UTMB: What’s it like to run the CCC?

Why should you run the CCC?

At Run the Wild our tagline is ‘Exploring places… not running races’, and whilst I live by this mantra 99% of the time, there is no doubt some benefit to sometimes testing yourself on a marked course. The 'why' is always quite hard to put into words, but I am a believer of just seeing what we can do. That's why I've done numerous self-motivated and self-created challenges, such as running Hadrian’s Wall over three days and running the 50-mile Chilterns Heritage Trail. I don’t need to have a race to see what I can do, but sometimes the logistical help is a big advantage, and also races do bring out the best in us, whether we like to admit it or not.

How do you train for the CCC?

As a running coach, I am perhaps more acutely aware of the deficiencies in my own running and therefore, leading up to the CCC I made a huge effort to work towards a training plan that pushed me outside of my comfort zone. There are sessions we all like and dislike, depending on our running personalities, but it's important to understand these, accept them, and then try and do something about them.

For example, if you are a morning runner but know your event involves afternoon, evening or night running, you simply have to make some of your training sessions during these harder parts of the day. If you are a cool weather runner, but are taking on an event which could be warm, again ensure you sometimes train when its hot, regardless of the discomfort.

For me, I am definitely a morning runner, and I also like to get all my climbs front-loaded on a run, meaning I like to get them out the way before the going gets too tough! The reality is the CCC has numerous climbs spread out throughout the run, so my training was focussed around best replicating the race profile over shorter distances, and doing some of these runs in the evening and even during the night. I also get very nervous racing, so again, I ensured some warm-up races were part of the training. Pushing outside of our comfort zone is something we all need to do sometimes.

It's also important to accept that for most of us, running will always play a minor role versus other aspects in our lives. This isn’t an excuse, but its something that needs to be acknowledged whenever we sign up to a challenge. This may be in the form of work or family commitments along the way, but very few people can dedicate quite as much of themselves to a training program than intended. This is ok, but also means your expectations need to be realistic.

Training had gone well for me, bar a few weeks of reduced volume due to a niggling calf injury. Running distances of 50-miles plus each week places a huge strain on the body, so you need to learn to listen to your body. Especially when it comes to what you should train through, and what you shouldn’t. I’m a big believer in seeing the physio when the pain scale is such that it really interferes with your training, and having regular sports massages to help alleviate soreness.

Strength and conditioning work is hugely neglected, but definitely helps with injury prevention. What 's also beneficial is just generally looking after yourself (easily neglected) with regards to nutrition and rest. My longest training runs were marathon distance (I did three of these). While I had also intended to do some back-to-back long days, life interference meant I never really managed to get out for them. Back-to-back runs are a really good way of simulating running while fatigued, while avoiding the strain of doing a single huge day at a time.

I don’t recommend a 3am alarm the day before you are going to race yourself, which is what happened in my case. But again, sometimes life just happens that way, and there is no point stressing about what can’t be changed. The reason for my early start the day before my race was that my partner Simon was running the OCC (55km UTMB race). Dot-watching could be an Olympic sport, and as I watched Simon’s dot climb out of Orsieres, heading towards Champex, I quickly realised that any chance of getting back to sleep was zero.

Rather than just see Simon cross the finish line, I decided he may appreciate a little boost at Argentiere (about 14km from the finish), so we headed there for a three hour wait with the dogs. Crewing and supporting is definitely more stressful than racing. It’s a lot of hurry up and wait. Did I miss them? Are they going ok? Why aren’t they here yet? When Si appeared, he was having a tough day, but there was no chance of him quitting, so a quick cuddle with the dogs and he was off for his last climb to Flegere and then final descent into Chamonix.

Race day