Mendip Marauder

What kind of title is that I can hear you thinking?

Sounds like some kind of distressing encounter in the countryside?

I'm actually talking about a running race, that sits within the 'Ultra' marathon category. 30 whole miles across the Mendip hills spanning the hinterland between Wells to Weston-Super-Mare.

My old friend Maeve and I have been testing the waters with half marathons over the last few years (I've done 5 in total). 

We can get round in sub 1hr 50 mins, we know about pacing and fuelling for endurance. We decided collectively that we need to stop procrastinating and test our strength by entering something more challenging.

The London Marathon is too big and busy, and the other popular marathons are expensive (and probably overrated) so we began researching off-beat races in the UK and further afield.

We looked into the Medoc (my personal front runner), more akin to a French jolly: you're given wine as well as water at pit-stops and fancy dress is encouraged, a Danish 'moonlit' marathon and a music-themed race in Portugal where rock bands play live at every significant juncture.

But via Maeve's contact at The Guardian, (a running correspondent) we learnt about the Mendip Marauder. We were assured that it's a well-organised race on mixed terrain.

One of the biggest selling points for us was the fact that the organisers generously give you the scope to complete the course in 8 hours.

Marvellous. We could crawl it and still finish in time. 

Some people will think we're crazy for jumping from half to ultra, but we've agreed that we're not going to take it too seriously. We'll walk up the big hills to preserve energy, take lots of healthy snacks and generally treat it more like a Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition.

I know I will be fine getting to half marathon fitness. I could be ready for that in 5 or 6 weeks. 

For my last half marathon (which I completed in 1hr 44 min after completing a 60 mile cycle ride and attending a wedding in the same weekend!), I did some 15 mile runs around the North Devon coastline in training, so I think I'll be fine bridging between 15 to 20 miles.

I'm not feeling so confident about the remaining 10 miles I'll have to muster up energy for. My worst nightmare would be to pick up an injury before or during the race. 

To avoid this I'm going to apply a more mixed approach to training: running, cycling and swimming to build endurance rather than solely pounding the pavements/trails every weekend.

Obviously I will put in a few mega-long runs (aiming to do one or two 26 mile runs in July), but I know I'll avoid boredom and blisters by employing a triathlon style approach.

I've already made a few investments to bridge the void to ultra running: a decent pair of Saucony trail shoes, a squashable water bottle that will fit into a running belt, Compede plasters (I'm blister-prone) and a book written by American guru ultra pro Scott Jurek who has done loads of 100+ mile races on a vegan diet. I may try some of his recipes too.

I'll be fascinated to see how my body reacts to the strain of the extra milage, if my mind can block out the physical pain in those 20+ mile runs. At the moment I'm feeling quite positive and excited to finally be pushing for a really big personal goal.

If I hate the Mendip Marauder, at least I'll be with Maeve and we can cry together. 

I'd be content giving up running for good and saving my knees from further disintegration. 

At least the Mendip Marauder is a small race (less than 200 participants), and thus there won't be too many spectators watching as my beetroot red face and haggard body limp over the finish line on Weston beach in August.  

Fingers crossed there won't be a heat wave - for once in my life I will be preying for light rain.