EDDUM 2024 Race Report

This post may be a little more raw than normal, with a focus on how I got it so wrong. It's also much longer as a result, my apologies! For those looking to tackle the EDDUM in 2025 I've added a section towards the end with some advice to avoid the pitfalls I fell so thoroughly into.

In 2022 I took on the EDDUM as my first 50 miler, having DNFed my previous attempt at 50 miles during Race to the Tower. It was, and still is, the toughest thing I've ever done.

I don't mean it's still the one with the most elevation, or longest distance, I've done races higher in both categories since, I mean that where I was with my training, abilities and knowledge of my body at the time meant that, for me, it pushed me beyond what I ever thought I was capable of. I have never death marched as much as I did during the 2022 race. Never felt so utterly decimated, yet also have not felt such overwhelming elation on somehow reaching the finish line since.

So how, HOW, after 2 years more experience, multiple 50 milers, a 100k and a 100 miler under my belt, did I manage to go back and screw it up so thoroughly that I'd somehow feel worse this time by the end?

What is the EDDUM?

It stands for Epynt Dinky Donkey Ultra Marathon, and is a 52 mile course with over 2,500m elevation gain along the Epynt Way around Sennybridge Training Area, just northwest of Brecon.

The Epynt Way is this rugged, spiky route across marshland and moors. The first half has a series of fire roads, woodland and gentler tracks, whilst the second becomes harder to navigate as the ground gives way to mile after mile of uneven marshland across meandering ancient pathways filled with ferns, thorns & sheep.

Lead Up

Following the Epona 100 I was keen to maintain my fitness with consistent volume. I didn't keep it at the level it was in the month prior to that race, just ensured things were ticking over ready for the EDDUM.

Going into the race the only real goal I had in mind was to beat my previous time, however we received an email outlining that the course had now changed to ~52 miles, beginning in Builth Wells rather than at the Epynt Way Visitor Center. This variation made a lot of sense, there's more parking and a larger Scout Hall at the start/finish, along with space on the green for an outside finish area.

So the A goal going in was to try and place well in the rankings, B goal was to go sub 12 hours, C goal was just to get to the finish, preferably not on a stretcher.

Kit

For the most part no departure from the Epona kit, I stuck with the same shoes, pack, fuel etc.

However my Precision Hydration tablets were too strong during the Epona, so I wanted to try SaltStick Chews instead. I've used them in the past but never exclusively during a race. The plan was to eat 4 an hour, equally 200mg of sodium to roughly 500ml water. That's low for me (my loss rate is ~330mg sodium to 500ml water) however I've tended to do worse in the past when trying to get too much salt in.

Lining Up On The Day

Was lovely to see so many friendly faces on the day, both from runners and the volunteers. Shout out to all the slammers taking on their 5th of 6 races here.

I got talking to Steff, who was volunteering for the day and did a heroic tail walking stint of the finish where he ended up sweeping through the entire night, getting back to his car at the time most of us were waking up. We discussed sensible race strategies, taking it slow from the start and speeding up at the end. Ironic really.

A shout out to Sarah Collins (above) and Elliot Towe, both here taking on their first 50 milers. I have already apologised to both of them for recommending this particular 50 miler as a first. They both smashed it out the park anyways!

Elliot almost missed the start due to bad traffic, though Pegasus being who they are, they waited for him after folks had set of, got his drop bag loaded and sent him off onto the course.

Our guest race director for this event was the incredible Allie Bailey, a hero of mine and early inspiration for getting into the mad world of ultras. Her speech was great, got everyone ready to go, and before we knew it we were off to tackle this sleeping giant of a route.

Start to CP1: The Uphill Country Lane Bit

Felt great that first stretch. Ran with a variety of folks as we climbed along the country lane leading away from Builth Wells and up to the Epynt Way, including Rhys, Jon, Jenks and Luke.

We were all trying to manage our energy levels on the climb as the field rapidly thinned out.

When you get onto the Way it is gorgeous, views of the valleys for as far as the eye can see, with forests and greenland stretching ahead of you

Started pushing the pace a little coming into checkpoint 1 as we descended off the road onto a short section of track before climbing up to the folks waiting at the gazebo.

Saw the legend that is Kev as we approached, then Allie and Rhys were with the volunteers at the first checkpoint. Steff said it was good to see me taking it easy 😂

Feeling good and confident here. Refilled 1 water bottle and got cracking straight onto the next section.

CP1 to CP2: The Fireroad Bit

This section consisted mostly of long fire roads with a few cut throughs across woodland.

Good fast running here, spent the majority of it with Rhys, Jon and Luke, which was very fortunate as my GPX file had completely corrupted, telling me to go some crazy way that was far off course. I think it was the upload to Strava first that mangled it, but for the rest of the race I'd be using the yellow finger posts and trusting those over the GPX file.

Managed to keep a solid pace here, pushing forward and utilising the fire roads. Ended up running with Luke for the most part, who was tackling his first 50 miler and doing a hell of a job. Luke would end up placing 12th, coming in just under 11 hours, a stellar effort all round.

Into CP2, some snacks, refilled both bottles, then off walking up the hill eating some grub.

CP2 to CP3: The Boggy Bit

Next section the fire roads gave way to rougher ground, and the underfoot conditions worsened. We had a stretch of bog where picking your way through was a challenge in itself. This would be a sneak preview of what was to come.

There was also one monster of a climb about half way which humbled us all nicely.

Luke caught me early on as the rough ground slowed me down, and we spent the rest of this stretch running together, chatting away.

Up to this point we were cracking a solid pace, but my form was beginning to crack. I'd ran out of water with a fair way to go to the next checkpoint, was sweating lots and the SaltStick Chews weren't going down particularly well.

It started to feel endless, and that morale drop wasn't a good sign.

Still, we came into checkpoint 3, the halfway point, around 10th place, and I couldn't happier at the speed we'd done it.

Sat down here and took a longer break, refilled my water and tried to drink what I could, but I could see things were beginning to turn for me. Water and food weren't sitting well in my stomach, I felt overheated, the temperature was getting to me.

In hindsight I should have stopped much longer at CP3. Taken my time cooling off, getting lots of fluid in me and getting on top of my sodium whilst chomping food whilst I could. Catching it early is the secret. Alas.

Instead I wanted to get going, and so made the mistake of leaving too quickly.

CP3 to CP4: The Rough Ground Bit

The thing about the Epynt Way is that this sleeping giant wakes up halfway through & it is pissed...off.

After leaving I needed time for my stomach to settle, and get at least some food in me. I walked out and watched as Luke and the other front runners moved off into the distance. My pace on this section slowed to a jog as I felt rough soon after the checkpoint.

From here the route changes, and becomes a relentless push along uneven marshland right through until the country lane descent at the end. Lots of valleys to go down the climb up the other side of, whatever pace you do in the first half, it's going to be slower in the second.

Did manage to catch sight of the pack I'd left at one valley, and felt hopeful that I was at least keeping up a little. That diminished however when I took a wrong turn and ended up with a tonne of thorn bushes between me and the path I was meant to go on.

A wise person would have turned around, gone back down the hill and got onto the correct path. I am not a wise person, I scrambled the heck over those thorn bushes and have the torn to pieces legs to prove it 🤦‍♂️.

Reaching checkpoint 4 was heaven, lovely volunteers here got me sat down, a drink and food in my hand. Caz was awesome, encouraging me to eat lots. I took my time here, trying not to think about the large hill we'd be climbing right behind the checkpoint.

CP4 to CP5: The Toughest Bit

Again I should have stayed longer at CP4. The second I left and started up the hill I felt awful, my stomach was turning all over and water refused to go in. By the time I reached the apex of the climb I was throwing up all over the trail.

The whole stretch was a death march, just like it was back in 2022. I walked the whole thing, barring a few downhill stretches where my stomach screamed with each bounce.

The one highlight was a cooling stream about half way. I sat down, dunked my hat, then used my buff to pour water over my head and neck again and again.

It was made though: hiking that whole section I didn't get passed once, everyone else must have been struggling over the tough ground too.

Reached CP5 at the Epynt Way Visitor Center and had a long, broken rest here.

Was very, VERY close to DNFing here. Hadn't ate or taken on water for hours, was feeling dizzy and faint. I don't think fellow punk Cat would have let me though.

Tried to get cola and a coffee down me (thank you lovely volunteers 🙏), eat some things.

Whilst sitting there a large group of runners came in, including Rhys and Chris. Rhys was running with Emmie and Steve, they left strong after a short rest. Chris was experiencing knee issues and struggling on the down hills, with the upcoming country lane descent weighing on his mind.

Despite myself I got up and resolved to deathmarch it in. Walked out with a packet of gravel feeling crisps and a bottle filled with cola. Forgot to refill my water bottle.

CP5 to Finish: The Endless Bit

My God the last stretch was a horrible hellscape, felt like you just went down and up valley after valley over endless marshes, that promised country land descent never fully materialising.

I managed, somehow, to catch up with Rhys, Emmie and Steve on this stretch and we ended up jeffing most of the last part together. I really needed that morale boost, but was such a miserable git by this point I'm sure I came across terribly.

We had to hop an especially challenging barbed wire fence after crossing into the wrong field, go down, over, and up harsh boggy land and even tried to help a poor wounded sheep at one point (it was a sorry sight, there wasn't much we could do but Rhys gave him some water and we propped him up better at least).

Emmie's knee was giving her hassle, and Rhys' feet were absolutely destroyed, so made quite the match to my nauseous half-dead state. Rhys did say I looked very pale towards the end, which matches how I felt inside for sure.

Eventually though, somehow, we got to the country lane leaving the Epynt Way. You'd think a long smooth descent to the finish would feel great, but we were all still struggling here, only really picking up the pace as we reached the last mile.

Rhys and I felt our heels bitten by 2 other runners coming in hot and pushed forward. Somehow, we managed to miss the finish line, go right past it thinking it was across the graveyard back at the Scout Hall. Having been very confused we then turned and sprinted back to the green where we started, in for a 4 person race finish. All came in at 12:21 joint 24th place (if we take the rankings at the end of the sprint I came 26th, Rhys beating me with a strong push at the end). Emmie and Steve, having correctly followed instructions, came in before us whilst we were detouring up to the Scout Hall.

A hug from Allie Bailey and selfie where she is trying to pretend I don't stink of sweat, sick and sheep.

At the finish Kev and Carrie-Ann strongly recommended I sit down and rest for a bit (with a look I can only describe as "dude, don't be a muppet, relax"). Wonderful Carrie-Ann got me a coffee and dry-robe whilst Kev sorted out Rhys' blister-addled feet.

Debrief

On Sustainable Intensity

At the front of the pack in any ultra you will find two types of runners:

Type 1 are the confident podium chasing runners who know their bodies, know the pace they can sustain and are pushing at the limits of, but most importantly, within, their abilities. You will rarely see these runners after the start line.

Type 2 are idiots like me, who go out too fast, at a pace that is unsustainable, and rapidly break their own race. You will almost certainly see these runners again, usually throwing up or looking defeated in a checkpoint as you pass them later.

Here's my HR graph for the race, note how for the first 4 hours my heart rate rarely dips below Zone 3 (tempo / aerobic power) and reaches into threshold a few times.

See how pushing too hard for the first half absolutely decimated my second. The zone 1 blue line shows where I am at walking pace, up to a very light jog, with the dips being the time I spent resting in aid stations.

I do this every bloody time, and it's egotistical bullshit that needs to stop as it's both ruining my performance in races and preventing me from actually enjoying them. I can't help it, the bell goes, we all run off, and I want to push and get ahead and place highly, even though I know full well that ultra races don't start until half way.

What I should be targeting is staying consistently inside Zone 2 (the green), not overexerting, just steady relaxed running. Each time I've done this in the past I've achieved better results, with my best performance in any ultra (a sub 9 hour solo 75km) being one where I was the most disciplined with staying relaxed and consistent.

This is all a humbling reminder that I still have much to learn about racing, and if I want to be competitive I need to first know my body better and be disciplined with my pacing.

What Went Well

• There was a lot more social running on this one, and that was absolutely necessary as the EDDUM really does need a team effort to get through. I ran with Luke for the majority of that first half, and it was the Rhys, Emmie and Steve team (along with Rhys' winning spirit) that carried me through to the end
• My training on the lead up means the legs felt strong on the hills and survived the rough ground well
• Knowing from the first time round that navigation was challenging and being on top of it by using the finger posts instead of the GPX file
• My feet survived with no blistering thanks to a good shoe and sock combo (Merrell Agility Peak 5 & Bridgedale Trail Run Ultralight T2 Merino)
• Having an A, B and C goal, and being ok with dropping between them as the race went on
• Technically a success, my original goal was to beat my first EDDUM time of 12:54. The route was 2 miles longer yet I managed to finish in 12:21
• In spite of it all, I did finish

What Didn't Go Well

• Overheating was the main thing, caused by a combination of the heat on the day, too high an intensity pace and under hydration
  • Didn't try to cool down with other means (water over head, ice etc) until it was too late
• The whole hydration strategy was terrible:
  • The SaltStick Chews were hard to take, 4 an hour felt reasonable when planning but my throat was burning after a while from absorbing the salt
  • Wasn't a high enough sodium to water ratio either
  • I wasn't drinking enough water to match my sweat rate at that intensity, leading to being dehydrated by the marathon point
    • I should have been aiming for 750ml-1,000ml an hour for the heat and pace, or a lower pace to reduce my sweat rate
• I do love my Merrell Agility Peaks, but the high stack height meant they felt sloppy over the uneven ground, lots of toe bashing and twisting of the ankles
  • I woke up the following day with severely painful big toes
  • Also, weirdly, the insole in my left shoe kept riding up under my heel, which was also, weirdly, not uncomfortable, but was annoying for sure
  • These were my Epona shoes though so they receive a pass for getting me through in one piece, & boy have then seen some shit
• Morale: darkest spot I've been in any race, including the Epona overnight stretch, just a miserable git for hours, moaning to every fern I passed

Damage

• Both big toes very tender, likely from all the foot rolling over rough ground. Darkening under the toenails, think I'll be losing them at some point soon
• Stomach in tatters, though I was able to eat well the next day
• No issues with my right foot on that fracture, it's position means it doesn't hurt or impact running (lucky!) - have since received an all clear from the fracture clinic
• Morale: honestly I was defeated for a few days afterwards and struggled to feel the joy in running. It's been coming back though, thanks to some good socials and slow easy trail runs

Advice for the EDDUM 2025

• Start super slow, take the first half steady and don't get lulled into a false sense of security on the fire roads. Your aim should be to feel as fresh as possible by the marathon point (CP3), as from there the ground gets much rougher, more undulating and you'll need that energy and morale to pull you through smiling
• As it's an August race the heat of the day can be intense. There is little shade on course, single digits clumps of trees at best, so being on top of your hydration is critical, as it knowing when you are overheating and having strategies to cool you down
• Foot care is important here too, my feet got wet within the first hour and didn't dry out until I got home. Having good wicking socks, some spares in your drop bag and a towel will help, as will having shoes you are confident will grip your foot to stop any sliding about
• Training wise: lots and lots of running on uneven trails will help, my foot rarely landed flat after the second half, with lots of ankle rolling. That, and doing plenty of hill work (both ascents and descents, lots of long downhill running here)
• Lots of climbing over rough ground, if you're into poles here's the race to use them, you are unlikely to put them away for most of the route

Shout Outs & Thank Yous

A huge thank you to the god-tier volunteers, as you alway find at Pegasus events.

I tried to get as many names as I could, but I know I've missed at least a few so apologies. Thank you Claire, Karen, Caz, Kev, Carrie-Ann, Sarah, Nick, Kathleen, Cath, Cat, Steff, Paul, Daz, Matt, Craig and Builth & District RC!

A special shout to Carrie-Ann for the coffee and dry-robe at the end. I was not ok and that did a world of good!

Thank you to Allie Bailey for being a fantastic race director, made the finish line feel extra special after a long day out.

For those I ran with: shout out to Luke who absolutely killed his first 50 miler, you're in a different league man. Also big thank you to Rhys, Emmie and Steve for dragging me over the finish without requiring medical aid.

Shout out to Sarah and Elliot who went and not only finished their first 50 milers, but on what is, for my money, one of the toughest routes this side of Snowdon.

And finally to Rhys and Cerys for putting on yet another brilliant, well supported event filled to the brim with good vibes, community spirit & love.

Next?

I've got the Hateful 8 Winter Edition booked in, a crazy looped event from the mind of Kev Maddern, then I want to spend the rest of 2024 doing some solo adventures, leave the racing for a while and practise my discipline.

I swore 100 times during the EDDUM I would never, ever return to the harsh marshes of the Epynt Way, but we're not done here. I'll be returning in 2025 to prove to myself I have what it takes to tackle it confidently.