Raworth on the Run: ‘Why I’ve gone loopy for Backyard Ultras’
On a Sunday morning dog walk along the River Thames, I stumble across a strange race called the Putney Loop. A ‘Backyard Ultra’ is what it turns out to be. On the hour, every hour, the runners all set off at the same time on a 4.167-mile loop. And they keep going until there’s only one left.
By the time I arrive, at 8am, the race has been going for 20 hours and only three of the original 46 runners are still going. Ryan, Simon and Vicks, ‘the Happy Runner’, have so far completed 20 loops – 83 miles.
‘Why on earth are you doing this?’ I ask Ryan Greste from Winchester as he wolfs down a McMuffin with minutes left until the next loop starts. He ran a 2:51 marathon PB a week ago. You’d think he would be having a rest. ‘I’ve run ultras before, like the Lakeland 100, but nothing like this,’ he says. ‘It’s the challenge for me. It’s the sense of achievement, taking on something that I think seems impossible and then I start thinking, “Hmm, maybe I could have a crack at that”. I didn’t train for this. I just thought that I’d turn up. It’s that classic cliché, one loop at a time. And here we are, at almost 100 miles.’
The tiny race HQ is on Putney Embankment. It consists of a digital clock counting down each hour and a whiteboard with the latest mileage and loops. The man behind it all is Guy Holdsworth-Hunt, a seasoned ultrarunner himself. He has had no sleep at all. ‘Why on earth are YOU doing this?’ I ask him. ‘I absolutely love seeing all ages compete and try to fulfil their goals,’ he tells me. ‘There are only a handful of Backyard Ultras in the UK. This one’s very relaxed and open to anyone. The atmosphere is fantastic, everyone comes along with the right spirit and runs in the way that I’ve always wanted to run myself, which is just for the sheer joy of running.’
Suddenly, Guy looks at the clock, jumps up and blows his whistle to warn the runners that it’s three minutes until the next loop. ‘How long will you keep going?’ I ask Victoria Owens, a four-hour marathoner from Denbigh in North Wales. She is attempting 12 Backyard Ultras in 12 months. ‘Until I drop,’ she laughs. (Her record is 36 hours.) ‘l love running. I love the peace of running, I love being out there on the trails. When I’m out there, I’m not a mum, I’m not a daughter, I’m not a carer or a wife. I’m just me, running.’ The whistle goes again. And she’s off with Ryan and Simon on the Hammersmith to Putney Bridge loop. The small group of onlookers clap as they go. It is strangely mesmerising to watch.
The time slips by quickly, for us at least. The next loop is 24. The big one. 100 miles in 24 hours. I decide to go with them. Ryan sprints off ahead. This will be his last lap, he says. I run with 28-year-old Simon Withers, who seems ridiculously fresh. A sub-2:40 marathoner, he won this race last time. ‘Why on earth are YOU doing this?’ I ask yet again. ‘Well, my lift home went at midnight and she’s not back until midday. Plus, I do love challenging myself and just seeing how far I can go.’
Our lap takes us 47 minutes. His fastest so far. The whistle goes yet again and off the final two go. ‘My last lap,’ shouts Simon, sprinting away at a ridiculous pace. Vicks is going to be victorious as long as she can complete an extra final loop alone.
‘So, Sophie,’ says Guy. ‘Are you going to enter next year?’ I laugh. ‘I’m going to have to give it a go. Why on earth not?’
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