To make the most of being able to enter races on a Saturday until parkrun returns, I entered the next available Punk Panther race. Only 5 weeks after my last ultra marathon (the 48 mile Punk Panther race - The River Aire Ultra) I was keen to see how recovered I was and if I was ready for my next endurance challenge. Of course the delay to parkrun returning means I can now do one more Saturday ultra and still not miss a parkrun!
I realised this was my 10th race of at least marathon distance, and would be the first ultra marathon I have ever run alone. I’ve run with friends and done all of the navigation before but for some reason the thought of running alone made me particularly nervous?! I think it meant I was putting more pressure on myself to do well… rather than just being a nice day out with a friend!
In November 2020 the route of A Short Circuit was temporarily changed to keep the course within West Yorkshire, which at the time was Tier 3 and the route could not cross into North Yorkshire (which was Tier 2). The race then couldn’t go ahead and was rescheduled for Saturday 22nd May.
This race has an awful lot of elevation gain (over 5500 ft including Otley Chevin, Hollins Hill, The Odda, Ilkley Moor, Ellsecar Pike, Norwood Edge and an uphill finish!) and given the amount of rain in the week leading up to the race I was prepared for a tough day out. I started strong with the big climb up Otley Chevin and decided to fly through the checkpoints (stopped time on an ultra can really add up!). I was having a great run and then… COWS!
The field of young bullocks was too much for me so I jumped out of the field as they all started running towards me! I got back on track and pushed on. Running on very tired legs I passed through an emotional final checkpoint and pushed on to the finish. It turned out to be a great race!
Thanks to everyone who supported me and to the Punk Panther team for an amazing race as always!
