This weekend is my final race for 2026, the last one in my diary for this year anyway. (Who knows I might end up doing something silly like Gut Buster, but I haven't at the time of this writing signed up for it). That race is Wendover Woods 50 miler, with over 3200 metres (10,000 feet) of elevation.
To put it in perspective, I always do a run during my yearly Spain work trip, and that run takes me from sea level on the beach where my hotel is situated, up to one of the mountain tops that I can see when I walk around the town. It is a 2000 foot (600+ metre) elevation gain over 10km at the farthest point of that out & back.
I will have to do that same elevation a total of five times in fifteen hours. Just doing it once is daunting. OK, but let's back up a bit and see how I've been training/overtraining for this race. In the past few weeks, since late September, I have run the Windsor Half Marathon, the Chiltern Wonderland 50 miler (DNF'd at 26 miles), the Beachy Head Marathon, and Hayling Island 10 miler. Four big races in the seven weeks leading up to Wendover.
Not only that but, zooming out a bit more, Wendover will be my fourth 50 miler of 2026, and my sixth ultra for 2026 (aiming for five completed). I'm hoping to be able to complete Wendover given all this training and prep and it has been a great year, approaching 3000km already, and anticipating a total of 2000 miles for 2026.
Drawbacks: I'm fighting a cold in the days leading up to Wendover, which feels like it is weakening me a bit, but it is also forcing me to rest, potentially adding freshness to my legs on race day. Another drawback is ultra fatigue, which hit me in only the third ultra of the year, and hit me in my stomach, as I became less able to stomach large shots of sugary syrupy drinks and sweets over long periods of time.
This was really an issue in both North Downs Way 50 miler (finished) and in the South Downs Way 50km (finished).
What has gone well: South Downs Way 50 miler, the second ultra of the year, was a glorious festival of a day, without any significant discomfort. Beachy Head was glorious (a marathon); as was Hayling. These have been the highlights so far.
What I'm looking forward to at Wendover: clear cold conditions and frequent dropbag access, as well as glorious trailrunning, but in the daytime, and at night! I'm looking forward to relaxing the pace to get over all the hills, and to pacing myself into the night, with poles and layers and lights.
Because of Beachy, North Downs Way, South Downs Way and lots of Chiltern running/training, I think I have my 'hill legs'. But do I have my head screwed on in such a way that I can mentally power my way around, and can I pace my eating just right so that it's neither too much nor too little? I've got an order arriving at the start line to top up my gels with things I like to eat.
I've got long life milk and pot noodles in the drop bag, along with lots of warm layers. I'm ready, I've trained, now I just have to polish this one off. Going in, my initial intention is to do a couple of laps. But, if things are going well...who knows?
