This is a review of the Country to Capital ultra-race in January 2020, where I came in 5th place.
The article includes:
An overview of the event itself - My first since November 2018, including tips and advice if you’re thinking of entering the race
What went well for me and what I need to improve
What kit and nutrition did I use? - As I often get asked this question
It also includes a FREE pre-race checklist, which you can use to prepare for your own races. I use it for my races and it’s helped me feeler calmer and more prepared.
Do You Want to Get Fitter and Faster?
Then take a look at how I could help you improve your performance with a coaching plan.
I’ve helped many athletes achieve their running goals, whilst still competing in races myself.
So I’m often trying new approaches to training, nutrition and other aspects to tweak and improve my own performance.
And then I share my results and what works directly with you.
That means you can spend less time trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. And you can get results quicker than you would be able to on your own.
If you’d like to find out more about how I could help you improve your performance, read my coaching page.
Country to Capital Event Overview
The Country to Capital 43 mile (69km) ultra is run by Go Beyond events and the 2020 event took place on Saturday 11th January.
This was the 12th year of the event. And there were over 400 runners this year, according to the race report.
There were a number of reasons why I entered this event (and why you should do too).
it had a good mix of terrain, which meant it was an interesting race to tackle.
The first half of the course started with muddy trails and beautiful scenery.
And the second half was flat, fast and easy-to-navigate along the canal.
It also had big appeal because it was so early in the year, when there aren’t many other events.
My thinking for entering was that I hadn’t raced in over a year, and so I needed to make a good start to 2020.
And with the race being so close to Christmas, I was also hoping that it would curb the Christmas bingeing…
… But that wasn’t successful.
It also finished very locally to me, in Paddington. This is always a bonus, as it makes logistics a lot easier. And means I don’t have to spend an entire weekend away from my family.
For those looking to get UTMB points, the C2C gives them out too.
At the starting line of the Country to Capital 2020 Ultra Race. I’d heard there was a point early in the course where there is a narrow gap, which you have to race for. So I got myself to the front in order to try and get there before the main crowd
Country to Capital Race Overview
Despite not having raced since November 2018, where I came 2nd at Wendover Woods, I was surprisingly calm and relaxed in the few days building up to the race.
This was due to three reasons:
The unwavering support of my wife, Catherine - No matter what crazy race or challenge I attempt she’s there for me. Although this was significantly less crazy than my last challenge - My Land’s End to John o’ Groats 800-mile world-record attempt in May.
Being supported the night before, and the morning of, the race by Dario Colombo and Meera Dodhia – They let me stay at their house the night before, gave me dinner and even drove me to the event. They woke up early on a Saturday, just so that I could be there in plenty of time. Thank you!
My tried and trusted pre-race checklist! – This is the very detailed list of stuff that I tick off in preparation for my races. It’s incredibly useful and means that I have to do as little thinking as possible in the days before the race and the morning of the race itself. You can grab the checklist I use here, so that you can use and adapt it for your own races!
The registration for the race happens in a very small pub. Which could be quite chaotic if you weren’t prepared.
But I was feeling incredibly calm due to my pre-race prep.
I signed in, got my number, found a spot where I could prepare and had time to get in the incredibly long queue for the toilets.
All within good time.
Rosie (my eldest daughter) and Catherine (my wife) sent me a pre-race good luck message. Always a great motivator. And they’ve been two of my biggest supporters for running, particularly during a tough 2019. I couldn’t do any of this without them (or my younger daughter Lottie, who was in bed at this point
Dario (middle) and Meera (right) were incredibly hospitable and helped to make my pre-race preparation one of the easiest ever. Thank you for putting me up the night before, cooking for me, waking up early on a weekend and taking me to the race AND giving me your coat before the race. AMAZING!!!
I made my way to the start of the race, knowing about the ‘pinch point’ a few hundred metres after the start. And preparing to set off at a decent pace, so that I wasn’t stuck behind people.
As expected, It was a laughably quick start, as several other people had the same idea as me. But as soon as we were through the ‘pinch point’ we slowed a bit.
That left a leading group of about 5 or 6 people running together.
The first part of the course was fairly complicated with several turns, plenty of mud and plenty of gates which you had to stop, open and go through. Which often caused bottlenecks of people waiting.
(Another good reason for setting off a bit quicker than usual at the start!)
I got chatting to a few lovely people, including some I knew by name, like Phillip Kynaston.
Phillip also commented on my choice of road running shoe for such a muddy event.
I responded confidently, saying that I was pleased with my choice.
Secretly I was cursing every time I slipped an inch in my mud, wasting more energy than most.
But I wasn’t too worried and was actually confident in my choice…
… Until I had a huge fall into a massive puddle of mud after about 5km.
You could practically hear the comedy sound effects as I fell, legs above my head, straight on to my arse.
Luckily, nothing was broken or bruised and only my pride was a bit battered. But I got up quickly and off I went.
It soon became apparent that not many of the leading group had a clue about where we were going.
A few people had been trying to navigate using their phone and I had uploaded the GPS route to my watch. But none of us could come to an agreement on which way to go…
At pretty much every single point where there were two or more choices… we chose the wrong one.
Most of the time we realised our error pretty quickly and doubled-back on ourselves.
Luckily, course veteran (and ultra-nice, ultra-good, ultra-runner) Jon Ellis came to our rescue and took control of the 5 of us.
(Note - I know that Jon is incredibly nice from talking to him. And also the fact he donated his 2nd place prize to the final person who completed the event).
We practically stuck to him like glue for the first 35k.
At one point, in an effort to provide some value to the group, I took out my race booklet, which I had cunningly folded and put in the back-pocket of my shorts.
And then found that it had dissolved with my sweat and was completely useless.
So I stuck to Jon. Apologising occasionally for being an annoying leach, when all he probably wanted to do was have a nice run in the countryside without people swarming round him.
After about 35km we finally got to the canal. I’d been looking forward to this moment all day.
Most of my weekly running is done on the Thames towpath as I commute to and from work. And so I’m used to flat, hard packed terrain with limited navigation abilities needed.
Now I was in my element.
I’d also felt that I had been very reserved in the first half of the race, running well within myself. And so felt great at this point.
So I thought that it would be a good idea, with more than 30km to go, to push a bit harder.
Completely forgetting that I still had more than 30km to go…
Completely forgetting that I hadn’t run a race in over a year…
And completely forgetting that I’d only had 8 weeks of decent training, since coming off a 3 month injury last year.
For the next 10km I felt like I was flying!
I was checking my watch every now and then and seeing that I was running consistently sub 4:20 minute per kilometre. Which, if I’d had decent training, would be fairly comfortable.
By this point it was just myself and Sage Pierce-Higgins.
Sage was inexplicably wearing a wooly hat for the race. Wasn’t wearing a backpack. And didn’t seem to have to eat at all.
He had also been very quiet throughout the first half of the race, when the rest of us had been chatting.
And it’s the quiet ones you should be worried about!
After about 10km of fairly fast running, I finally acknowledged that I wouldn’t be able to keep up this pace for the rest of the race.
And I backed off and let Sage go.
At this point, I was trying to keep my 2nd position, but without knowing how far 3rd was behind me.
I also started to feel quite bloated and ‘heavy’ at this point. Possibly due to taking on too much Tailwind and water.
And my pace slowed a lot.
The wheels had begun to fall off.
“The wheels had begun to fall off”
GIving an unconvincing smile during the Country to Capiltal ultra race. Things had begun to deterioate as I approached the 50km mark. And they would get worse, before they got better, with severe cramp at 60km
Soon after this, at about 50 - 55km, Jon took his revenge on my earlier leach-like behaviour and overtook me.
He looked incredibly strong, and he seemed to have paced the event perfectly.
He quickly left me behind.
The depressing thing about running along a canal is that you can see quite far into the distance. And you can see the person ahead of you getting further and further ahead...
And then at, about 60km, I had massive cramp. In both my legs at the same time.
The wheels had now fallen off… As had my legs
“The wheels had fallen off... as had my legs”
I started to try and stretch it out, but it didn’t work.
I must have looked strange to the people having a leisurely walk along the canal who saw a grown way lying on the floor, legs stretched out, sweating, panting and with a weird looking backpack.
It’s the type of thing you could easily get arrested for.
And, as I was in this incredibly embarrassing position, two runners overtook me - Jose Rodriguez and the first female, Carla Molinaro.
Carla’s run was particularly impressive as she completed the course in 5:32:33. This shattered the women’s course record and was more than 30 minutes ahead of the second female.
I spent a few more minutes rolling around on the ground, and finally, after about 10 minutes of stretching, the cramps went away.
Which left me to trot in the final few kilometres.
It’s been a long time since I felt the pain of the end of a race. And so this was a fairly new experience.
But the thought of seeing my wife Catherine at the finish line spurred me on.
And finally, after 5:39:21 (much, much, much slower than my ‘A’, ‘B’, or even ‘C’ goals for the race), I crossed the line.
I was over 20 minutes behind race winner, Sage, who finished in 5:15:20.
Although the race and the terrain weren’t particularly tough, it had been an eye-opening first race back for me. With a lot of things to think about for my next few races. More on that below…
Giving another fairly unconvincing smile for the camera, just moments away from the finish line of the Country to Capital ultra race. It had been a tough second half to the race, for a number of reasons. But I’ve learnt a lot from my first race back in more than a year. And hopefully I can improve for the rest of 2020.
General Tips and Advice if You’re Running the Country to Capital
Get to registration and the toilets very early - Registration is in a small pub, where it’s quite difficult to get space among 400+ other runners. Plus the spectators and volunteers. There were also only 4 toilets. So drop your bag off, get your tracker and get to the toilet queue early!
Try to avoid the train in the morning – Because of the time and location of the start, there is only one train into Wendover. It arrives at 08:23 for an 08:45 start. So everybody using that had to arrive ready to run, get registered and get prepared within 20 minutes. So if you can drive, get an AirBnB close by or stay at a friend’s nearby (like I did), that would be the best option!
Get a tracker – There are no route markings on the course. And the first half of the course is in trails where it’s hard to know where to go. The race offers a GPS tracker/ route guidance device for a small charge. I didn’t get it. But probably would next time. The GPS on my watch failed and I’m a poor map reader, especially when trying to run at a decent pace. I got round these problems by shamelessly following Jon Ellis. Thanks Jon! And sorry!
Choose footwear wisely – I decided to run in road shoes, which was a bit risky as I knew the first half was in trails and could be muddy. I made this decision for a number of reasons. First, I adore my road shoes, the Saucony Kinvara 10’s and will try and wear them at every opportunity. Second, Dan Lawson, who finished 9th in 2019, advised it would be OK. Third, the second half of the race was on a flat canal, which would be much better in road shoes. Fourth, the weather hadn’t been that bad. So I didn’t think the conditions would be horrendous (note – it was muddy, but I still think I made the right choice, despite falling over in a slapstick fashion once). And finally, I expected to be near the front of the pack. Which meant that the trail wouldn’t be too churned up. If I was expecting to be further back, then I would have opted for trail shoes. So, take all of these factors (and probably more) in to account when choosing your footwear!
Start quickly… then slow down – Because of the ‘pinch point’ near the start I decided to be one of those nutters who starts a race at full pace. And it was actually quite fun! So I might do it in every race. Although, if you know you have trouble pacing yourself, it might be a good idea to start closer to the back and force yourself to get caught behind other runners.
What Went Well?
I always try to do a personal review of my races, because that’s a key way to improve for next time.
And I do the same with the athletes that I coach.
It’s important to focus on the positives AND the negatives. First, the positives from my race:
1) My Training in the Last 8 Weeks - I’d been injured for 3 months between August and November last year, which meant that I had lost a lot of fitness. But, when I did finally get back, my training went really well. This is positive because I know I’m still able to put in the effort when I need to. And I can build the quantity and quality of training back up again. Key Learning - Keep my training going as it has been, increasing quantity and quality slowly
2) My Pre-Race Preparation and Checklist - This was one of the least stressful pre-race build-ups I’ve ever had, despite it being my first race back in over a year. I now have a tried and tested process for getting me to the start line in a calm manner. Which is almost entirely down to my pre-race checklist. You can grab a copy of the checklist below and use it for your own races. Key Learning - Do the same thing again!
3) I had a solid first half to the race - My pacing and general ‘feel’ during the first half was great. Although I must give a big shout out to Jon Ellis again for his navigational skills!
4) Using Tailwind Nutrition for the first time in a race was successful - I only started using Tailwind in the last few months based on a few people’s recommendations. And this was the first race I’d used it in. But it did the job and I will definitely be using it for future races.
5) Choice of using road shoes - I went into a lot of detail earlier about my choice of shoes. It’s definitely a tricky one for this race, as it’s got two very different parts to it. But I still believe I made the right choice.
My pre-race preparation was one of the least stressful I’ve ever had. Mostly due to the checklist that I use. You can grab a copy for free to adapt to your own races. Here’s an Instagram-friendly pic layout of my kit the night before.
What Do I Need to Improve for My Next Race?
And, more important than what went well, what did I learn for future races?
1) I was under-trained for my target goals - As for most races, I set myself 3 levels of goals for the Country to Capital (‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ goals). In hindsight, these were a bit over-ambitious as I only started training properly at start of November after a 3 month injury lay-off. And I ended up putting a bit too much pressure on myself for my first race back. This pressure ended up showing itself in the huge cramps I got from pushing too hard at half-way. Key Learning - Your goals must be based on the context of how training has gone. Not just on an arbitrary time in your head…
2) Poor strategic choice at half-way - At about 35km, as I entered the flat canal towpath, I felt good and that I could push a bit harder. Falling into the classic ultra-running trap of forgetting that the race still has a long way to go! This mistake was most likely due to my lack of racing practise, which should get better throughout the year as I race more. Key Learning - Remember this situation!
3) Took on too much nutrition - This was the first time I used Tailwind in a race. Although it went well and I will be using it again, there are some changes I can make for the future. I probably used too much of it (I used a bit more than the guidelines suggest). I drank a little too quickly early on, because I got through half of my mixture way before halfway through the race. I also ate a flapjack, because I thought I might need to. All-in-all this meant that I ended up being a bit bloated and heavy at one point. Key Learning - Keep experimenting in training and in my less important races.
What Kit and Nutrition Did I Use?
I often get questions about what I use in training and races.
So here is the key kit and nutrition that I used in the Country to Capital ultra.
I’ve used the Saucony Kinvara shoe for years and love them.
My first one was the Kinvara 5. And now I love the latest model - The Saucony Kinvara 10.
It’s a minimalist, lightweight running shoe that is great for everyday training.
It also did well in the very muddy conditions of the first half of the Country to Capital Ultra… Although I did fall over once!
Disclaimer - I’m a Saucony athlete. But only because I was wearing their shoes for years. I don’t wear them because they sponsor me.
I use the Polar Vantage V sports watch every single day. Even when I’m not running.
It’s got incredibly long battery life. Perfect for multi-day races.
It also has a wrist-based heart-rate monitor, meaning you can track your effort easily.
And it has a feature called ‘Training Load Pro’. Which is a really simple way to tell when you’re over-trained, under trained or just at the right level.
The Ultimate Direction Race Vest 4.0 is really light and has lots of easily-accessible pockets, making it great for racing.
And it fits amazingly comfortably.
I used the Ultimate Direction Race Vest 4.0 on four days of running 90 miles per day on my LEJOG world record attempt.
The Hilly Twin Skin running sock has been my go-to running sock for years. Combined with the Saucony Kinvara 10, they make a formidable team!
These socks have two liners which means that it’s a lot more difficult to get blisters.
I’ve recently started using Tailwind Nutrition for my nutrition for longer runs and races. And I’ve found it works really well.
It’s a lot easier and less faff than trying to cram lots of food into a backpack for races.
And it’s also a lot easier to drink it, especially in the later stages of long runs, when your body doesn’t want to take in solid food.
I’ve been using the caffeinated versions of the products, as it can give that extra buzz to your performance.
You can adapt the amount you used based on your specific needs and the race requirements too.
One of the great things about it is that you can make a gel-like substance with it. Simply mix a lot more scoops of powder into water. And you can go for much longer, without needing to refill.
What’s Next in My Race Calendar?
This year I’m focusing on racing again, and already have an exciting schedule coming up.
PRDNDTS 6 Hour Race - This strangely named (and unpronounceable) race describes itself “as a secret, don’t ask any questions, just enter it!” As far as I can tell, it’s a 6 hour race of a 5.3km looped track where you run as far as you can in the time limit.
Centurion Track 100-Mile - This is the most exciting event I’ve got lined up. The Centurion team have the objective of organising an event where the best in the world come and try to break world-records. And this year they have an unbelievable field. Including Zach Bitter, the world 100-mile world-record holder. And the 24-hour world-record holder too. This is going to be an exceptional opportunity to learn from the best-of-the-best!
The Self-Transcendence 24 Hour Track Race in Tooting - I entered this race in 2019, but didn’t start the race because of injury. So this is a race I’m really excited about to see how far I can push myself.
Summary
The Country to Capital ultra is a great way to start your racing year - A good course and at a really good time, when there aren’t many other races on.
My 5th place result and my performance was a bit disappointing - But it was my first race since November 2018 and there were lots of positives to take from it. And plenty of things to learn too
My 2020 race calendar is looking exciting - But I have a lot of work to do over the next few months to get in better shape for the big events I’ve got planned
Do You Want to Get Fitter and Faster?
Then take a look at how I could help you improve your performance with a coaching plan.
I’ve helped many athletes achieve their running goals, whilst still competing in races myself.
So I’m often trying new approaches to training, nutrition and other aspects to tweak and improve my own performance.
And then I share my results and what works directly with you.
That means you can spend less time trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. And you can get results quicker than you would be able to on your own.
If you’d like to find out more about how I could help you improve your performance, read my coaching page.
What Races Have You Done Recently or Have Coming Up?
Let me know in the comments at the bottom of this blog, on the Contact Page or on social media below.
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Read about my first place at the Autumn 100 mile race - Including a FREE pre-race checklist
Read about the kit that I personally use and recommend for ultra-racing