Bray lake ultra distance race 2014
Having such a disaster on the last race on the Thames back in May I was determined that everything would go well for the Bray Ultra distance race. I had spent some time up in the toyshop (Tushingham) and found the biggest shovel lurking in the back of beyond. I had tried the new high aspect paddle but I just couldn’t get it working for me on the C14 despite how well it worked to improve my cadence rate and speed on the ace pro (a much lighter board). Training was going well as the weather was being kind and I managed to get out at least 4 times a week often SUPing to work and back on the spring tides.
The race itself was from Hurley down to Eton, a distance of 26km with 6 portages along the route. Normal training for me involves point A-B and as such I figured I needed to try an afternoon of some portage training by using the visitors pontoon in the bag. A well worth while 2 hours, this proved useful, quick entering and exiting the water with the C14 I found I needed to add some extra handles to allow a better transition on a pontoon on my left hand side. The trip up went well but I was a bit nervous as it was the first big trip in my new van. I made good time up to Bray despite some diversions off the M4 at reading. A quick few hour’s kip in my usual stop and then it was time to get up and get ready. It was good to see so many new faces and considering the distance of the race that’s great news for the sport and the UK series in general.
Even by 8am the temperature wasn’t far off 20 degrees and it was going to be seriously hot by the time the race was underway but there wasn’t much that could have been done to combat it apart from keeping well hydrated and mentally in the right place, that and try to put a few people off their game….i don’t think it worked though eh Chris. The 14’ crowd was a very strong field and although starting first I wasn’t sure how well I was going to do.
As the timer counted down for the start Scott Warren came over to the line a bit late and managed to knock 1 guy off for a quick cool down. The claxon went and we were off. The wake from everyone bouncing off the boats caused my board to swing from side to side and made getting any serious speed very difficult. After a few hundred metres it settled down slightly but the first lock came into sight. A group of 7/8 were ahead and just getting out of the water as I pulled alongside, I got a fairly quick transition and then saw that the gate was closed and it looked as though it was a pull to open gate. I had to move beyond the gate to open it and then reverse to get through and ended up smashing into Adam Stiling, another gate in front of me and then I got my paddle stuck in the hedge and completely held up the whole group of paddlers and let others I had pulled away from catch up, needless to say I was pissed off at myself, I hit the water and got going once again trying to make back up some ground.
Before long I got caught up by Scott Warren and it threw me off my game plan some what. Normally within a race I catch Scott around 3 miles in and then takes it a while before I pull past and get going, I figured that with the portages it would be 4 miles, seeing Scott steam past me changed that plan slightly, he had fallen off fairly shortly after the start (Karma) and was cooled down but annoyed and making up ground fast. He had made a small gap of a few board lengths by the lock at 4km in. As I got out I was aware that Adam and Mark were close behind and I was finding it difficult to run along with the heavy board. Much of the scenery was already passing me by as I was concentrating on the GPS in front of me to keep a good speed. Belong long Mark passed me by and I latched onto the back of his board to try and take a breather as he seemed to be in a good rhythm, by now the heat was around 23degrees and I was sweltering. I kept trying to pass Mark but every time I pulled out he seemed to increase the speed in order to shake me off his tail, i tucked back in and thought that the race is plenty long enough that a chance would present itself. As we got close to the next lock we passed into a narrow section with plenty boats heading out and the wake became as issue once again, I pulled out and made a dash for the lock. Mark managed a better transition and had a few boards lengths in front from the off and my slow momentum speed building cost me the draft spot.
For the next 3-4 miles I was on my own but I could see most if not all of the others ahead of me as the river straightened out, the river was surrounded by trees and also had a few islands en-route and was fairly picturesque and not how I'd imagined the Thames to be. I kept finding sections on the river that were flowing faster and although only .4 of a MPH faster any extra speed I could gain on the others in front would hopefully be the difference I needed. The next few miles were difficult to keep motivated and by now i started to feel slightly dehydrated and didn’t want to use up all of my fluid too soon, I took out a gel and hoped that would keep me motivated with a sugar fix, the 4th lock was one of the worse of the lot, I made a right palaver or the whole thing and ended up getting my leash caught round the fin. No one managed to catch me up but the gap in front was beginning to look almost uncatchable, I managed to find a few sections after that that pushed me up to 7.3 mph and it made a good impact on my mental attitude, for a while.
The 5th lock I was getting chased down by Ollie Shilston, I figured I’d have just enough time to get in the water without holding him up but it was a close run thing as I hit the water just before him, he sprinted off quickly but I decided I wanted to try and match his speed as best as I could for along as I could knowing full well Ollie’s speed even on a 12’6 would be a good speed for a 14’ I dug deep and moved away from him slightly so I wasn’t in his draft but I started sweeting profusely, I managed to use his pace as a good motivator for around 15 minutes before he really started pulling clear to catch the lead guys, the time pushing myself though paid off and both Scott Warren and Phil Plume were now within catching distance. As I kept checking on them I saw Phil was really starting to suffer and taking longer to start paddling again after having a drink or dipping his hat in the water. A new found vigour came over me and I was determined and with purpose once again. The last lock came into sight and looked a lot easier to manage the portage, Scott and Phil both shot me a look and knew I had gained on them and knew they had to push hard to the final few Km. Phil launched off the slipway very quickly but Scott was off a tadge slower, the river now had a lot more boats on and I had to pay attention more to the craft on the water. I was really starting to suffer and I felt like id topple off the board at any point, I caught Scott and when he asked how I was I could barely manage a “bllluurrgg” Scott wanted us to catch Phil as we side by side drafted each other’s bow wake. It seemed that was all I needed to push me to catch Phil as the last few turns of the race drew out. I pulled onto his draft for a minute just to take on some more water and take a slight breather before the final push hoping to get a gap beyond both Scott and Phil and keep them at bay in case they went for a final push for the line. The last 1km I was dripping with sweet and was sure I would topple off, by now seriously dehydrated and fatigued I was struggling to keep focused but knowing the line would be in sight shortly as Windsor castle loomed over the skyline. Plenty of watercraft and swans filled the river and I was sure I had a slight gap on Phil. Simmo came over in the safety boat and offered some words of encouragement which spurred me to dig deep for the final 500m. Thankfully the bridge came into sight and the end was within touching distance, loads of people lining the bridge I tried to hide the fact I felt absolutely exhausted. As I went to congratulate Mark for his solid racing my right leg cramped up and I was forced just to lie down in a pool of water in the board for a few minutes.
After the cramp subsided a group of us started paddling back upstream towards the get out area and collapse on the grass, thankfully Tori was there with a big supply of TeaPigs and I soon felt refreshed but the damage of the heat and exhaustion had already taken its toll, my head started to pound and my limbs felt weak, I tried to keep hydrated and in the shade but knew I needed to get my bag to get a cap and a shirt on to keep the sun at bay, I started to walk down towards the bridge to find Ali for the car keys but only got a few yards before I felt like I was going to collapse. I took a breather on a bench in the shade and when I felt a bit better returned to the exit area in case I passed out. It took a few days for the headaches to subside and for my strength to return but I thoroughly enjoyed the race. I managed to place 11th overall and 9th in the 14’ class, a fairly respectable position. Id like to congratulated everyone who took part and undertook a very challenging race. A big thank you to Bray Lake water sports for a well run race and a great BBQ, I look forward to your next event. Thanks to Starboard and Tushingham for their support and equipment. ONIT pro for their superior cleaner to make my old 2008 board shine, as well as the polish to make it fly. TeaPigs for their delicious and refreshing flavoured green tea’s, POW. Unsure of my next race at present so until the next one, Whoop Whoop!
