Ring o’Fire – The Race
Ring o’Fire http://www.ringofire.co.uk route follows the official coastal path of Anglesey run in a clockwise direction. The race starts and finishes in Breakwater Country Park at the top of the island nestled just in-front North and South Stack, or Holy Mountain.
Day 1 – starts 1pm - 35.7 miles – 9hrs - cut off 10pm
Day 2 – starts 6am - 65.9 miles – 18hrs - cut off midnight
Day 3 – starts 6am - 33.4 miles - 9.5hrs – cut off 3:30pm
More than just Running
Some may have read my blog from last year when I got timed out of the race on day 2 having covered 48 miles of the 66 for that day. There could have been a few reasons for this but mainly it was my own ignorance; I underestimated the terrain and cut-off’s, and fatigue from lack of sleep - it turns out that Ring o’Fire is actually a 3-day race with minimal recovery and very (very) little sleep.
A couple of years ago the Race Director started to tweak the cut offs, reducing day 2 alone by 4 hours. This increases ‘recovery’ time between days and reduces time on feet; but also means that the average / mid pack runner such as myself could spend most the race bringing up the rear and in the danger zone of chasing cut offs. And as I proved last year this is not aways a fun place to be!
At high tide points the official coastal path follows a ‘red’ route which often is a longer diversion adding unwelcome extra distance. Unless the RD decides we must take the set diversions for safety reasons, your own running ability will determine where you are on the course at these times. There are a couple of places en route where this could really make a difference, adding to the anxiety of short or even missing cut off times!
On flip side there are also many places where the course could be cut short. To ensure all runners take the official course with no cut corners the race requires runners to collect pages out of honesty books that are nestled away on different parts of the course. There are 7 in total to collect over the 3 days.
Failure to produce these at various checkpoints along the route incurs a 3-hour penalty. In reality this is polite way of saying you are now out of the race – the tight cut offs mean that probably only the winner and front runners could incur this penalty and still stand a chance of being allowed to continue.
The course terrain in places is tricky; there are steep ups and downs, lots of steps, some of the path is technical but mostly it’s runnable coastal path, boardwalks, with some pretty wooded areas and beaches. Quite frankly it’s stunning.
The Road to Redemption
Last year my race may have ended with a DNF but the journey had just begun. To go back again was partly to prove to myself that I could complete the course but also to test and conquer challenged I hadn’t appreciated or considered. But it’s more than that. I have such a pull back to the island and I do not yet understand why, and still I am not able to put this feeling into words. It’s stunningly beautiful but there’s much more to it. This sounds incredibly lame but it has a warmth that feels like home.
But there’s a race to run. And once I had accepted that no sleep and inevitable fatigue wasn’t worth freaking about I could begin preparations for my ‘redemption run’.
To be better prepared this year I had to go back and run the parts I couldn’t run last time and go again to the parts where I got lost. There’s comfort in familiarity.
I had two terrific weekends with my friends doing just this, we spent hours and hours running around the place; it was ideallic preparation and a chance for me to share how lovely and special the island can be.
I changed my coach.
I planned out the route, plotted high tide times, checkpoints and honesty book locations. This time I could visualise them.
I had read something about the importance of banking sleep in the week leading up to a multi-day event so went all out on this; just an hour earlier each night meant that even the disturbed pre-race sleep didn’t bother me too much.
The Race – Day 1
I had travelled up to Holyhead with Jon on Thursday afternoon, a chilled out and chatty journey. Jon was already raring to go and seemed mildly annoyed by the 1pm start the next day and confused about when to eat to which I replied “well yes, this is where it starts”. We were both keen to get going the morning of the race so we had a decent breakfast at 10am and headed up to race registration for lunch 😊
Just as I was leaving I got a message from Curly “everyone wants this for you”. And I wanted this too. Those words stayed with me for the entire 3 days.
Last time I was on that field it was as part of #teamDNF cheering the runners finishing so I had already pinpointed the exact spot on the stack where runners appear. As a runner that’s the point where you would see the finish flags and hear cheering with a sexy downhill run into the finish.
I had my eye on that spot. I knew I was capable to getting there. I was going to give it everything.
Registration done and a few of the race team recognised me from the previous year. It just felt great to be back. Bing and Quentin said ‘Hi’ with some inspo words from Q “I don’t want to see you sweeping the floor this year, that’s my job” …. this made me chuckle and was just what I needed to hear. Thanks Q.
It was getting warm on the hillside and looked as if it was going to be a hot afternoon running. We set off at 1pm that day with a 9 hour cut off for 36 miles. It’s doable in the time but this is the point where I knew I had to be disciplined. I’m not sure I’m capable of tearing off but you get the drift.
When today was done there’s still 99 miles to run.
Add into the mix The Firelighter which covers the entire day 1. Under no circumstances can you get pulled into keeping up with anyone, you have no idea if they are 1 or 3 day runners so it’s very much ‘keep inside your own head’!
Chris and Andy arrived, and Jim, they all ran last year, and then Hayley who was to be my roomy for the weekend. We had decided to go posh, none of this lying on a hard floor in a huge room with the other runners (snoring) but instead book B&B’s close to each finish for a hot shower and to maximise rest - which is basically us just lying in comfortable beds because sleep never comes.
This was a really fun day out running. Hayley lives fairly close so had been out there running parts of the course and most of it came back to me from the previous year. We had only ever chatted on Instagram but found we were well paced together and had a lovely time jogging along and chatting. As we ran along we made sure we had a decent buffer at each checkpoint to deal with the slower parts of the course that we knew would come at the end of that day. The course changes from glorious undulating footpaths to more elevation and trickier terrain. And with the later start headtorches make an appearance at some point.
Heading towards Wylfa (checkpoint 3) we ran into Rachel (@muddyvee) and Garry (@garrythehat). We’re all friends on twitter but isn’t it just super when you meet in real life. They were up for their own mad challenge Snowdon 50 starting the next day so had popped over to say Hi. And bring Coca Cola. Amazing Coca Cola. Many hugs later Hayley and I headed off.
The rest of the day passed by without too much drama and we were back at base, we ate (me like a child only able to take tiny comedy bites) and made our way to the room.
Smugly organised we both sorted running bag and our kit for the following day and then lay in bed listening to very heavy rain trying not to worry about the forecast for the following day. And as suspected sleep didn’t come. But I was ‘powering down’. I was clean, fed and pretty much unscathed from day 1 so just lying down had to be enough.
Day 1 – Finish Time 8hrs 37 minutes
The Race - Day 2 – Long Day
4:30am alarm immediately followed by Hayley sitting bolt upright exclaiming “Fuckkkkkkkkk!!!! I haven’t slept a wink” taking out her ear plugs out to then hear the rain then saying “OMG WHAT ARE WE GOING TO TO?!” and that still makes me giggle now.
Luck was on our side though as the really heavy stuff stopped falling out the sky and I told her not to worry about lack of sleep as we would not be alone.
And sure enough virtually EVERYONE was in the same boat. It’s hardly surprising finishing between 8-10pm, eating, sorting and knowing you’re up to go again at 4:30am – it’s a nothing but a head F***!
Day 2 jogging started in a cloud of drizzle, and I spent the first 10-15 minutes waiting for aches and pains to subside which is just enough time to get back onto the coastal path. There’s a decent amount of tarmac later this day but right now it’s still tricker terrain, lots of steep up and downs and steps. It’s also soggy from the rain overnight and the rocks are slippy.
Sticking with Hayley we were happy runners, but we knew that we had to jog at every given opportunity so plodded along comfortably as the field began to gradually spread out. It’s a long stretch to the first checkpoint of the day at 12 miles but there’s a promise of bacon rolls and my tummy was telling me I definitely needed one. I recognised parts of the course from the previous year I was relieved that I felt so much better (approximately 1 million times better) in comparison to last year.
At some point we picked up some friendly faces on the run – John, Richmond and Lou. This was the start of things to come, and what turned out to be a good team helping each other through the long hours and miles to come.
We had reached Penmon checkpoint, a key point in the race for me this year. The distance between Penmon and the next checkpoint at Beaumaris (half way) is only 5 miles but it’s hard going and is the point where it all went wrong last time. We could stick to the pebbles and boulders on the beach and risk the tide, or take the longer route on road which also has a couple of steep hills. We opted for the beach (OF DOOM), but I had done my homework and found the most efficient route; I knew it well so off we went in a little pack across the shingle, pebbles and boulders and I was thankful that part was out the way.
The run into Beaumaris was grand, I'd sat down & cried here last year so it was a relief to come in ready for a quick change and feeling jolly - to tackle the second part of the course that day. I wasn’t expecting to see Jon there waiting for me, sadly he had pulled out due to a painful shin and was even finding his impressive power hiking impossible.
He sat with me while I changed and pulled off my socks to sort out my blisters THAT WEREN’T EVEN THERE and then off we went up the steep hill towards Menai Bridge.
Another milestone in the race nailed – the difference in myself was astonishing really.
I had run this next section with Kerry so was confident I knew it well. Again there are a couple of tricky parts where the GPX route goes off course, and then has fun beeping at you while you scratch your head trying to figure out what just happened, but we were going well and got through next 10 miles without incident. A lot now is spent on tarmac and I knew from reccie to make the most of this wherever possible. As we ate up the miles Hayley began to worry about cut off times, it’s a constant thing on this course, and not able to shake it off she gradually pulled forward and trotted away. I hoped she wasn’t going to end up on her own, we hadn’t yet got to headtorch stage but I knew she was sensible and as it turned out she did buddy up with someone so all good.
Ambling along with Rich we ran past ‘dnf central’ or the exact spot I stopped last year, and into the next checkpoint at the Sea Zoo (CP10) and sat and had hot tea. The wind was picking up and the skies were getting moody, and just sitting down for 5 minutes gave us a chill so we moved on quickly only to stop again a few minutes later to out coats on as the rain came down.
I was in new territory now. I didn’t quite get this far last time around, so was it was exciting to hit the next part of the course and I was in good company. We met John again as we approached the iconic stepping stones (we had avoided high tide which made this part easier) and then as we were heading towards the forest admiring the sunset Lou caught up with us. The advice from the Marshalls at Sea Zoo was to outskirt the forest and take the beach, avoid the fire roads. I had run the fire roads with Kerry but in daylight, and I didn’t fancy taking a wrong turn and spending the night in the forest as someone had done one year. NO.
Lou knew the beach route to the four of us stuck together. Headtorches on now, the sand was nice and flat so we trotted along chatting. I abruptly started to feel very tired and suddenly aware of everything hurting and my mood started to drop. Our cut off buffer seemed to be reducing quickly, but we knew this was the most straightforward route to the honesty book and there was no danger of missing this or getting lost.
We grabbed the pages, and happier now with a second wind we were ready to jog the fire road up to the checkpoint. Which seemed to go on FOREVER. Some years later we arrived.
Under strict instructions to leave quickly (which I later found out came from Curly) we handed in our pages giving us permission to continue and off we went as a team for the final stint that day. We only had around 6 miles left but we all knew the last 2-3 miles were pretty disgusting and we would be trudging through fields with no footpath and where it felt like no human had ever been before.
I was pretty sullen by now. I wanted it over and although confident we still had time I knew it wasn’t in abundance and that we were getting close. There would be no time for mistakes.
The others were great through this next couple of hours. I apologised for my silence and grunting responses where I was told I had kept everyone going earlier in the day and it was only fair that I now followed their lead and that no one was getting left behind. John and Lou had run this bit of the course many times and although I had reccied it with Kerry (I had been running it on gin tin legs at the time) I zoned out, channelled auto pilot and took up my position at the rear of the pack.
Field after field done we now only had the dunes to negotiate then we were on the beach with one last honesty book to find. This one worried me, I knew it was on the beach somewhere but no idea where. We all had different ideas of where we thought it would be and the next bit was frustratingly slow as we bobbed and panned our headtorches around searching for the flag. It was much further along than I thought, I had started to mildly panic we had missed it but we then spotted a dark mass flapping up ahead which could only be the flag.
Pages collected, we had less than a mile to go and 10 minutes to finish. Lou and John broke away while Rich and I carried on hiking up the beach heading to the finish. By now I didn’t feel any need to waste my energy on the sand, we had time and the tarmac beckoned for the very last section up to the village hall.
Seeing Ben sat on the wall I knew we were at the finish - we had done it! The long hard tricky day where so many didn’t make it we had completed with just 5 minutes to spare. Everything had been about getting to this point and standing on the start line of day 3.
Ollie took my pages and tracker and asked me if he would see me in the morning ….. like, ABSOLUTELY 100% YES. In less than 6 hours I would be back there ready to go.
Day 2 – finish time 17hrs 52 mins
The Race - Day 3
It was my own work but I felt very lucky to be back on Day 3. I think I had even had 45 minutes sleep, although that could have been 4.5 minutes (or 45 seconds) I’ll never know. But here we all were waiting to see what the final installment had to offer.
Turns out as soon as we got up to the coastal path it was a ridiculous headwind and stingy sideways rain, and it also turns out it’s a bit hard to put a jacket on in those conditions.
That said, it cleared after around 30 minutes and it was glorious running conditions. Jackets back off I tried to settle down into the day, I knew the whole course now apart from the mountain at the very end but something felt a bit off. My tummy was unhappy and I felt nauseous. I think the emergency hop into a bush solved the situation in part and I reasoned with myself that after 3 days of this something had to give. Do not fret.
I went through the next miles just urging myself to keep going forward and trying to eat. Last year I was helping and supporting with cheers at the checkpoints so they were all very familiar, but this year I was on the course and running into them and it felt really special.
I think I knew by the time I had been through Four Mile Bridge that I was the last runner but that didn’t bother me one bit. I always knew this would be a tough and finishing was the only goal. Everyone behind me had stopped for one reason or another and I knew how that felt. Now I had time and I was OK.
Running up to the last checkpoint at Trearddur Bay is just a stunning part of the whole course and I really enjoyed this bit. Once I was here I had 10 miles to finish, I can’t remember exactly how much time I had but I think around 3 hours. I had the last two honesty books to find, the stacks to negotiate and I would be coming around that last corner to see the finish.
Except I had run this next part with Lauren but I didn’t recognise anything! I kept thinking ‘I’ll know where I am soon’ but it all seemed new and too hard even though my memory of the recce was it being nice easy running.
This bit was really hot, and it seemed really slow (it was), I couldn’t see anyone else and my buffer was reducing.
I hadn’t done the mountain at all, I figured I had to do it whatever it turned out to be but let’s just say nearly all of the 1753ft of elevation that day is in the last 2-3 miles.
Just as I came up to where the elevation starts I realised where I was. We had carefully trod our way through a field with the most enormous brown cows. They weren’t around to spook me today but now I really had to see what I was made of …. here lies the start of the climb.
I came off the field I saw David and his wife with a very welcome box of ice cubes and watermelon. I yelped as David threw some ice down my back and started the journey up the hill towards South Stack. At some point David said ‘be ready for it to get really hard’ and he wasn’t joking. WTF was going on. Who even does this 133 miles into a 135 mile race?!
(I keep referring to this as a race, I was by no means racing anyone else!)
I totally zoned out and just did whatever I could. I was hot, my lungs were burning, the descents were tricky; the thought ‘you haven’t allowed yourself enough time’ kept creeping in and I kept pushing it away replacing it with ‘whatever happens now I am going to finish’. Curly’s words were right there, and I knew that she, and Lauren, and all my friends, my Dad, my sister would be yelling at the tracker while I was doing it but cutting it really fine. I focused on that last corner, seeing the finish “where is it!?”
Up, down, up, down, up, up it felt like it was never going to end. I couldn’t even look at my watch now. I couldn’t bring myself to look at the time elapsed or the remaining distance.
I grabbed the last honesty book of the race and made my way up David’s ‘happy hill’ (it’s happy apparently because it’s the last one). I heard them before I saw them but I could see (hear) three people right at the top yelling, cheering, egging me on, arms waving. Immediately my spirits lifted that must be the corner. It wasn’t actually but it was very close!
Quentin shouted me, he told me I still had time, a whole ten minutes, which felt like so long it could’ve been 10 years at this stage and to go, go it would take me four minutes to run to the finish. And there it was, halfway down the last descent was that corner – I stood there for a couple of seconds looking down to the country park taking it in and heard what felt like a roar of cheers from the finish line and I was off.
What. A. Finish. My race was done with 6 minutes to spare. The last runner of the day, the bell rang and it was a wrap.
Day 3 - finish time 9hrs 24 minutes.
All I ever had to do was trust my ability to keep on plodding. My journey with this race started last year and this years attempt was just part 2, my experience so far with Ring o’Fire is so linked and intertwined I have a feeling my story with Anglesey is not yet finished. I have such a pull back to the island and I do not yet understand why, and still I am not able to put this feeling into words.
It’s stunningly beautiful but there’s much more to it.
To every single Marshall and crew who did everything, and I mean everything to get every single runner through the race (no matter how hard they make it). A wonderful bunch of people who work hard and smile LOTS.
To Bing, Q and Ollie for continuing to work so hard to put on the event but have everyone’s back and genuinely want us to succeed.
To all the people I didn’t know before RoF that I am so grateful that I know now; Susie, Chris, Andy, Jim, Hayley, David, the race crew …. Rich, John, Lou, so many people .....
And to you, you know who you are. ❤️Thank you.
It’s an experience that I will never ever forget.
Bing said 3 days ago that runners finish this race. Well there you go, no matter where I plod I am now, and will always be a runner.
Post Blog Note
"the tracker wasn't updating well setting us into a panic but we were sure she wasn't far away. With just 10 minutes to go the party mood changed and everyone started looking up to the headland and pretty soon everyone was glued to it, watching, waiting and willing for H to appear in time. It became really really tense and quiet but the noise that erupted when then she finally appeared with just a few minutes to go was a mixture of relief, joy and some tears! The organisers, marshalls, supporters and her friends lined up to cheer her home, the biggest cheer of the day by far and Helen high-fived everyone* on the way over the finish line
*except a young boy in a yellow Tshirt who was left hanging and may never recover
