BOWUM 2026 Race Report

In 2026 Pegasus replaced their season opener CANUM race (moving it to the canal series here) with a new one called the Borderlands of Wales Ultra: a 52k loop round Monmouthshire.

Exciting times indeed! I was keen to support this new event from the best of race organisers, whilst also using it as a test of training for the upcoming Epona 100.

Gear & Nutrition

My kit's gone through a bit of a switch up since the last race with a fair few differences, so I was looking forward to seeing how it performed on the day.

First up the shoes: having had a few knee issues over the winter I've ended up going back full time to Altras. My recovery, foot strength and balance is much better, but I still can't help the feeling that I feel slower in them. For this race I opted for the Altra Mont Blanc Speeds: a lightweight hybrid racer I've been enjoying recently.

I'm pairing the Altras with some Danish Endurance Long Distance socks recommended by Nev. I've found they fit nicely, wick sweat well and feel cosy.

I've replaced my old faithful Salomon Adv Skin 12 pack after being disappointed in this years model, opting for a bigger Instinct X8 18L pack that I plan to use for the 100 miler too. It has pockets for days, plenty of adjustment points and is super comfy.

Fuelling wise I wanted to go for simplicity: SaltStick Capsules and plain water for my sodium, with Precision Hydration 90g Gels for my carbs. As it was a 50k I wanted to be able to move a bit quicker and hoped the gels would help with that.

Unchanged kit:

• Vaga feather cap
• Patagonia Capilene Daily t-shirt
• Castelli Arm Warmers with Ronhill Classic Gloves for the morning chill
• Harrier waterproof coat in the pack
• Trailskin Trench Foot cream for the feet
• Squirrel's Nut Butter for ... everywhere else
• Zinc taped nips

Lining Up

Jamie and I drove up early morning for registration at 06:00.

It was a mild morning, 8-9c and a bit drizzly, warming to 10-12c later with some wind chill remaining.

Registration was in an indoor sports center on the edge of Monmouth town.

Said a big hello to a load of folks I hadn't seen over the winter, it was amazing to catch up with everyone! Said hi to Chris (x3!), Rachel, Sarah, Laura and many others volunteering too (a huge thank you ❤️).

Chris was there post his epic Nyth y Ddraig 300k solo effort, looking well recovered already.

This year Nat, one of the most inspirational runners in the Pegasus community, was the guest race director and gave everyone a warming talk before we began.

Meanwhile I got a lovely glow up from Rachel:

Briefing done, we walked over to the start point in town and got ready to go.

Start to CP1

We began racing through the streets of Monmouth, under the arch, then onto the lanes and fields surrounding the town.

My aim for today was to keep things super relaxed, I stuck to a low heart rate like glue to keep it gentle to CP1.

There was a lot of runnable lane at the start, giving way to some field crossings later on. There was a good group of us running, I got to spend time chatting with Chris Mac, Leigh and Jamie on this stretch.

Chris Mac would end up pushing on really well for a sub-6 hour top 20 finish, amazing work! 👏. Leigh delivered a hell of a performance too hitting sub-7 hours, and Jamie, despite an ongoing injury hurting his time, came in less than 2 minutes after me in a strong finish.

CP1 was around the 18k point, refilled my bottles and got going as quickly as I could, keen not to burn time in the aid stations.

CP1 to Water Station

The relatively flat first stretch gave way to a much hillier second stage: we had a monster of a climb followed by a long fun descent towards the water station.

This stretch was mostly fields showing off the beauty of Monmouthshire.

This drizzle came in thicker at one point, pulling the temperature down and giving us this moody vibe.

The Water Station was a short out and back at the midway point, got to see a few folks when I came back out, and realise how little a lead I had on them 😂!

Water Station to CP2

In the next stretch I lost a fair few places and my pace slowed. Said hi to the legendary Catherine Taylor and was admittedly pretty pleased with myself for staying ahead of her this far into a race.

Still feeling good here though, the gels were still going in, the water still going down well.

Feet were starting to feel battered, I was enjoying the shoes but the lower cushion compared to my old Agility Peaks was definitely noticeable.

Another big hill climb here and another long descent.

Before the best sight in the world: a SheRuns Cardiff aid station at 40k!! I had no idea they were doing CP2 so it was great to see them all.

First things first, find the lemon meringue fudge and tuck in!

CP2 to Finish

This was my turning point, I left the aid station snacking, but my tummy quickly twisted and waves of nausea hit.

A big old climb after the aid station, with a bench at the top I couldn't resist.

The rest of this stretch I jeffed it in, switching between running and walking as my fuel reserves dried and stomach wouldn't let anything else in.

Most of the final stretch was a mix of flat field crossings and lanes.

NGL I went pretty dark on this stretch, really didn't enjoy that final slog with the nausea kicking in, definitely started doubting my training and strategy in general.

Met a running doing his second ultra on the way into Monmouth, I think his watch had died as he asked if I had the nav, stuck together through the town to help him keep his bearings.

Was quite tough dodging folks in the town, a busy sunny Saturday

Crossed the road in sight of the finish line and gave it some welly for a sprint finish that my tummy did not thank me for.

Finished in 06:31: 48th place out of 328.

After Action Report

Not the performance I had hoped for truthfully, I held it together well and felt my pace was good for the first half, but it all fell apart for the last stretch.

As a kit test for Epona it was well timed, as there are a few things I'll need to adjust to perform better during that race.

What Went Well

• The Instinct pack was perfect: comfortable, able to hold everything I wanted, lots of options for quickly stowing layers and snacks
• The new COROS Apex 4 watch: 6.5 hours tracking with a lot of map screen usage, still on 87% battery afterwards
• Consistent, well paced first half, didn't push too hard, kept things steady
• Salt Caps and plain water: easier to refill quickly at an aid station, cheap, easy to carry, simplifies things a lot

What Could Have Gone Better

• Altra Mont Blanc Speeds: whilst comfortable they felt a bit too "soft" by the second half, missing some firmness to help push me forward
• Danish Endurance Long Distance socks: too thin for ultras, I know that now! I think they contributed to me not enjoying the Altras. By allowing my feet to move around the shoe more I think they caused the fatiguing I felt.
  • I switched back to the Bridgedale T2 LW Merino socks recently and, whilst they are less comfortable day to day due to their bulk, over distance they are much more comfortable and supportive, by filling the shoes better
• PH Gels approach didn't work for me, I think that feeling of nausea came from having an empty stomach, the maltodextrin filled gels not really filling me up
  • Been testing a mix of Veloforte Bars, Chews and Protein Rebel Gels recently which seems to work much better for me, keeps me feeling full and fuelled, if a lot harder to get down whilst moving
• I was too focused on pacing and heart rate, head in my watch for the majority of it. Apparently we passed 3 castles on the route, but I couldn't tell you where!
  • I think I took it too far on this one, running to feel would have been better, helped me be more present

Damage

• Sore soles, took a proper beating on that course
• Ankle sore: I've had a suspected stress fracture in my left ankle for ~3 months that is oh so slowly healing
• Stomach in tatters all the rest of Saturday
• But to be fair a pretty rapid recovery, no knee problems, running again the next week without issues

Thoughts On The New Course

It reminded me a bit of the HOWUM this one, specifically the mixture of terrain and long ascents / descents.

It does consist of quite a lot of lanes and roads, including some with no verges. On the plus side it makes it pretty runnable throughout, but on the downside it's tougher on your feet.

The climbs were a good challenge, and if you like bombing it down descents this has some awesome ones.

Coming back through Monmouth town center midday ish does mean a lot of weaving between pedestrians and cars.

At the start we walked across the busy main road as a large group before we began for safety reasons, I think one good improvement would be a re-route that avoids that main road in the beginning.

Thank Yous

As always a huge thank you to the many volunteers who made this possible. Always super friendly, lovely folks.

A big thank you to Rhys and Cerys for putting on another excellent Pegasus event.

And a special shout out to Chris and Sarah as race directors, with Nat as the guest director encouraging everyone on the day.

Next

A mad scramble post BOWUM to lock in my choices for the Epona: I've done a few long days out and tested out the changes mentioned above and feel more confident now.

With less than 3 weeks to go til the big day, I'm starting the taper and focusing on getting my kit ready.