might be taken off the course after six and a half hours. I felt a mixture of relief and annoyance. Selina and Robert passed as I seriously considered pulling out. And I later took note of the verses in the programme about not giving up: “Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.” So I went on and found the following to be true, “And many a failure turns about When he might have won if he’d stuck it out” Too painful to walk, too tired to jog, I attempted a run ….. and knew my leg muscles would seize up – so a funny short-strided jog, that was no faster than a walk, had to do. (Is this what they call the Ultra Shuffle?) And for the plodding lady at the back there were more helpers around than I’d ever seen, all encouraging ..….. competitors who had finished appeared with flasks of hot tea and jelly babies; other volunteers passed by calling out my name and asking how I was; young Royal Navy Officer cadets at the water stations told me “No worries, we couldn’t do it” as I apologised for keeping them out on the course, and I decided, “Even moving a bit, albeit in pain, must be better than hanging about in the rain” The last couple of miles reminded me of the finish in the Launceston Half - where there’s a concrete wall trying to pass itself off as a road – so don’t think the 32 mile course is any easier than the previous 34 mile one. This was the toughest thing I’d ever done. But also the most affable. I was fussed over in the nicest possible way. At the finish I was blanketed and escorted indoors, given coffee and offered a massage. I’d eaten plenty snack bars and bananas on the way round but I felt dazed and not quite sure what to do next…… however with just half an hour to go before the Presentations (after my legs were done) I decided it was probably a good idea to go and get changed …….. There is huge support for this race and so many awards and prizes, it was a shame numbers were down this year. (The FV40 and Ladies Team prizes were not claimed.) However, there was still a top class field at the front, with world renowned entrants – read all about them in the next RRC Newsletter magazine - visit the website at www.roadrunnersclub.org.uk I was taken by surprise to receive an award (1st Lady Vet O/50) as another FV50 had entered – but quite a few DNS (just 2 DNF). As last finisher I was too embarrassed to ask anyone to use my camera to take a photo alongside the official photographer from the Road Runners Club when I collected my beautiful hand-cut crystal goblet, engraved with the race and year, along with the places we had run through: Dartmeet, Poundsgate, Newbridge, Ashburton, Buckland in the Moor, Widecombe in the Moor, Postbridge, Princetown. I can feel happy accepting the award if I remind myself that I have now managed over 100 miles in three “Discovery” races. Hopefully it will encourage more ladies. It didn’t matter how often people said “Well done, at least you finished, there were plenty who didn’t even make it to the Start,” it still felt odd finishing last and collecting a prize. Well technically I wasn’t quite last – Robert Tinnyunt was at the gate when I spotted the FINISH sign by the Wesley Chapel just 10 yards away. It never occurred to me he hadn’t finished. But he was stuck again and trying to move. (He got there in the end.) It’s a wonderful experience and needs to be supported. Try not to think of it as a race but put it on your TO DO list as an event, if at all possible. Then when you do it you may find, like me, you have to return. Thanks to everyone involved, I felt as though I had my very own helpers dedicated to assisting just me. No wonder there were repeated calls for three cheers for Phil Hampton and all the volunteers. After the complimentary meal in the Fox Tor café (meal of your choice) there was a Disco, lots of Jail ale and Dartmoor brew, then who cares if its a sleeping bag in a Bunkhouse? Waking to more rain and a heavy moor mist I considered my journey home. Best to go when the Ireland match was on. The moor mist had cleared by the time I got to Tavistock but I met it again on Bodmin moor. It was horrible. It felt like forever, but it was probably just 20 or 30 minutes of pleading with God to keep me safe, or was that just continuous talking to myself? Now I know it has a use I can practise away happily – it’s not mad, it’s survival! It took nearly three hours into a buffeting headwind to get back, arriving at Eastern Green (a mile from home where my not-ex-yet lives) tense, stiff from the run and very cold. John was visibly relieved. Well I didn’t put anyone else through the worry by not telling them I was off on the motorbike until I’d got back! The weird thing is – what happened to the sciatica – and who was that locum? Liz Easterbrook Thursday, 20 June 2002 Mounts Bay Harriers 6:49:00 7:47:27 7:47:27 42.09

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