Pilgrim Challenge 2022
Two years ago I took part in the Pilgrim Challenge organised by Extreme Energy (XNRG) as I was just weeks out of when the Marathon Des Sables was due to go ahead in April 2020 (before it was postponed three times due to COVID). It was a fantastic event which I thoroughly enjoyed and so when my MDS tent mates suggested that we enter this year’s event as a reunion AND it was on my birthday, well it was a no brainer.
The Pilgrims Challenge is a two day ultra marathon, a total of 66 miles along the North Downs Way and the out and back journey falls just short of 8000 feet of elevation. It also includes an overnight stay in a school sports hall with 100+ other sweaty, stinky runners who barely know each other.. this is my idea of fun!
This year’s event once again didn’t disappoint. I drove the 2 hour journey down to Farnham on Friday night where I was reunited with the gang that made up Tent 60 at the 35th Marathon Des Sables last year - less than 6 months ago we were perfect strangers but having been through so much together in such a short space of time, we have a wonderful bond. I knew I had missed them but it wasn’t until we were together again that I realised just how much these guys mean to me.
5th February - Day 1
Saturday morning was quite a relaxed start to the day as we weren’t due to set off until 9am so we took our time having breakfast together and then made our way to the starting area. As always Neil & Anna and their XNRG team had everything running smoothly, from cheery car parking attendants to ‘covid pass police’ to a friendly brief at the start line as groups were set off every few minutes. I started just before 9am and took my time finding my stride and settling into a comfortable pace which didn’t take long.
I had a good run heading up to St Martha’s and as I was descending I heard the familiar voice of my friend Matt who wasn’t part of the race but had mentioned to me that he would be running on the North Down’s Way that day. He was good company. albeit somewhat bullyish as I moaned about the hills and his response was always lacking in sympathy. - in actual fact this is exactly what I need when I’m starting to flag on these races.
The miles with Matt passed reasonably fast and I felt strong throughout the day. The only let down was that my arthritic feet had flared up by about 15 miles in so I was in a fair amount of discomfort for much of the time. I was mindful that even though my legs felt ok and I had a good level of energy, if I went too hard on my feet then I would pay the price the next day.
Matt parted ways at Reigate hill and I ran the last 3 miles on my own. I was tired but felt good given that I had 30+ miles in my legs.
I completed Day 1 in 5 hours 49 mins and 7th female which was a 40 minute improvement on my day 1 time back in 2020 when I last took part in the Pilgrim Challenge. I had set myself three possible goals; Bronze, Silver and Gold, the latter being a sub 6 hour finish so I was very pleased with that. I was also 34th overall so Carrington School where we were staying overnight was still fairly quiet as more runners came in.
A shower and some food later, I was definitely feeling tired and ready for some sleep but myself and my Marathon Des Sables tent mates had been asked to be the guest speakers and deliver a Q&A session for those who are taking part in March 2022. The session was well received and it was great to recap our time in the Sahara Desert both as a tent and also our individual experiences. The room had plenty of questions and a few of the runners stayed on afterwards to chat further with us.
6th February - Day 2
As expected I didn’t sleep very well, although better than last time as the hall had half the amount of people in which meant half the amount of sounds and smells (ultra runners aren’t the most glam of humans after a long run!). It was my birthday so I awoke to my tent mates singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me.
We set off just after 7:30am. My feet weren’t feeling too bad considering they were so sore the day before, but I did have an unusual pain in my right leg which went from my groin all the way down the inside of my ankle. It took a while to get going but once I’d warmed up then the pain eased off a little.
After a couple of miles I spotted Leon who was one of my tent mates, so I kept up with him for a good few miles. I was mindful that I was a bit slower on my feet than the day before and I also knew that he was planning to race it harder on day 2, so I kept telling him to go on without me. Leon is one of the most loyal people I have ever come across and even though I didn’t want to slow him down, he seemed happy to hang back at my pace, occasionally looking over his shoulder to make sure that I was just behind him.
Approaching Box Hill, Leon realised that we’d drifted off route along with a small group of other runners ahead of us. We weren’t far from the pathway but to rejoin it meant a steep uphill climb to be met with barbed fencing at the top which we negotiated very carefully. We were back on track soon enough but I was annoyed with myself and my already low mood took a bit of a hit.
Anyone who has climbed up Box Hill steps will tell you just how exhausting they are, and when I say exhausting I mean that they utterly rinse your lungs while setting your thighs on fire! Going down them, contrary to what you might expect, isn’t much easier, particularly having ran 33 miles the day before, so your legs are already a bit wobbly and tired. I took the steps very carefully as the steep descent was hurting my knees. This meant that by time I’d reached the bottom, I had lost Leon which was a shame but I was also happy that he’d gone ahead and was running his own race - I always maintain how important it is, when you’ve trained so hard for something that you don’t end up sacrificing your own race for someone else’s, unless of course they are injured or genuinely need help.
Pretty much from the start of the second day my stomach hadn’t felt right. When I did the MDS long stage, I had suffered with a water infection which nearly ended my race and this sensation was similar. I was worried that it was the same thing again and the thought of going through it again filled me with dread. Running with Leon had distracted me from it but now that I was on my own I was vastly aware of how bad it was now feeling. By time I reached CP2 at 19 miles in, I was in a bad way so had to find a bush to hide in. I’ll leave it there for now other than to say that it’s probably about time that I paid my doctor a visit. Fortunately my bush squat offered great relief and from there onwards I was finally able to settle into a comfortable, albeit sluggish pace.
The remaining 14 miles was a bit of blur, not because I was moving at such a pace to create a motion blur but mainly because I was battling with my internal dialogue telling me how rubbish I felt and how slowly the miles were ticking by. It was very much a case of head down, music on, one foot in front of the other until eventually I could see the finishing arch where a couple of friends had already finished.
The relief of crossing the line was met with an outburst of ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to me by Neil the Race Director and about 15/20 people who were standing around waiting for runners to come in. It was a lovely surprise as amongst the blur of fatigue and sore legs, I had actually forgotten that it was my birthday!
I can’t lie, I was disappointed with how the second day had gone but I guess that’s ultra running for you - over such large distances the scope for things to go askew is much greater.. I was still happy to finish 11th female that day and 9th female across the two days. My finishing time on day 2, 6 hours 49 mins, was exactly an hour slower than day 1 and 15 mins faster than day 2 back in 2020, so a much better run overall despite the difficulties I’d had earlier on in the day.
What a great weekend it was! I was so happy to spend time with my tent mates from the MDS plus see some friends from the ultra running community as well as make some new ones on the trails.
Once again XNRG put on a fantastic event - huge thanks to Neil and his wife Anna along with the dozens of volunteers who gave up their weekend to stand in the cold, supporting us runners and making sure that we had everything that we needed. I can’t recommend these guys enough and I’m looking forward to future events.
