St. Cuthbert's Way Ultra 100K Takeaways

By: LOWA Ambassador Rachel Boim 

Take aways: 

St. Cuthbert’s was different for a lot of reasons 

1. I literally chose to run the 105k the day before, I had been training for a 45 mile race with the expectation of treating it like a “long run” rather than a proper race 
2. This course was much flatter than anything I had done before. I have run a few road marathons just for fun.
3. Because the race was flatter than what I am used to, I knew it would also be a lot faster. 
4. I am still new to these distances so the only data point I had was from TransRom, where it took me 22 hours to run 100k 
5. This was my first race with a crew- I have been paced for FKT’s before but this was my first time having a person who was well rested and dedicated to helping me/ cheering me on- what a pick me up 
6. Rolling hills can still be hard, especially when there are a lot of time 
7. Dry feet = winning: My last race I ran in the Fortux, which I completely love but once my feet got wet, there wasn't any way to get them warm and dry again. Eventually I just kind of stopped noticing. For this race I elected the GTX and was purposefully running through puddles. My feet stayed dry until that last 5k when there was nothing that could have saved me, except maybe shin high boots. 

Nutrition 

I managed to stay out of the hole the entire time. There was no point during the day where I felt hungry. While I was in Bolivia, I ate A LOT of Oreos. They’re great for a quick blood sugar boost and delicious. After 6 weeks of eating 12-24 Oreos/ day at least 2 days/ week, I was so so so so so sick of them. I had intended to use gels from GU, like I did for the 62K pass2pass race in CapeTown (where I finished 3rd) but I had run out. I went to a lot of different stores looking for gels but I really didn’t want to try something brand new on race day. I still couldn’t stand the thought of Oreos so I went for an old, reliable source. McVittie’s Ginger Cookies. I ate 4 cookies per hour for 13 hours with skittles for something a little different when my mouth got dry. I drank 1.5 liters per aid station (x5 per aid station) with one Nuun tab per 1.5 liters for some electrolytes. MEG gum (100mg caffeine per piece so I would have half a piece) as needed, which ended up being about 300 mg total. 

Pacing 

If I had been running the 45 mile race instead of the 100k, I would have pushed myself a little harder/faster from the outset. I am still learning here and every BODY is different. One of the biggest problems I have been cautioned against is going out to hard in the start. I try to stay more or less “bored” and enjoy the scenery. I tend to find that I am influenced by the pace of the runners around me, so I try to pick a few people who seem to be going at a pace that feels comfortable for me.  Sometimes the person will speed up or slow down too much and it takes me some time to realize that if I’m not paying attention. For this race, people slowed down a lot on the steeper climbs and this happens to be the area where I feel I am really strong. I think I could have finished faster if I had gone at my own pace on the steeper sections and slowed down a little more on the flat parts. I think this also would have prepped me for a stronger finish. 

Gear 

Poles:

Because this was mostly a running race, I opted for no poles.

Shorts and tall socks (super cool look):

I like to run in compression shorts, leggings would have been too hot/ wet and  I have noticed some chafing issues with the split shorts mostly because I sweat so much. I also ran in knee high socks. 1. Because they are fun and 2. Because the brush is real. I saw a lot of people with what looked like hives on their legs from all the nettles on the course. Yay tall socks! 

SPF 50+ long sleeved shirt: It is lightweight and breathable but also keeps me a little warm and keeps the “sun” off. 

Running belt and vest:

Ultraspire makes the running belt that I like. It holds my phone, my headphones and a pack of MEG. I have fit A LOT into this belt on the mountains (BONUS HACK: cookies don’t freeze if they are right up against your body). I like the Ultraspire belt because it isn’t adjustable and is just snug enough that my phone isn’t continuously hitting me in the ass when I’m running. 

I chose the Salomon Ws 15L . Way more capacious than what I needed but a little extra space never hurt. I was able to fit all the mandatory gear including a rain jacket, waterproof pants, a head lamp and a battery pack (which I almost always need on long days as my Garmin is forever dying) in addition to 500 calories in cookies (which I exchanged for new cookies at the two crewed stations), sunscreen and a bag of Skittles. 

Shoes:

LOWA BAAAAABY! The Amplux has a carbon plate and was my initial plan for the 45 mile race. For me, I generally don’t love the carbon plate over longer distances, I have really high arches and I have found having my feet on an inflexible surface can get uncomfortable over time. The Fortux GTX is awesome for longer distances, although I did switch out the quick-tie laces for normal laces. I like to be able to adjust the tightness as my feet swell throughout the race and the laces give me a little more freedom to mess around with where the tension is located in the shoe. 

Bladder vs bottles:

This is totally a me choice, I like to have easy access with the straw on my chest but I also really don’t like feeling front heavy- I think this comes from a mountaineering background where I am just used to having my back more heavily weighted.