I\u2019m still taking it all in but I did it. The North Downs Way 50 is in the bag and honestly, I\u2019m so happy it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This race has been hanging over me for 11 years. The one that got away. A DNF that stayed with me, quietly whispering \u201cnot yet.\u201d<\/em> This year, I finally stepped up again. Older, with more miles in the legs, and a body that I wasn\u2019t sure would ever run pain-free again. But after months of strength work and a careful return to training, I lined up at the start. Nervous. Emotional. Doubtful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Start<\/strong> Fuel and Fails<\/strong> Box Hill Blues<\/strong> The Bladder Situation<\/strong> Low Point: Box to Reigate<\/strong> Trail Magic<\/strong> Caterham and Beyond<\/strong> The Final Push<\/strong> The Finish<\/strong> And then “I did!”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crossing that finish line, I had all the feels three minutes before it actually happened. The relief, the pride, the release. Eleven years after that first attempt, the NDW50 is finally mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I\u2019ve Learned<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you to everyone who\u2019s been part of this journey. NDW50 \u2014 finally finished. And what a journey it was.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m still taking it all in but I did it. The North Downs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"kubio-page-with-right-sidebar","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[35,55],"class_list":["post-2691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-blog","tag-running"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alechiavanwyk.co.uk\/alechias_world\/Home.html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
I didn\u2019t start like a loon (growth!), but I was a mess of emotions. I think I wasted far too much energy just overthinking the day ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nutrition mostly went to plan but solids didn\u2019t sit well. The Marmite sandwich made a quick exit (sorry, Puttenham), so I abandoned that idea. Gels were the hero of the day. Still, the stomach stress sparked a wobble in my confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time I reached Box Hill, I was deep in the pain cave. I climbed slowly, painfully slowly, but made it to the top, grabbed a Calipo, and reset. Crackers and salt started going in, and I felt glimmers of hope again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Running with a full bladder? Nightmare. Every step felt like my insides were bouncing off my bladder wall. A very unfun addition to the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I ran low on water, and the thought of calling it at Reigate crossed my mind more than once. But I made it. Tomatoes, crisps, another “Calipo!” I was still moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somewhere after Reigate, I picked up a trail buddy. We had been leapfrogging each other, and eventually decided to run together. It made such a difference. He was strong on the climbs (note to self: work on hills), and I found my legs again on the descents. We kept each other going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More tomatoes. More crisps. More gels. Caterham was carnage; so many runners dropping; but we moved through. The steep ups and sweeping downs were brutal and beautiful. I channelled every single-leg squat I\u2019ve ever done (thanks Pete!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the final section, we had just two hours to get to the finish. The time plan had long since disintegrated. With 4.5km to go and the clock ticking, my trail buddy pushed the pace. I was hanging on, legs in rebellion, emotions on edge. That cruel final loop around the field nearly broke me; you can see the finish, but you can\u2019t have it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ugly crying. Panic attack brewing. Asking every single person if I was going to make it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n