Farnham Runners excel in ultra marathons

There is a small but growing contingent of Farnham Runners who are competing in some impressive Ultra marathons, over the standard 26.2 mile marathon distance. In preparation they have put in some rigorous training, not only running long distances but also including regular strength training to reduce the chances of injury.

Run to the Sea

In early May, four Farnham Runners took on Run to the Sea, a scenic 50km from Horsham to Brighton. Lizzie May and Ivan Chunnett had both run the London Marathon two weeks before, so they were running on tired legs in the heat. It was Lizzie’s debut ultra, but she finished in an outstanding time of 4:37:59 as third lady, while Ivan clocked 5:07:21. Harry May had never run a marathon before but, along with James Fabian, he finished in 6:02:52, a tremendous effort.

Isle of Wight Ultra

Also early in May, Colette Grist and Kate Townsend completed the epic and very challenging Isle of Wight Ultra – 69.5 miles, 5830ft of elevation in 19 hours and 52 mins. They started in glorious sunshine at 7am on Saturday and finished in very cold winds and the dark at 3am on Sunday. Between them they raised £3,800 for charities.

Linda Tyler and Kelly Lincoln joined them for the first 55km.

Fox Ultra 62k,  Scilly Isles 60k and Hanger‘s Way 50k

Just three weeks later Colette Grist, Kate Townsend and Linda Tyler went onto run the local Fox Ultra 62k (40 miles).

This was training for Linda Tyler’s Scilly 60K, 5 Islands in One Day race.

She explains:

“The trails were technical and hilly it was very warm, with strict cut offs on every island adding to the pressure though boat transfers between the islands gave us time to rest and fuel up. I was so pleased and incredibly emotional to reach the final cut off on St Agnes, with just 5K left to do back on St Mary’s to cross the finish line in 06:49:27.”

These three were joined by Kelly Lincoln, Ivan Chunnett and Craig Tate-Grimes for the Hanger‘s Way 50 km run from Alice Holt Forest to Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

Kate Townsend summed up:

“4 ultras, 2 marathons, a 22 miler and a 20 miler in 11 weeks and I still have a big grin! Love this running lark!”

Comrades ultra marathon

In June Ivan Chunnett (photo above giving a talk about the history of the race) completed the Comrades ultra marathon in South Africa for the second time. He explains:

“Begun in 1921 to honour fallen comrades of WWI in East Africa, this 56-mile (90 km) ultramarathon between Durban and Pietermaritzburg is more than a race; it is a rite of passage. It alternates between the “up” and “down” runs each year and to be a true runner in South Africa, you have to run Comrades. As a child, I would wake early to watch the 5:30 am start on live TV, glued to the screen for hours. 

Last year I ran the “up” version which includes over 5,700 feet (1,750 m) of climbing and I crossed the finish in 9 hours 25 minutes, broken but ecstatic. 

This year I trained even harder, including sitting in sauna in the last couple of weeks to simulate conditions.”

After helping a friend in difficulty close to the finish line Ivan only missed his target by a few seconds, crossing the line in an impressive 9 hours 35 seconds.

Race to the Stones

Last but not least Chris Raby ran the Race to the Stones, a 100km ultramarathon that follows the Ridgeway, one of Britain’s oldest paths, from Lewknor in Oxfordshire to Avebury in Wiltshire.

On one of the hottest days of the year and with many participants pulling out or switching to the 50km, he finished the whole route in 15:46:38.

He writes:

“For the first 30km there was some shade but none for the last 70km. The heat bought everyone together and the volunteers were amazing. Two runners even ran in Rhino costumes, finally crossing the line at dawn!”