My First Ultra Marathon
it feels like time is standing still.
Guess what?
We're still climbing.
Oh, this is so hard.
And we've been out here for so long.
Hi, I'm Sarah.
And welcome to my biggest challenge to date.
Taking on my first ever ultramarathon.
The Running Channel team have challenged me to take on the Inthanon 3, a 54
kilometre race with 2,800 metres of elevation at Thailand by
UTMB. With the help of inov-8, I'm going to be taking on this race in just a few days time.
But first it's time to head off and catch the flight.
Welcome to Thailand.
I can't believe I'm saying that. It feels so surreal to be here.
We've been here for a few days now, mainly sleeping to catch up on the jet lag and just trying to take in as many sights as we can.
For now, though, it's time to see a little bit more of Thailand,
and I'm gonna put my trainers on and head out on a shakeout run, so let's go.
Shakeout run's all complete.
And now it is time to prepare for the race.
Now, this is a little bit more involved than some other races Because of the mandatory kit list.
It's important to remember that ultras are often in extreme conditions with tricky terrain.
And so that kit list is there to keep you safe. It does, however, mean that it's a little bit like playing Tetris.
So I've got long sleeve top and bottoms, fuel, head torches, safety kit,
hat, poles, gels, masks, all to fit into my pack,
which is gonna take a little bit of time.
So I'm going to get started on that now because I have to be up super early tomorrow to head to the race.
So let's get packing.
There we go.
Ten seconds.
How do you run an ultra?
I think we're about to find out.
Constantly trying to remember what Paul said.
And I remember one of the things about going uphill and downhill was lean into it.
So I am leaning
on this ascent. I want to be running.
But equally, I don't want to burn out.
And these ascents are savage.
You can get a little glimpse of sunrise in the background.
Pretty special, huh?
Okay.
Checkpoint one, tick.
Took off my head torch.
Took off the light that goes on the GoPro - morning!
Just to give you an idea of time.
Even though I think time is a lost concept in an ultra,
We're 36 minutes in, just gone through 4K.
I'm probably looking to average five k an hour.
So on track, however, the first bit is the easy bit.
So you gotta stay-
Gotta keep your legs fresh.
There's still 50k to go.
So even on little bits like this, I'm going to walk.
My strategy is first half super easy.
Super chill.
Don't try and waste any energy.
Second half, we start to play.
Can I get away with saying that?
Probably not cool enough.
5k done.
44 minutes.
Which is funny, because when I started running in
probably about 2018, that was my first ever 5K time.
Took about 45 minutes on the canal.
I ran with a friend from uni and we were so chuffed that we
managed to do 5k and that was a huge achievement for me.
I did not run before that point.
And now, 2019, 2020, 2021- hello!
Three years later.
44 minutes for five k with....
I have no idea what that elevation was, but crazy amount of
elevation, and we've still got 49k to go.
It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.
I've gotta prove my own point now and get across the line.
But hopefully...
Pretty views, but savage hills.
That's what you get with an ultra.
There are photographers the whole way along this ridge.
And everyone is like speeding up, running, smiling as they go past them.
And then just slowing down to walk. Case in point, smile for the
camera, and then walk.
Nah, I'll carry on running.
This bit's beautiful.
I mean, look at that.
we have just come through 10K in one hour,
31 minutes, so nice and within my five
k an hour plan.
But I'm sure with all of these mountains
around, there's going to be some savage ascents which will
eat into that time later on.
Go, go, go.
Checkpoint two.
So this is the next checkpoint. At checkpoint 12, 9k.
Let's not worry about the hills.
Mm.
Let's do it.
This is honestly the best thing
I've ever done.
I can see why Anna loves this so much.
Because it's just beautiful.
It's hard to put into words how you feel doing something like this, but...
I don't know.
It's just that you feel at peace.
It's tough.
It's really tough.
But there's something, there's something so calming about,
you have one thing to do.
You get to the start, you cross the line, you get to the finish and
you have a magical journey along the way.
What am I saying?
I believe it, it's true.
Oooh, parkour.
Savage climb between checkpoint two and three complete.
Now I feel a view coming on.
Dunno if you can.
Oh, yeah.
There you go.
That's why I was getting my camera out.
I was like, oh, hang on a second.
That's just cloud.
No, it's mountain, lots of mountains.
Stunning.
Of course, we now do have the heat of the day to contend
with, and I'm not planning on finishing
before midday, so it's about to get hot.
Oh hello?
It's only the next checkpoint.
I thought that wasn't going to be for another, like 10 15 minutes.
Feeling good?
It's tough It's really tough, but it's beautiful.
So beautiful. And there's music!
What a day.
Okay, checkpoint three.
tick.
Let's go.
Thank you. Bye.
Man, when you descend in Thailand, you descend.
Look at this.
24K down in three hours and 59 minutes.
We are getting close
to the longest time I've ever been
out for on a run.
Um, so the marathon, obviously, I was pretty much running the whole time there.
It was the longest run I've ever done.
That was four hours, 27 minutes.
If I'm remembering correctly. So in half an hour's
time, we're a little bit into the unknown.
Alright. OK, big jump. Here we go.
Ah.
Made it
Welcome to 'Running An Ultra'.
It's a, uh, multi-discipline sport.
As a shoe geek,
I've been looking at everyone shoes as they've been whizzing past me.
And you know, there are some with lots of cushioning.
Some, um yeah, that have, like high stack heights, some with high drops.
Other people in zero drops.
I've gone for zero drop.
Excuse me.
A pair of inov-8s, which are perfect. They're,
they keep me quite low to the ground,
obviously, because of the drop.
They've got great grip for all the different terrains that we're going over.
And it means that you can really feel the ground.
I love a shoe with cushioning, but I think for something like this,
you want to feel it.
You want your foot to be doing the work.
But you've also got that layer of, that layer of cushioning on the sole of the shoe
with graphene.
Um, which is giving you that grip that my foot obviously
doesn't have.
And we're squelching.
So we're still between checkpoints three and four.
Um, just on this lovely, long section of
road.
But we're running through little villages and seeing all the local
people saying hello.
This race is a huge thing in Thailand.
Um, not only for the people running it, but also, like, it's big in the
media.
Um, and so there are so many lovely people who are just
excited to see runners.
Right. Here
is where I need to be going.
I don't know why I've been reluctant to do this, but I have poles in my bag, and
people around me have been using polls for the entire race, but I think it's like, you know when you're a teenager and
you think it's really cool
to, like, wear your coat indoors and your parents say take it off or you won't feel the benefit when you go back outside.
I think that's kind of what I've been doing.
I've been like, oh, I won't feel the benefit If I have it on- if I have my poles out for the whole race.
It's time to feel the benefit.
They're coming out.
Pole number one.
Let's climb. Woah, fly.
Half marathon to go.
Whoop whoop! Can't believe it.
That doesn't feel that long.
I'm sure it will.
With the elevation we've got to do.
We're just on a little bit of respite from the climb getting into checkpoint four.
18 k to go. We've
just popped out onto the road, having a little run.
It's a very different type of run.
More of a waddle.
Um, getting into the pain cave now.
I'm not gonna lie.
I'm excited for this ascent.
This next ascent though, mainly because the checkpoint comes first.
So gonna fuel up.
Have a little sit down.
Readjust myself and then time for a climb.
Okay.
Penultimate checkpoint.
Um, eat what you fancy.
I'm gonna have my sausages.
I want to get out some of my other fuel though.
Because the next bit, it's gonna be savage.
Uphill now.
Yeah.
Up, up, up.
Okay.
Been scanned out
at checkpoint, point, point.
* lovely.
I love a checkpoint.
I came into that feeling a little bit deflated.
Not gonna lie.
Been a tough climb.
Been overtaken by a few people. Did overtake them back on the hill.
They overtook me on a flat, and then I re-overtook them on the hill.
So petty, but ah, makes you feel good.
But then pop into the checkpoint, Got some water, said
hello to a few people, ate those sausages.
Oh, my God.
It was so good.
Called in the cavalry of my headphone. Just got the one in.
Oh, my God!
Music makes a difference.
Starting off with the song that was in Anna's Berlin
Marathon video. Look out, cause here I come.
It was also suggested on Instagram when I asked for song suggestions. Really does get you moving.
This is me.
Oh, onwards and upwards.
Oh, this is relentless.
I've done about 400 metres in what feels like four hours.
Just got a good song come on, though.
Don't stop me now. To survive,
like Lady Godiva. I don't know what the words are.
There's no stoppin' me.
Call him Mr Fahrenheit.
Oh. Oh, no, I'm off course.
I thought that was gonna be a,
you've gone through a kilometre.
Oh, don't stop me now.
I'm having such a good time, having a ball.
Taking a break on a log because
it feels like time is standing still.
Guess what?
We're still climbing.
Oh, some of the elites yesterday were saying that when you're in the pain
cave, um it's good to smile and laugh, and that gets you out
of it, So... Oh, there's a big wasp on me.
Um, without looking like a weirdo.
Ha!
This is really giving me feels of, Simba,
everything the light touches is yours.
Eh, name that reference.
Go, in
the comments, quick,
name that reference.
So, probably got about a k to go until the final
checkpoint. Yeah. Well, the good news is,
is we are over the nine hour mark and we are
over the marathon mark. I forgot to check when we actually hit it.
But we're now on 43k in nine hours and 18 minutes.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I have done an
ultra marathon.
Does this mean I can stop now?
Yeah.
I mean, this is a bit savage that you have to walk over a bridge.
Oh, but pretty.
Very pretty.
Okay, final checkpoint complete.
I had sausages and ketchup. Man,
I love an ultra.