Hateful 8 Winter Edition Race Report

Back in March I won a race for the first time ever, the Hateful 8 Ultra over in Bridgend organised by the Mad Running Junkies (with race director Kevin Maddern).

This was more luck than anything: it was a small field of mainly mid-pack or shorter distance runners so my odds were higher than normal, but I was still proud to have pushed myself and got the trophy.

Now in October the event was back, and this time it boasted over 40 runners with some very serious competitors toeing the line 😱. Could I defend my title? Is there any chance I could still come out on top??

Spoiler warning: No, no there wasn't, not even close. I had fun though!

The Route

Little had changed since the March edition on the Hateful course. It still began with a flat stretch through Parc Slip, then onto 3 miles of country lane to beautiful views over the valleys, before a fast descent through the woods to more technical ground, ending on a stretch over the slag heap and back along Parc Slip.

Kev had however mixed up the Slag Heap section with a much steeper descent than last year, and a cheeky extra hill to climb before the bowl.

What I adore about the route they have chosen is that there's an out and back stretch along Parc Slip (you run along it to get to the loop), so you are constantly running past others, giving high fives, taking selfies and cheering each other on, regardless of position in the race. This was later enhanced by having a reverse loop on lap 3 where you were guaranteed to pass everyone at some point.

Lining Up

Over the last year I've had the privilege of getting to know many fellow runners from various groups & events, be it Running Punks, folks from the Pegasus Slam, EPONA crew or from Kev's previous race. I feel blessed to stand next to so many awesome folk, and a large chunk of them were on the start line of the Hateful 8.

I also got to see a few friendly faces I'd not had the pleasure of meeting in person before, which made it all the more special.

The Mad Running Junkies have built something here, something that follows in the spirit of the Pegasus races, and that's the community vibe. Everyone was cheering each other on, encouraging folks to push themselves harder, and chatting away once it was all done. It's lush. You should totally come next time.

After a chat in the dawn light we had a brief from Kev where he assured us we wouldn't get lost (I know at least 4 runners who would dispute this now 😂), talked us through how it works then took us over to the start line.

Each of us was given a playing card. A hole is punched in it at the start, then again at the mid way point, then it's signed at the finish and you are given a new card. You have to see how many cards you can collect by the end of the day.

Each loop would be ~9 miles, and you had 8 hours to do as many as you can. If you finished you last loop in 7h 59m, you'd still be allowed to go out and do 1 final loop.

I had worked out the average pace I'd need to hit to be able to reach 6 laps (I hit 5 last time so it felt like a good goal). We were talking a pace of 06:30/km, which doesn't sound that tough, but when you consider the 3 mile uphill, the undulating slag heap and stoppage time between loops, it quickly slips away.

Countdown done, we were off!

Lap 1: Banking Time

Started with a good steady pace, hit the country lane hill sensibly and ended up running alongside Paul and Lisa.

I'd known Paul a while as a fellow Running Punk (and Mad Running Junkie), whilst Lisa I'd only met previously at Jenk's Promenade 100 Miler. We chatted away, compared notes, and stayed together for the lane stretch before the half way point and woodland descent.

Keeping a close eye on my watch I saw the average pace had slipped from the climb, so punched in and went hell for leather on the descent, pushing hard and getting through to the slag heap quickly, catching the currently leads Ben, Sean and Jon.

These 3 were fierce competition. Ben is a Track 24 runner known for being a demon at ultra distances, I'd later learn that I had no chance as he progressively got faster. Sean is someone I've looked up to for a while after meeting him at a few Pegasus events when I first started out. He's gone from strength to strength and would spend the day pushing consistently. And Jon, ah Jon, Jon who told me he was taking today easy, before disappearing off and delivering ferociously as standard 🤘.

Paul caught up by the end of lap 1, Lisa closely behind. I had banked some time and was in good stead for a much needed loo break. Joint 3rd place here.

Lap 2: With Interest

Lap 2 I tried to go for more of the same, once again joining Lisa for the lane stretch, and once again going all out on the descent, trying to keep my clock lower than 06:00/km average.

This would prove to be my undoing, those hard pushes (we're talking 04:00-04:20/km pace downhill) absolutely decimated my legs and, as I'd found out on the next lap, left me pretty broken with 4 loops left.

Ben, Sean and Jon were specs on the horizon by this point, the only time I'd see them again was passing each other on opposite loops. Lisa was first lady, a position she'd retain all lap.

On the plus side my fuelling was going well, I'd opted to drink 750ml and try to get in 90g carbs an hour. Originally using Tailwind and PH gels, however the Tailwind started to make my stomach queasy so switched to plain water with salt capsules and managed to finish the race feeling much more on top of things than normal.

Got to the checkpoint in 5th place.

Lap 3: Bollocks

Lap 3 was the dreaded reverse loop, it's rough as that steep descent in the slag heap becomes a wall of a climb, then the forest stretch is one long slog of an up hill. However I got to run past many folk finishing their second lap and we cheered each other on.

Bumped into Emma here who was deliberating whether to go out on her third lap. It was her original target for the day but it was feeling like a tough ask.

Lisa and I ran together here until the woodland stretch, I was really starting to feel it with my legs fatigued from all the hard down hilling, and as we climbed through the woods Lisa pushed on, before a few other folks moved past (I think I counted about 8th place by the half way point) as I slowly died on my feet.

Big lesson here: consistency beats a ego-filled sending it session every time!

Struggled with the lane downhill, it should've been a good fast bit but with legs weren't having any of it. I was in Altra Lone Peaks, which are fairly low stack minimally cushioned shoes, and they were turning out to be a poor choice for all the hard tarmac.

Second big lesson here: choose the right shoes for the terrain!

Came in with the average pace slower then my target, knew 6 laps had slipped away and if I'm honest had resigned to doing 4 (one less then last year).

Lap 4: Legs Like Lead

Paul pulled out after lap 3 with some knee issues, wanted to catch it early before it became a larger issue.

I somehow managed to start lap 4 ahead of Jon, who had missed the turning down the lane on lap 3 and ended up going a long way off course.

I threw my headphones in an spent most of this lap air drumming to Bring Me The Horizon to keep the motivation high. Just like the previous lap, now I was going the original way around I was passing folks doing their lap 3 where we motivated each other again.

Saw Emma again, pushing up the hill on her third lap like a hero, she would end up covering 30 miles (3 loops plus 4 miles extra from a little diversion) before receiving a well deserved trophy.

Long death march up the lane, gentler run down the woods and a painful slog through the heap.

Ben, that insanely fast runner in first? LAPPED ME on loop 4 (his loop 5), moving with a crazy pace. Sean in second was a solid 20 minutes behind I'd wager, who himself was way ahead of third.

Still, the positives, I hadn't overheated, I'd managed my fluids much better and, despite the dead legs, felt pretty good inside. A more sensible pace down the woodland stretch and I've have owned this 😅.

Came in and got my final card signed. Ate one of the best home made rocky road cakes I've ever had and hung around chatting for a while before the drive home.

Post Race

Everyone who did the event got this great wooden trophy, a key ring and a goodie bag to take back.

I knew going in there was little chance I'd retain the title, though I will admit getting lapped really did hit the ego hard 😂.

However despite the fatigued legs, I couldn't help but smile throughout. Everyone was so happy, it had this great "us vs the course" vibe, and the volunteers made it extra special.

In the end it was Ben, Sean and Steve podiuming on the guys side. On the ladies it was Rachel, Lisa and Charlotte. Was so happy to see Lisa had done well, amazing work on a rough course.

What Went Well

• Fuelling and hydration! Didn't overheat, managed my fluids well, responded better to thirst signals and ensured I had backup water if especially thirsty
• Turn around time between laps: I had a car full of supplies and a system for recharging the bottles and snacks ready for the next round
• The community! Had a great time regardless of the pain
• Sticking some good tunes on and powering through the last lap

What I Learned

• Need to be cautious of fatiguing your legs on the downhills. Especially in this race with harder surfaces it's easy to over egg it and break your race. Lisa was a great example of consistency beating all here, a strong steady pace throughout led to a well deserved podium spot
• I love my Altra Lone Peaks but they are not suited to that much tarmac, especially if trying to push harder. I'm also a little undertrained in them after doing all my Epona training in higher stack shoes
• Banking time is a fools errand, keep religiously to the average pace, don't try to add seconds on early as it'll just fatigue you sooner than necessary

Injuries & Recovery

My legs were toast the next few days, the hard ground and low stack height blew them out. Took a day off Sunday and did possibly my slowest run in months on Monday.

No blistering or pain points, that's the big advantage of Lone Peaks.

Thanks

A huge shout out to all the volunteers who came and made it a special day. As with many ultras volunteering is often tougher then doing the race itself, they were at the start long before the runners, and would be there right to the end.

Thank you to all the folks who chatted with me, I was so happy to see s0 many friendly faces new and old.

And of course a big thank you to the race director Kev, who has built something truly special. I can't wait to see how many folks take it on in March 2025.

Next?

I'm doing the Celtic Trails Ultra to close off the year (wasn't planning to but some Bristol Punks are having a bash so why not).

Then next year I've got the Pegasus Slam, hopefully the Sirona 100, and, of course, the Hateful 8.