The “Druid Challenge” Ridgeway Multistage Ultra
November 2010

Event Report by Extreme Energy
 

Would you or could you run 82 miles in 3 days, in muddy terrain, big hills and against the wind all the way !

Well that is exactly what 150 odd runners and walkers attempted to do over the weekend of the 12th – 14th November. The event was the 2nd year running of the Druid Challenge by the Extreme Energy (www.xnrg.co.uk).

The events runs along the Ridgeway the oldest road way in the UK which has been used for over 5000 years. The competitors started at Ivinghoe Beacon on Friday morning and ran / walked / hobbled / shuffled and crawled towards Swindon – Barbury Castle on Sunday afternoon.

After registering and picking up their goody bags sponsored by Up and Running, Buff, Bio Synergy drinks and Sportswash the competitors got themselves ready to go.

Day 1 was the toughest day. 29 miles of hard going especially into a 20 mph wind. The event has 3 starts each day, walkers / slow runners, the main body of runners and the elite runners. Each start is 1 hour apart, this allows the walkers to feel like they are part of the event as the main body and the elite runners over take them through out the day and it means that the elite runners are not out front all day and see all the other competitors as they work their way through the field.

The finish on day 1 was at Icknield Community College in Watlington.

The fastest runners put in some great times, with the fastest being Richard Meade at 04:12 hours. It was hard enough going during daylight with the conditions getting harder and harder as the day went on and the rain came down, but when it got dark then the main body of the field really had to dig deep to keep going.

As the evening went on runners and walkers were consistently arriving every few minutes, reducing to every 5 mins, then every 15 mins, until there were only a few competitors left to come in. The final finisher on day 1 was 62 year old Pip Lloyd who attends all the Extreme Energy events, and always finishes with a smile after a long long hard slog, and the first thing she does is have a beer……..what a start.

As all the competitors came in they were greeted with cheers, hot drinks, home made cakes and a massive welcome from all competitors. All their baggage had been transported and unloaded by the team. So they just needed to locate their kit, find a bed space in the one of the 2 sports halls and then have a welcome hot shower. The evening meal was laid on by the Extreme Energy team, and well received by everyone.

 Day 2 saw much better weather and a lovely morning as the first competitors stuck their noses outside their sleeping bags. After a good breakfast the walkers lined up ready to get underway.

Day 2 was a slightly shorter distance at 27 miles and much easier going underfoot, fewer hills, so with the better weather aswell the opportunity for strong performances was very good.

The other 2 starts got underway and everyone was in very good spirits after their endurance exploits the night before.

The route took the competitors from Watlington back to the Ridgeway up to the top of the Chiltern hills before heading down the ancient Grimms Ditch to the Thames, following this to Goring and Streatley, from where they then climbed up back to the top of the Ridgeway and to a finish about 6 miles from Wantage.

Again the running was very competitive and with better weather and easier terrain the smiles were on the competitors faces again.

“The great thing about these events” said one of the competitors “is the camaraderie. Everyone helps each other and the fast runners as they go past encourage the slower runners – you never get that in a road run!”

As the competitors finished on day 2 the Extreme Energy team picked them up in minibuses and took them down to Wantage Leisure Centre where they found their bags, had a clean up and had full use of the facilities. Some swam, some used the sauna, some went to the pub to watch England beat Australia (YES). Infact one competitor started at 0430 in the morning as he had tickets for Twickenham. When he finished the 27 miles he was picked up, went to the rugby then straight back ready for day 3 !!

Saturday night at Wantage was a fantastic atmosphere. The sportshall looked like a refugee camp, except that the refugees all had tired smiles on their face. After dinner the competitors were treated to a presentation by the guru of ultra running – Rory Coleman. Rory was supporting the Extreme Energy team all weekend and talked the runners through his massive experience of long distance running, especially his 7 times in the Marathon Des Sables !

After a few drinks in the bar the competitors got their heads down ready for the next mornings running.

 

Day 3 saw a beautiful morning on top of the Ridgeway, with some stunning views across the valleys below. The competitors were bused up to their 3 start times to be met by the race director Neil Thubron ready to start the day 3 event.

Day 3 was 26.2 miles, the first 16 miles being fast, flat and down hill, the last 10 miles being hilly with a big climb to the finish.

The competition at the fast end was hotting up. Richard Meade had carved out a 40 min lead, but after 56 miles there were only a few minutes separating the next 4 or 5 runners.

As all the competitors set off they were all looking forward to completing their personal challenge. Whether it be to be the fastest, the first, in the top 100 or to raise money for a charity that is special to them, all of them were focused on their own goals.

The weather was not kind and the rain came down hard, but the runners all finished smiling, some smiles turning to tears, but all really pleased with what they had achieved. And so they should have been, whether they were the fastest of slowest it didn’t matter, the important thing was that they had done it.

As with the other finishes, the day 3 finish at Barbury Castle was set up by the Extreme Energy team to welcome the competitors.

 

The results are below, and some comments from the competitors included.

 

“Thanks to all for a great event; excellently organised and lots of fun.”

“Thank you so much for such a superb event, from start to finish the whole thing was just perfect. I don't know how you managed to provide the whole package in such a seamless and brilliant way all with smiles and a great feeling of community that emanated from your team and flowed out to us as competitors, I enjoyed it immensely, even just the concept of a shared tough experience with 150 other mad people is fantastic. Would you please pass on my thanks to all of the team.”

 

Results


Winner – Richard Meade – overall time 11:04:00

2nd Place – Michael Zeidan – overall time 12:04

3rd Place - Ben Pearce overall time 12:06

First lady Julie Finn – overall time 12:08:00

 

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External Links and References


Druid Challenge online blog and event report - Click Here

One of our runners online blogs - Click Here