The Zig Zag Event run held at Ferry Meadows in Peterborough is their most northerly run and is another 6-hour event with the added bonus that you can run another lap if you go out before the 6-hour mark is up.
The event offer 5k through to ultra marathon and there is the option of starting at 11am and running the 4-hour event.
As the banks of the River Nene overflowed overnight, an alternate course which consisted of an out and back, including an area where there was flooding on the pathway was used.
I wouldn’t choose to do a lapped out and back to reduce the boredom, but I seemed to cope.
Having been at the GRC Awards night beforehand, a cheeseboard was my run fuel. How would this help me through the 6-hours? Time to find out.
With the alternative route, this meant weaving around the many park visitors and avoiding on-coming runners was quite tricky on the out and back.
The first 4 laps (half marathon distance), I felt really comfortable and had no issues. By lap 6, it was becoming noticeably harder to run and find enough gels easily in the bag. The last 4 laps were really difficult and I had to concentrate hard to keep going and not give up at 9 laps.
A big plus for Zig Zag events is the cake and drink at the end. Though I was one of the last to finish, there was still plenty of choice and the quick sugar boost enabled me to get home OK.
When I opened up the results I was amazed to see that I did the longest distance in the shortest time – coming in first!
This was a huge surprise as there were lots of runners still out and I felt that there were a lot of people in front of me – turns out they were behind.
I finished 10 laps in 5:53:59. Each lap is 5.3km, so a 50km run equalled 31.25 miles. I did have the opportunity to put in another lap, but I didn’t have the energy, so was happy to listen to my body.
Final verdict on having a cheeseboard before an ultra run? For me it would work for a half marathon, but certainly need more carbs to get me through an ultra.
