Last weekend my husband, our two dogs Sprocket and Enzo and I took part in our first ENDURANCELIFE – CTS (canicross friendly) event and I will admit that there were at times the occasional little thought in my mind that this might also be the last one!
Oh wow! This is a different league all together!
I have taken part in many various long distance endurance events before (in cycling, triathlons, swimming etc) and have been running (for pleasure) for quite some time.
So at the time of booking this, I thought we’d go for the Half Marathon distance this time as this would not require any more training than we already did and I kind of arrogantly assumed we could just “blag” it without too much effort!
Those at the front are there for the time, those at the back are there for the adventure! Lucky we had no choice, people running with dogs started at the back! So there we were, starting our adventure!
Tattooed, numbered and microchipped! Ready and raring to go!
Well, let me tell you, this is no easy run and not your average Sunday stroll. These events are there to mess with you and to be taken seriously. And although it is only rated “Moderate” it certainly presents its fair amount of challenges.
Everything went rather smoothly right from the beginning. The start was easy to find with signs and car park duty volunteers everywhere to help you find your way. Park your car in a big secure field and walk down half a mile to the village to find registration, toilets etc.
Registration was quick and rather painless with loads of staff to run the operations smoothly.
We were “tattooed”, “microchipped”, numbered and given an energy bar and the famous Endurance Life “Never Give Up” technical t-shirt.
From then, we did have to wait quite a while before the official race briefing and finally be sent on our way. We can’t complain as the weather was good, but I dread to think what waiting for over an hour in the pouring rain with two dogs could have been like!
The event started in the heart of the pretty village of Little Haven, a very quintessential Welsh village with its steep and narrow roads lined with white wash cottages. A village which has been an agricultural, fishing and coal-mining area for some centuries, and now a tourist destination at the south east corner of St Bride’s Way in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
The start line in pretty Little Haven
Right from the start you went straight up the long and steep hill along the road to find the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. From there, the trail started South. The first section wound its way up through the woods and pretty bluebells and had us stripping some layers off already.
We quickly joined the more exposed cliff tops with its vertiginous drop offs and cool breeze along the stunning Celtic Sea and remained on this picturesque undulating trail admiring the endless views and crystal clear water until the first checkpoint.
Checkpoints were well stocked up with plenty of water for the dogs, bananas, custard creams, jelly babies and water to refill your bottles. Our timing chips were read into the machines and off we went on our way cutting inland through farmland. This made for an interesting rural (and fragrant) change of scenery and a few trees provided some welcome shade, for it was starting to get really hot already.
We rejoined the Coastal path and the cliffs at km 15 and saw the signs for the “10km drop-off”. Something didn’t quite compute in my head : 15+10???
Hey!! That doesn’t make a half-marathon!
But the more I looked at my GPS watch, the more I was getting confused until I chose not to dwell too much on the arithmetic issue and concentrate on where I was putting my poor sore and battered feet and head back towards the finish at Little Haven.
Trail running on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path
The terrain was very hard in my opinion. Perhaps I am used to running on much softer ground at home with sandy trails and grassy or muddy tracks. This was rocky and hard compact ground all the way, very hard under foot and I did feel my feet were getting “mushed”.
I wore “Hoka One” trainers with the extra cushioning designed for ultra-distance and boy was I glad!
The journey back, I won’t lie, was tough!
It was uphill all the way. And we’re not talking about a steady ongoing gradient, we’re talking about steep coastal sections that had by then reduced many to a walking pace. We pushed on and ran past. In my head, the finish was close (21km right?) so we pushed through.
Another hill, and another and we hit 21km but no sign of the finish line. In the distance we saw a village that looked like Little Haven but it couldn’t be, it looked too far away, or could it?
I’m afraid it was. And that took its toll on my mental state. Still all those hills in between! Still that arithmetic issue I could not figure out! Still my feet getting bashed around!
Thank god for the dogs. They provided great company and although they weren’t pulling they were great pace setters trotting in front of us and keeping the pace going.
Eventually we came to a water station the organisers had added at the last minute due to temperatures rising. Nice touch! There the volunteer cheerily told us we had 1.1miles to go so I thought I’d share my mathematical problem with them … “I’ve got this so far as 24km and you’re saying we’ve got 2km left to go!?!? This doesn’t make 21!!!” To which he promptly and jokingly replied “This is called Endurancelife love!!! We don’t do easy boring flat marathon running here, we leave this to London!” … Hmm, that figured!
The most delightful sight ever!
Soon after, we passed the “1mile to go” sign and I was very glad! We went a bit more up and a bit more down and finally in the distance you could hear people cheering you to the finish line.
The dogs loved the encouragement from the crowds and perked up and gave us a sprint finish, obviously showing off for that finish photo!
We received a protein recovery bar and our medals. Even Sprocket and Enzo had their own medals that they proudly wore! Enzo made it to the shade of the finish tent and celebrated by rolling and rolling some more in the cool grass, ecstatic!
So… Overall a very well organised event. From booking to the finish, through registration and marshalling. Very professional and friendly team that made us and our dogs feel very welcome.
A beautiful setting for the finish
And it’s not just the organisers. Everybody made us feel welcome. Many people chatted to us intrigued with our running with dogs and asking questions, not mentioning the little “aww” and “aaah” we received by bystanders admiring our woos! There weren’t that many canicrossers, maybe 10 in total so I guess we were a minority and still a bit of a novelty for many.
The scenery was spectacular, no doubt about that. One of the most beautiful national parks in the country! And the Pembrokeshire coast path an amazing trail … As long as you don’t mind the many kissing gates which either interrupted your rhythm or provided a quick break depending on how you felt at the time !
The weather … what can I say? From a forecast a few days before that claimed cold, wet and windy horrible weather, we were graced yet again by the Welsh weather Gods with blue sky and sunshine all day! Got the sad tan lines to prove it!
We had a fantastic day and one we will remember. Yes it is over-distance at just under 16miles but perhaps I should have checked that fact on the website first for it did tell you. My bad!
Team Hammon’s medals 🙂
We will be back canicross racing with Endurancelife again for sure but for the moment I think I’ll stick to the “moderate” ones and come better prepared next time, maybe do some training and be there for the time, who knows?
And in the mean time, oh yes, I shall be very proud to wear my “Never Give Up” t-shirt!
