A few months ago I was asked by a group of Ostomists if I would like to join their team and enter the Addidas Thunder Run. A 24 hour 10km cross country race. We would start midday Saturday and each take turns running laps until midday Sunday......how could I say no! ;)
Before I go on I must explain, this team were made up exclusively of Ostomists. 7 other people with ileostomies with similar life stories but still leading an active lifestyle. How could I refuse the opportunity, the honour to run alongside these fellow warriors?
Most of us had never met. We had spoken virtually and thanks to facebook we kinda knew each other. However, spending 24 exhausting hours with a group of strangers.....this had all the hallmarks of a disaster!
Well I am pleased to confirm there were no arguements, no cross words. We were all there for the same reason with similar challenges. Once again Microsofts 'spell check' covers it better than I could. Ostomists are optomists. We all knew this would be tough, but we all had a great attitude, we all knew our limitations. We all knew each of us would do our best. We were not there to win, we were there to have fun and show the world that having an Ostomy doesnt stop us competing hard!
The event village was well layed out, and for a captive audience the food and drinks were all very reasonable. Including in the entrance fee was free camping. We arrived Friday evening (after 2 hour drive became a 4.5hour one!)
I was shocked at the volume of people at this event. There were litterally thousands. Competitor teams were up to 8. There were even some really hardcore solo runners! These guys were machines!!!
As camping was free it seemed alot of people brought family and friends so the support around the track was great. Actually during my first lap I had never been so happy to see some kids with water pistols! ;)
Anyway, back to the event. We set a plan, worked out our timings and settled in for the start.
Thunder Run 24 Race map
I was scheduled to run the 2nd lap at 1pm and then another at about 9.30pm. I wasnt looking forward to the first lap. When we awoke, it was a SCORCHER. Easily the hottest conditions I have ever had to run in.
As a team we had a batton of sorts ( a snap braclet) that had to be swapped after your lap/s were finished. As the organisor of the team, she had the honour if the first lap. About an hour later I arrived back at the start line anxious and hot! Whilst the team had applied no pressure I felt like I had to put in a good lap. In this heat. It was going to be tough!
I saw Helen as she crossed the line beaming, she snapped on the braclet and I was off. My first lap of TR24.
I had been fooled by the course map. It looked fairly flat. However tge hills although not very steep were relentless. The course weaved through forests and back around the campsite. By 5km I was about done.
Im sure I have mentioned in an earlier posts but for Ostomists, particularily ileostomies hydratiin is always a challenge. I am no biology expert but I believe as we consume water the small intestine deposits small amounts of salt so it can be absorbes again by the large intestine, assisting with hydration. See an Ostomists challenge?
Our small deposits salt that we are then unable to reabsorb. It would be a great trick for me as I believe my large intestine is in Liverpool and the event was in Derby!!
Mix this unique Ostomy challenge with running in this heat and sweating almost immediately after I started. Fatigue had kicked in :(
So after 5km as I neared the one and o ly water station. I was done! I really had to dig deep to keep my target pace for the next 5km. I finshed my first lap exhausted in 1hr 12mins. Not a bad time, I headed back to camp to rest!
I think this is what makes 24 hour events a challenge. Yeah running 19km is tough but you can train for this. Trying to catch some sleep recharge knowing you have to do it all again in a fee hours...that was tough. Thankfully being 2nd off meant my next lap "should be" cooler, and possibly at twightlight!
I managed to find some shade next to the tent and catch up on some sleep. A quick pasta top and I was ready for my next lap.
The British weather didnt let us down. We had moved from scorching heat to a muggy, wet night. As I set off on my next 10km a headtorch was a must and tge drop in tempurature and drizzle was actually really welcomed!
This lap felt like a different course. Darkness decended meaning your attention was required on every step. This felt more like home. A muddy run in darkness :)
I officially loved this lap, according to our plan this would be my last as some if the stronger runners in the group would soon be smashing out double 29km laps! In the dark I still managed a 1hr 12min. Im not surr if that meant my "hot" lap was bad and my night lap was good? Either way I finished wanting to run another lap, little did I know I would soon get my wish.
After trying to get some sleep in a very busy campsite. (Dont get me wrong not ignorant people, just a flow of runners preparing and fueling throughout the night). I woke at about 7am ti find out that one of our runner (Sarah) had taken a bad turn in the night. Thankfully she started to feel better but it meant we were a few short as we neared the finish. We discussed hiw we coukd just stop here and log the laps we had. But that wasnt the reason why we were here! Myself and David agreed to do one more lap each.
This would be my 3rd lap, unfortunatley the hot weather had returned and my legs were not in the best shape. That and fatigue had set in :(
I set myself a target time and set off. Becoming familiar with the course became a blessing and a curse. I knew where I coukd push, but also knee where tge tough bits were :(
I handed over to David to run the final lap. Once again I had pushed myself 30km in under 24hours... not bad.
As a team we finished 23 laps in the alloted 24 hours and I think finished about mid table.
To be honest, I couldn't care how we finished.
We had done something great. A group of Ostomists (strangers 24 hours earlier) had pulled together and competed. We weren't last, we werent first, but what we were was a TEAM!
Did I enjoy TR24 as an event, honestly I am not sure. However, what made TR24 for me was spending some time to get to know a superb group of people.
We met through our stomas and the Ostomy Lifestyle Facebook group, however, now after sharing this unique experience....I have the priviledge of calling them all true friends.
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