Devon Trail Ferret running camp diary

Me at the Trail Ferret camp

Friday 14^th March 2014

So! After a 6.30am start and a familiarity with the infrastructure of trains that went far past what I needed, I am finally here in Devon. I’m up in my room in St George’s house at the moment, after having met my fellow runners. There are six others in the house – Zoe, Emma, Jules, Martha, Rachel and Wanda. I’m dreading the crazy itinerary that’s planned. I was greeted near the train station by an enthusiastic Ben and Paul, who are running the camp.

St George's House

Tonight we are going for a couple of hours run in the dark (doesn’t sound too bad!), but tomorrow they are driving us 32 miles away and then getting us to run back! 32 miles! I have already bid farewell to my leg function for the foreseeable future post that run. Well, we’ll see how it goes.  After asking around, it’s clear that all the other runners are marathoners or more, I am the only newbie of the bunch. I think I am definitely out of my depth! Ash believes in me, though.  That kind of spurs me on.

Okay, going to go and break my headlamp out of its packaging. Never used one before! Wow, I feel all high tech! Now, um, where do the batteries go?

Later...

So, just back from the Braunton Burrows, where we all had our first run together! I had no idea of what they were going to break into when they promised an initial ‘nice, easy pace’ (with slightly traumatising memories of the ‘easy’ pace of one of PKG’s instructors, Alex), but was pleasantly surprised that it was genuinely a nice pace for me. Whew, not as bad as I thought, maybe! The Burrows are this meandering system of sandy hills, with paths winding in-between them. Parts of the path are flooded and boggy. In other sections they rise up slightly and tangled vegetation grows (including copious amounts of bramble). On the whole path you can hear the nearby sea moving gently in and out. So pretty cool scenery.

Night running

It took me a few moments to get the hang of the different settings on my headlamp, and to not blinding everyone I looked at instantly (although there are a couple of different accounts on my competency at the second aspect!). Ben was guiding us to start with, but a couple of people had GPS systems, and we were being taught how to navigate using them. As well as this, at one point we turned all the headlamps off, and Ben pointed out other factors by which to navigate, such as distant landmarks and the sound of the sea. He did a disappearing act halfway through the run, after which we had to navigate for ourselves. We had to detour past the flooded areas of the path, and at one point had to turn around completely and find a new path to our destination. But finally, we got on a good running stretch. The hills rose up then fell away as my feet moved faster underneath me, and the night area rushed refreshingly past my head. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t match the pace of my cohorts, and found myself desperately following Zoe’s headlamp with the hope that I wouldn’t lose her! We had been going for a little while, the group split up into two, and occasionally pausing for GPS checks, when we came to an abrupt stop at one crossroads. This time we weren’t sure where we were going at all, and were about to go down a particularly boggy path when Ben’s voice floated out of the darkness.

“Stop!” He said “I wouldn’t go down that path” He made his way across to us. He had been watching the headlamps from above to check our location. Apparently we had been about to get into a flooded area that would have been difficult underfoot. At some point we had made a navigation mistake (I’m still not quite sure what). In any case, he was here to lead us out. Thank God! It didn’t take much more meandering before we were on the main path again, and headed back to the van. On the way back there was a semi lively discussion about stretching. It seems like I am the only one here who actually stretches? I know for a fact if I don’t I will have major DOMS the next day. I did get a reaction like I was a bit weird for stretching, heheh. Okay! I have seriously got to go to sleep. Big day tomorrow! Night.

Saturday 15^th March 2014



River crossing

Today was the day of the big run, the Ultra marathon day! As I said before, they planned a 32 mile run back to the house. Well, I didn’t quite manage that, but I did knock out about 19 and a half miles! I am pretty chuffed with myself, having never run that far before in my entire life. As those who have read my blog before may know, my biggest running accomplishment to date is the Tough Mudder, a 13 mile obstacle course race that took me about four bloody hours to complete. I had a determination to beat that today, by hell or high-water!



Signposts

We started off on a pretty woodland path by Watersmeet, a path that tracked alongside the river. Occasionally we criss crossed via various bridges. Stones, pebbles and waterfalls interspersed through the area gave it a sort of magical feeling. Some of the stones were marked with their location and the date of placement. This was a pretty flat part of the route as well, so I could keep up with the group with little difficulty (although I was at the back). A few people walking their dogs smiled at us as we passed. This was a common feature on the run, but later on in the hills, it was clear that the owners considered us to be totally insane. At this point they were pretty relaxed.

Cargo tram

Village stop

After a while, we emerged from the river path into a little village which I think may have been called Lyn (going from a picture of its well that I have). We stopped for a brief toilet break, and then took a little jog round the corner to what looked like a sort of cargo railway! It ran steeply all the way up to the top of the hill. One of the cars is pulled up whilst the other one goes down. I was chuffed to realise that we were taking a wee cheeky shortcut by using this to get to the top of the hill! I didn’t realise we would still have plenty of hill to climb later in the day. The conductor waved us aboard, and we took it to the top. At the top, we ran through another little village to get onto the coastal path. There were several people congregated outside the church there, and they all cheered at our group as we ran past! That was pretty epic, and definitely had me smiling for at least the next couple of miles.

Coastal running

Sea views

Now we were right up on the cliff, and the view was astounding! The sea stretched out across the vista, and it was amazing to run alongside it. The wind snatched at my hat like a hungry wolf, and after a near miss in which it almost become acquainted with the sea, I acquiesced to holding it in my hand instead of on my head. We ran round the cliff top we were on, and down into the adjoining valley. A whole family of semi-wild goats roamed around this area, including a kid. I got a few pictures, but alas, they weren’t keen to be approached. Our first checkpoint was supposed to be here, actually, but when we got here there was no van to be seen. It was decided that he had probably already come and thought that we were ahead of him, so had gone on. Some of the group took a meander up to the top of another hill, but I’m afraid I stayed at the bottom and conserved my energy!



Valley Goats

Me and Emma took off with Paul, as many of the others knew exactly where they were going and we needed a bit of guidance. We trotted along the rest of the valley, then out onto a concrete road that ran alongside the nearby fields. I have to say, I saw quite possibly the largest two bulls I have ever seen just chilling out next to each other as we ran!  There was another opportunity for weeing (if you have ever trail run, you’ll know it is a luxury not to wee in a thin patch of nettles), a little shack that had a couple of chickens meandering casually around it. As I came back out and rejoined the group I heard the most almighty racket behind me! I turned in horror to see that somebody’s pet dog was relentlessly attacking one of the chickens, tearing at it and trying to pin it down. I ran to help, but they were moving so much I couldn’t stop them! I was panicking, but luckily Sophina managed to grab the chicken and rescue it from the dog. She went round the back of the shack and put it out of harm’s way. The other wise chicken had already made itself scarce. But what I couldn’t believe was that the guy didn’t seem to care at all! He was making jokes about it. I felt like setting an ostrich on him (not his dog, him).

The ill fated chicken

After this is where the uphill really started, and I began to struggle in earnest and unfortunately walk quite a bit (although I continued to run on flat/downhill for quite a while). Higher and higher and higher we climbed along the road, until we made our way onto a crumbling cliff top. The amazing views were back! And as large stretches of the route on the cliff were fairly uniform, I was okay to run on them. I got a mid run check from Ben, who ran with me a little way, I think to check that I was bearing up. Running on the very edge where the grass grew was a little dangerous as you never knew when the edge of the cliff would crumble and collapse! To my right there was a very long, very steep diagonal roll down to the drop of the cliff. If I stumbled I think it would have been curtains for me! After I chewed his ear off for a little while, he ascertained that I was alright, and made off at his own pace.

Riverside break

We meandered back down, into a woodland area, and stopped for a quick break! Here, people were filling up their water bottles, and chowing down on energy bars. I took a few grateful bites of some. I had only brought one gel sachet, and I had already eaten it. Bah.

Afterwards we moved on again. I have to admit my memory becomes a little hazy as to this section, except for the fact that it went back up. And up. And up. For seemingly ever! This time Paul hung back with me, and I think I made it to the second checkpoint a good twenty minutes after everybody else. Wanda had raced on ahead, but then somehow gotten lost and didn’t make it to the fourteen mile checkpoint. All I remember is gratefully seeing the van parked, and inhaling two bowls of pasta and some melted Soreen before glugging the rest of my water bottle and then lying on the ground in stunned relief. I think everybody else went into the van. I was too bloody knackered to move from that spot for a little while.

Wild hills

After hearing that the next checkpoint would only be about six miles away, I decided that it was doable. I didn’t want to give up not even having done half of the route. So onwards I went! Thankfully, we were once again abandoning the road and instead we took a more mountainous route upwards where there were high winds, sharp brambles and jagged rocks at every turn. I was loving all of the different terrains that the run was taking us through, sort of like going screen to screen in Final Fantasy (geeks?). I took the back of course, but still enjoyed the running. At the top of one hill we made our way past a huge rounded stack of small stones. Very odd! I took a picture, but still not a hundred percent sure what on earth it was for!

Mystery pile o' rocks

The gravel trails rolled beneath my feet as the path rose up and down the mountain trails. This was beautiful, epic, but by now I was definitely feeling the weight of the run in my legs! I only dared to run flat sections, as I thought they may give up on me if I went downhill, and send me sprawling in a face plant. Ben told me to go on ahead, as he needed to try and locate Wanda, and find the Sleeping Elephant. I wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but he told me I would know it when I saw it.

I ran the next section of the narrow trails completely alone (although I knew Ben wasn’t far behind me). It was a cool feeling. Although the path was pretty obvious, and there wasn’t much room for error, I still had a stronger sense of freedom. I broke into what I have been reliably informed is called ‘The Ultra Shuffle’, i.e. a very, very slow jog. But better than a walk. I gazed outwards at the sea and landscape as I ran. I ran like this for a while, and then suddenly stumbled on the path and ended up on my knees (a rare occurrence, I have found that I naturally quick-crouch whenever I normally stumble). Tired, I sat here for a couple of minutes, and contemplated just how far I had actually run. When I finally got moving again, I could only walk. And it wasn’t long before Ben rounded the corner and caught up with me. Seeing I was knackered, he doled out a much needed energy cube thing, and slowly we made our way down the path to the third checkpoint.



My aching feet post run

Oh. My. God. The van! Right in front of me! I have never been so pleased in my life to see something, ever. I sat down in the van gratefully, and peeled off my shoes and socks whilst simultaneously stuffing flapjacks into my mouth. Yes! Almost twenty miles! I had done it! Wanda was also in the van, having called it quits for that day. I think she was worried about overdoing it just before her 160 mile challenge.



Fish and Chip stop

But the rest of the pack was still doggedly moving forward, so after a brief midway stop, we made a longer 45 minute stop in nearby Ilfracombe, a dockside village. I got out of the van and went to sit on the tiny beach, staring out at the boats. I dug the sand between my toes, and watched a few children running here and there along the edge of the water. One of them came to stand behind me, moving when I turned. She only left when I pointed out in amusement that I could see her shadow. Heheh. When the rest of the pack arrived triumphantly, it was fish and chips all round! Although I had eaten my weight in flapjacks by that point, so I declined. Instead I took the opportunity to bash out my yoga pose in front on the docks. Woot!

Ilfracombe Dock

The van had an opportunity here to dash back to the house and drop off those people that had finished (Ben was also starting dinner, yum!). Back at the house, I cleaned and hung up my running gear, showered, then fell exhausted into bed. I set the alarm for a couple of hours hence so that I could partake in dinner (I wasn’t gonna miss that!). When I woke I was very fuzzy headed, and stumbled down the stairs in anticipation. The last three runners, Julie, Zoe and Paul had just arrived back at the house. They had completed the whole distance. Bloody hell. My hat was off to them.

It was still a bit to dinner, so I made myself some tea and wandered outside into the cool air and sat on the bench outside. The call of a nearby owl was regularly breaking the silence of the night, and a full moon solemnly illuminated the courtyard. It was bliss to sit out there hugging my tea, my legs aching from the hard work of the day. After finishing my tea I wandered around a bit, looked at the river and the graveyard (from afar), and poked my head outside the gates at the road. But I began to get kind of a creeped out feeling from the area (aka, the willies), so decided to withdraw back into the warmth of the house. I did a little bit of yoga self practice, and then dinner was up so we all dove in. It was fajitas with fillings, mmm. Guacamole has never made me so happy. During dinner someone mentioned that I had caught the sun pretty dramatically! Damn.

Sunday 16^th March 2014



Saunton Sands

This morning I was bloody knackered. I went to bed I think about 10pm, but the whole night I had really odd nightmares, one after another. They woke me up every hour, when I would stare at the clock and then curse the God of sleep/dreams/whoever was on God shift that evening. I finally rose at 6.30 am to have breakfast with more than a few bags under my eyes. I hobbled downstairs...Jesus, my legs hurt! My hip bones felt as if they were digging terminally upwards into the sockets. After eating, I did a few little stretches to try and ease myself out. My body was feeling its punishment.

About 8am we all went over to a little barn area called ‘The Hay Loft’ in order to get going on some strength and conditioning, plus yoga. The yoga was first, and quite an enjoyable mixture. Although in no particular order, I think we got all of the major areas stretched. Initially I was sure that Paul had said they had a yoga expert coming in to do that bit, but it was actually Ben leading it.  Post yoga, he set up about eight circuit stations and we each did a minute on every one until we were back round where we started. One of the stations was a barbell roll out, which I have seen online recently, but which turns out is quite hard. The main fear is your arms collapsing, and you clocking yourself on the barbell as you fall. Another one was with two suspended elastic loops...I was afraid to admit I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing here. Some kind of alternate leg hovering stomach crunch. I couldn’t quite achieve it anyway. The circuit bit was quite good, including some technique assistance and correction as we went!

Then, the final run of the whole camp (sniff). We went for a lovely, flat beach recovery run at Saunton Sands. Many of the runners went barefoot on the sands, but I know my technique is a bit too poor to countenance that – I kept my trainers on. The pack spread out quite a bit as we all ran, but I could still see the others alongside me in the distance. The sands were so effortless to run on, that I was determined to do a proper, nonstop run. Afterwards, someone said to me that I got faster the more I ran! Which I was chuffed at even if it was only because then I could go back and drink tea sooner! This whole run was only about forty minutes, and afterwards we went back for our final lunch together. We had a little get together in the lounge post lunch, and went through the camp and what we liked, disliked, etc. I tried to mention stretching sessions again, but this is definitely the wrong crowd for stretching talk. Their point was that they preferred standalone stretch sessions rather than stretching post run. Me, I like to do both. To each their own, I guess. Plus, I got a free t-shirt, which I really must heft in the wash now; it’s starting to run on its own!

There you have it! The amazing experience of the Devon Trail Ferret Camp. I genuinely love this sort of thing and was so glad that I went. They are holding another weekend in May, so check out their website http://www.trailferret.co.uk for more details on that. And, happy running all!

Flatt7



Group shot