Weekend at Wentworth 100 Miler 2025 - The Run

After months of training, the weekend of June 7th was upon us.  Weekend at Wentworth had arrived and my first 100 Miler was soon to start. 

I opted to go up the day before to set up my tent and grab a prime spot for my aid station. Many of the BLT Runners were already on site, kicking back and relaxing. We had a huge group show up.  

Little did I know I chose the high ground for my little tent.

You can't run an ultra with carbs and calories. My choice for this event was a selection of things from Naak. Gels, purees, waffles, high calorie drink mix were my main go to options. As a pallet cleanser I had some Pringles. 

My shoes for the bulk of the run were the On Cloud Surfer Trail. I have loved these shoes since they came out. Cushioned, light weight, grippy but with a forgiving toe box. I knew they would be my friend. I also relied on All Good Sun Screen to keep me from burning and Anchor Soap's Anti-Chaffe balm. I caan't imagine running long distances with that anti-chaffe balm.

Chilling in the BLT zone on Friday.

We decided since the weather on Friday was so good, to pop out and explore the course. 4.5 km in length with gentle rolling terrain and a few bigger hills in one section, it also offered a variety of terrain. Grassy single track, beaten down hard pack single track, wide open areas, and small section of asphalt and some gravel road. 

That sun looks nice.

The course preview gang.

I hadn't slept in a tent in awhile and frankly, it was kind of nice. To bed early and then up long before race start. I had loads of time to prep my race day nutrition zone, including getting a bunch of my drinks ready ahead of time. The Naak Boost drink dissolves fast, but the Ultra drink with added protein is a little slower to dissolve. 

All shoe choices ready to go. Orange and purple ended up being the go to friends for the day.

New socks? Something new on race day is the saying right? I love the Darntough Run series, and honestly, I though this was the regular one, but it ended up being the ultra light. I was not disappointed. This pair got me through 120km and came out alive on the other side.

A quick group shot from behind the truck before the BLT Runners headed over for the Race Director's preamble. 

Look at us all as John tells us how awesome the day will be. And then we were off.

So my goal for all of my training was to get a sub 24 hour 100 miler (161km). I had a cushion of 32 hours to actually get it done, so I knew that a few risks would be okay as ultimately I could drag my butt around for an extra 8 hours if needed to get that buckle. 

It had rained a little over night, but the weather was now decent. The forecast showed rain over night. I made the race day choice to push a little harder than I should during the day when the weather was good, as I had no clue what would happen at night and I didn't want to lose out on my goal from external forces. 

Off we went, many opting to walk early on, or go straight to a  run walk strategy. I chose to run for awhile to see how things felt. Nice and easy pace, easier than normal. Lap after lap I would stop and grab a gel or puree. While I had banked on eating the Naak waffles, after 1 I just decided they were not for me that day. They are so good, but chewing and running or walking was just too much at that point. I had them if needed, but I switched to all gels, drinks and purees. 

As the day went on, the sun warmed things up quite a bit, not super hot, but with the moisture the humidity made it feels much warmer. Eventually the gels were tougher to get down. I switched to the Naak drink, and went from stopping each lap, to carrying the bottle and drinking it each laps. After about 60km, I switched to a run lap, then a run/power hike lap to get different muscles involved. 

I was so happy to note that my power hiking training paid off well. I was often "walking"past runners. 

I did switch to a singlet  to mitigate the heat better. It helped. The switch to mostly liquids with an occasional gel wasn't too bad. I had plenty of energy still. 

As the day progressed the laps kept coming. Soon 2 marathons were done, only 2 more to go! Then I looked down and the 100km mark was upon me. I threw down to fast kilometers to get in under 12 hours for that, which felt nice to do as I got to stretch a few new muscles.  The big part was done, 12 hours down, 12 to go and 60km.  I knew I would be slowing, but then the rain came.

At first it was a light rain. No need for a jacket. Then a jacket made sense. Then it was time to switch shoes as the mud began to build. THe on Cloud Ultras have way more grip with more aggressive lugs. I switched socks as well, some dry socks and shoes would feel good for even a brief period of time. 

The rain did not stop. Many of the others called it a day, achieving their personal distance goals. Only a few of us decided to brave the rain. And rain it did, hard, fast and a lot. The little bit of mud turned into big thick soupy puddles, areas were muddy enough that your shoe would disappear. 

What was initially a small section of mud grew and grew, until maybe 1 km of the course was mud free.  I was only able to really run in that one section.  By 2 or 3 in the morning my feet started to hurt. I knew it was blisters. But I planned for this. A stop at the tent was tough as my legs were not happy about crawling on the ground. But I got out my foot kit and cleaned things up, took care of the blisters, taped the areas, added new lube and got back out. The mud and water were creating an abrasive paste that I would just have to accept. 

I saw frogs and small rodents, but not the bear. I got a tick on my hand of all places. I went slower after 140 km as myu muscles were so exhausted from slipping in the mud. I still got into a bit of a run in the clear section. 

And then the sky brightened. I could turn off my headlamp. The rain lessened. I kept doing laps. As I looked down to realize that the next lap would be my last to get to 100 miles, many of the campers had awakened. They left their tents to giant puddles (for some it got in their tents).

Through the night the temperature dropped. Add in my overall exhaustion, and I was pretty cold. I added rain pants to my attire, even though underneath I was soaked.  For my final lap, I had to add another layer, which helped.  Stacey H jumped onto the lap with me and we walked and jogged our way to the finishing straight. From there I knew I had to run to the finish and we did. 

Time on the clock at 161km was 23:30:27. I made it. those 60 km were tough and took a long time compared to the first 100km. Yes, if the weather was perfect it might not have been as rough, but as it stands I had a great night. No matter what was thrown at me, I was prepared for it. My stomach never had any issues, the switch to drinks alone for awhile stopping anything bad. My blisters were not a thing that took me out, I was ready. I didn't run with music and even at the darkest part of the night I didn't get into a mental slump. I remained committed to the goal the whole way. 

John was there at the end to hand me my buckle. 

Totally worth it. 

These socks did their best. Always choose wool people! At least my feet were actually warm. 

My step count was skewed that weekend, making days of 15K steps appear as nothing.

So there it is, 100 Miles. Goal accomplished. I worked pretty hard for that and no matter how crappy the weather was at points, it was a day to remember and one I wouldn't do differently. Why is next? Well a little recovery and then onto....well I have no idea. Let's wait and see. 

 

Weekend at Wentworth 100 Miler - The Training - 2024/2025

Having signed up for The Weekend at Wentworth Ultra race last Summer, I finally began actual focused training in October of 2024 when I paced Valley Harvest Half Marathon officially then kept going to unofficially pace the full marathon with Colin. Feeling relatively good for having run a full marathon with no significant aches, I started the training for my goal of 100 miles on an upbeat. 

For the next 7 months my main goal was prepping for this 100 miler, from planning what to bring on the day, my strategy on the day, and how I would focus my training so that I wouldn't feel overwhelmed.  My goal, as always, is to not let training dictate my life while aiming for success in the thing I am training for.

Having only ever run a maximum of 60km in one day before with more of a focus on speed, I knew that I needed to train myself to be able to tolerate not just distance, but slower paces. This would inevitably include walking as well. But how coudl I achieve my lofty goal of a first 100 miler in a sub 24 hour period if I had to walk some or perhaps lots of it. While I hoped to run as much as possible, I was not foolish enough to think that stuff might happen that would slow me down.

Thus, I placed a large focus on power hiking. Sure lots of people do, it is part of trail running after all. But rather than seeing power hiking as a chance to ease up and rest, I was looking at it as a chance to switch muscle groups, without losing the overall effort. So I started walking fast ( sub 9 min/km pace is needed for a 24 hour 100 miler) then faster and faster, getting well into the 7 min/km range and even touching on the 6 min/km range.  Walking that fast is actually tough on the body, so I did a few dedicated session a week, starting at an hour then working up to 2 hours. I would also walk after long runs for added time on feet. 

Speaking of time on feet, I also aimed to, in general, be on my feet as much as I could during the day. Regardless of time spent actually training, my step tracker kept me monitoring my weekly steps and in general I aimed for the equivalent of 100 miles in steps on a rolling seven day average. 

My biggest week of running was in December at 100 miles. Most weeks I averaged around 120-130 km of running and power hiking (about a 70-30 split).  My biggest runs were usually a monthly marathon, often done on a 5-6km looped course. 

My biggest single run was 80km, when I took on the AO Racing Pick and Shovel challenge. That was a race that I used as a big training day and it went so well, I placed second in men and 1st in men over 50. 

I'd say the biggest single change to my training though was nutrition, both during runs and all day. I did add more protein to my diet, really focused on hydration all day long, and ramped up the carbs during runs. Being a normally low fuel runner, this was a big change, and one I will take forward with my training in general. 

I had a couple of set backs. Tendonitis in my feet after the Pick and Shovel set me back a couple of weeks. And sore quads in the last few weeks before the race also meant I started my taper a little earlier than I had hoped. This also set back my plans for a final month focused less on distance and more on hills for strength. But over all, a good focus on rest and strength exercises really helped me maintain my ability to train much more than I ever had. 

I trained at night during the winter and did one really early morning push in a rain storm in April, which as it turns out was perfect for the day that was to come. Other than that, I didn't try to train too much while tired, as that would increase the risk of injury. 

Overall, I was pleased with my training. Nothing can be perfect but I made it through to race day, learned from my mistakes, and hit the start line feeling ready.

Race, Recover, Retrain 2025

 So the Pick and Shovel Race (see last post) was amazing. It all came together and I had a great day of racing culminating in a second place finish and some amazing prizes. It also gave me some amazing confidence for the up coming 100 Miler. 

Inevitably I was very sore after the fact. As the days came and went, the doms faded, but my feet continued to hurt on top. Of course one considers something like a stress fracture, but with the same pain being felt on both side fairly equally, I was pretty sure it wasn't that. I tried a few runs, but generally they did not feel good. So I walked, I biked, and I used my elliptical runner. 

I looked at what the issue was, and traced it down to the extensor tendons in my feet (these are used to flex the toes basically). But why did it happen. I did use a new shoe for race day that I only spent a little time in. Did they cause it? Did I maybe tie them too tight? I had them tied on fairly snug for the first 10K run of the Pick and Shovel and had thought about swapping to another more cushioned shoe, but opted not to as I had such a good rhythm going. I stuck with this idea for awhile but ultimately the reality was my calves and shins were just not trained enough for the downhills of the day. This left my shins so tight that they were essentially pulling on my extensors and when I would run they would tighten even more. 

The recovery from this race last close to 3 weeks. I worked on my foot strength, visited my chiropractor for some fascia release, and kept busy doing a variety of exercises that were not running. 

Did I lose some fitness? Yup, I'd say my top end power had decrease significantly. Was the rest needed? Yup. So I don't regret things. I did also learn a lot from this. Work not just on the uphills, but also the downhills. Work on calf strength. While my 100 miler is not going to be very hilly, knowing your weaknesses and not dealing with them is just opening you up for failure. Small hills add up over 100 miles, so don't give them a chance to be the thing that takes you out of the race.

While February was a write off from a running stand point, it was a bit of recovery I needed after training long distance and hard since last October. It was a chance to work on other areas of my fitness, and also a chance to recover and reset mentally. It broke apart some inadvertent run streaks I had, which I feel will help me be a stronger runner overall. 

Last weekend I hit my longest week of running since December and my 100 mile week. Add in my power hiking and I was pretty close to that 100 mile number. I hit a 38 kilometer run that ended with uphill marathon pace for 4 kilometers. My fitness is back, my training is back on track, though really it never left. 

Now my focus is even more time on feet, more hills for power and strength, and lots of tempo work, because it is easier to drive a fast car at 70% throttle than a slower car at 100% throttle when you are trying to get somewhere on time. Speed in training
makes the slow on race day feel a lot better.

2025 Race 1 - The AO Racing Pick and Shovel Ultra Trail Run

For the third year in a row I attended the All Out Racing Pick and Shovel event. This is an 8 hour trail endurance run, where the person with the most completed laps (a little over 6 km per lap) wins. You have to complete the last lap before 8pm or it doesn't count as well. If there is a tie, the tie breaker goes to the person who ran the first 10km of the event the fastest. Of course being a trail race, distances are approximate. 

In past years there was also the option of just running the 10k starter race as a stand alone, but this year demand for the 8 hour event was so great, they only had spots for it. Last year I entered and had fun, not going too hard and coming in with around 58 km of running at 10 laps. This year with the extra effort I have put in for my 100 miler training, I wanted to use this as a test event to try out nutrition at race pace, getting maybe 1 or 2 laps more and just managing my pace well all day. 

Many from my run club the BLT Runners were on hand. Some for the first time, others repeat offenders. 

The weather was quite different this year. Year one was rain and mud, year 2 fresh snow and mild winter temps (which actually lead to icy night conditions), and this year dry and cold. Starting at -6C with a brisk wind and dropping cooler every hour after that. 

After our race intro we were off. I started near the front. My goal here was to run a reasonably fast time, trying to stay ahead of my only real competitors, the over 50 men. To be able to win the over 50 category I knew I would have to run a bit fast at the start but also hold on. My competition is tough and I knew they would all be able to cram a lot of laps in.

I quickly slotted into 5th place and had a nice pace going. A lot faster this year with the frozen ground. I had opted for my On CloudUltra trail shoes. Decent cushion but nice grip up front for faster running. This was their maiden race. 

After the first loop of the race things settled in and I caught up with Ryan in 4th place and passed him. I was having good luck running up the steep inclines (this is a rolling terrain multiuse park but the hills are quite steep up and down). I pulled a small gad and then kicked a rock and down I went. As fast as anything I was back up and pushed on. I was not too far behind 3rd place by the end of the 10km starter race and came in with a time of 44:23, about 40 seconds off 3rd. 

Now the real fun started. The laps. My plan to was to cram in the calories today and fluid. I am traditionally not a big eater in events, but a 100 miler will not allow for that. I had to not get dehydrated nor bonk out. I had taken a Naak gel before the race, now I quickly crammed another in and took a big drink of Naak high calorie drink. 

For the day I would come back and consume about 200mL of fluid per lap of either Naak or Nuun Endurance. Then I would grab a gel and consume it on the first really steep 100m climb while walking. Then off to finish each lap. I used Naak gels, Naak Purees, a couple of Maurten gels and a couple of Gu gels which the race provided some of. I have mostly switched to Naak products, but I also wanted to put variety in my stomach since it is never a sure ting you will have access to all your own stuff at races.  

After the first 10km race I did a lap with Ryan and Ryan, who had both come in right behind me. Lap 4 (the 10km race counts as 2 laps) I ran with Johnny. All great guys. But as we all had our own race plans, we didn't run with each other the rest of the day. 

Before starting lap 4 I checked on my injuries from the fall/tumble. My hands hurt a bit and I skinned my palm on one side but not too bad. My hip was quite scratched up and a little bloody. I jammed some Anchor Soap Anti-Chafe balm on it to prevent it sticking and rubbing on my tights. All part of the learning to deal with the stuff that happens.  

Coming and going from the race start was nice. You ran in, yelled out your number so they could track you, grab some calories and head back out. Some people take longer breaks, some walk a few laps, and some have goals that let them finish up in the daylight.  

It is great to high five others coming back as you are headed out. Sometimes you find random people to chat with for a moment. Though ultimately I ran alone most of the day and that was great to be able to just be in my own head.

Around 4pm I had actually become the lead runner passing Liz. My pace was pretty good, with up hill walk breaks but generally a nice 5:30/min km pace for the most part. Liz of course was still technically in the lead as were Matthias and Justin because they ran the 10km race faster than me. So to win I would have to run more laps than they did. 

At 48km in, my mom and cousin made an appearance to cheer me on which was really nice. I grew up not too far from the park.

Night time was coming, so I grabbed my head lamp and kept it up. I passed into lap 10, which was as far as I had gone the previous year. At this point I had now pass Matthias. While it was fun for the race crew to claim I was the race leader, I really wasn't and who knows what could happen. I was in 3rd though, which was amazing.

Liz would get her second wind and start picking up speed again, finally passing me on lap 11. I was in new territory, and while people were yelling for me to run faster, I stuck with the plan.  Lap 12 came and I had time on the clock still, so lap 13 here we come! 

I got it done and came in at 7:22pm. That was only going to allow 38 minutes to run a final lap in the dark on tired legs. My previous 2 laps had been at close to 40 minutes. My watch had me close to 78km in and while I went back out, I knew that I wasn't going to get another lap in and as I approached an area I knew well they time left before 8pm and the distance I had left meant it was unlikely I would make it without pushing myself too hard and risking injury. I played it smart and called it and jogged it back. I ended up running 80km that day in around 7.5 hours. Over  1500m of climbing and a heart rate well below 140. I used heart rate to control my pace and I think it worked really well for me. 

The gels? Yeah, I got down 13 of them and they powered me through the day. Those and the fluid and I was not dehydrated for once after an event. Was it a risk to try and get all those down? Yup. Not solid or real food at all. But that was what the day was about, taking a few risks, though planned ones, and dealing with any issues that would come up.

Ultimately, I came in third overall. While I had passed Justin on course he had run the 10km faster. Liz managed to grab an extra lap with 14 on the books (amazing).  6 runners got to lap 13, and while I initially was focused on being fast over 50, I was fast enough to be second place male runner overall.

I won a pair of On shoes from 3 Mile Outfitter and some products from Anchor Soap (foot balm and soap) all things I love.  I also made some new friends.  
 

And really, I ran 80km for this. An Eastwood mug. My 5th from various events now. Winning this meant I beat Mike D and that is no small feat. He's as tough as they come. He actually got to lap 13 as well. 

Massive props to the BLT Runners for their successes. Thanks to the main event sponsors Aerobics First, 3 Mile outfitters, and Sportwheels, plus many awesome brands. Thanks to Jason and Peter and amazing volunteers to keeping the day light and fun, though I missed all the good food.

Thanks for the support I received from New World Marketing as well.  My On running gear and shoes were top notch and my world would be a little dimmer without my Darntough socks. 

Stay positive friends. 

Goals

With so many upcoming changes to social media platforms, I realize that I have come to rely on things like Instagram and Facebook to get my thoughts out. More and more than has meant limiting what I write down due to the general limitations of those sites and the fact that Instagram is great for photos, but I realize that a lot of people probably don't read everything written down there. I certainly won't stop using them as a means of sharing stuff I do, but I want to get back to the old blog to write down longer stuff, so that I can actually explain what I mean and not get into a weird conversation with a stranger about why I am wrong (probably because I had to limit what I said and didn't cover things correctly).  The socials will be for short quips and pretty pictures.

Anyway, it is January of 2025, so let's talk goals. I don't specifically mean my goals (though I will add a touch on that). I mean having goals in general when it comes to athletics. 

When I chat with people about sports either online or in person, as a coach or just some dude, I find that the idea of a goal is often not there. Generally the notion of "just finish it" comes up. The idea of just making it to the finish is certainly not "not a goal" and is in no way a bad concept, but for many it can mean a lack of focus when it comes to training. And a lack of focus can sometimes get us into trouble. 

The concept of a training plan is to help focus an athlete, so what they are doing makes sense and limits the risks, especially of injury. This is definitely a bigger concern once the notion of longer distance events starts to become more exciting, (things that take over 2 hours or perhaps even all day events like Ultras). 

Athletes that didn't start until they were adults often lack the built in limiters to stop when things aren't going well and reassess (I know I certainly got injured enough in my 30s and 40s). Part of this is due to a lack of focus and a goal (which ideally should be realistic, though just a little beyond reach). 

Personally I like to have an A and  B goal for every event I am going to do (B is the minimum for success, A is when all the perfect parts come together for the perfect day), even if it is a for fun event. This allows me the notion of stepping back if things aren't going well (during training or the day of) while still feeling some satisfaction that I achieved what I needed. That goal should almost always be one that you control, as in do not attach it to how another person does in the event or during training. If your goal is to beat someone you need to realize that you have now given away a lot of the control of your success. The success of winning (the race or your age class etc...) is great, but is just a handful of candy compared to achieving the results you trained for. 

Chat it out with your fellow runners, your coach, your partner. Find the balance to make the goal a reality in your life. Realize that just because you aren't going for PRs or podiums that goals can still be the best way to focus on making the sport you are in a little more fun.

Now, my goals coming up are focused around getting to the end of the Weekend at Wentworth Miler in June in under 24 hours. It is a lofty goal for my first attempt that that distance. I know my back up is 36 hours, so I have a safety net, but I will aim for my big goal for sure. I will blog about that training soon. 

My first checkpoint towards that goal was achieved this past Christmas, as I attempted my first ever 100 miler week. I achieved it in 7 days of aiming for at least 23 km a day.  I worked toward that week for 2 months, as was rewarded with not only hitting that level of running, but also doing so and feeling really good, able to keep my regular training as soon as I finished. While it was a challenge, it was not something that broke me.