Hardmoors 55 - 21st March 2026
Here we go again!
My first attempt at this race was back in 2015, wow has it really been that long!! I've just been helping a few other friends who are doing it for the first time and giving them advice I never got and learnt the very hard way. It made laugh but its great to be help to pass on that knowledge and help others. It prompted me to look back in my blog to when it all started. I found my post for the HM 55 from 2015 and it was a bit surreal but funny because I was giving my friends advice on kit etc and I could see from the photo's they have similar kit to what I had then. Very different to now with all that experience and learning.
Don't keep thinking about training or running or getting your nutrition right lets just start. I am now 12.5kg down and hitting one of my targets of 85Kg which is significant. My aim for the HM110 was 83kg but I still have 8 weeks till then so potentially I could hit 82kg with a big push now cutting my calories and maintaining the burn.
Last weekend the Hardmoors 55 did not go to plan, which was gutting really since I've never DNF'd this course until now. The positives are that it wasn't lack of training or legs being weak or heavy or too overweight to move any quicker. It was a foot injury that I didn't even know I got. I ran into the Osmotherly checkpoint knowing I was in good time so my plan was to get fuelled and set off ready to put a shift in for the last 22 miles. I'm not sure if I'd already damaged it by this point and potentially I had, but it was the sort of pain I could put to one side and carry on hoping it would wear off which it so often did. Out of Osmotherly and up to Square Corner feeling ok but I knew then something wasn't right. I also needed to make a mental note to self that I needed to do more HIT work to improve my VO2 Max and my cardio. Not that it is bad but my plan is to be able to cope with the hills better and to not let them drain me so much.
The day was glorious, which for some is ideal but for me it was going to be hell! Normally the weather is cold and wet which is perfect for me as I over heat and sweat like cloth be rung out after being drenched. I completely get drained and dehydrated no matter how hard I try and keep on top of this with fluids and salts and getting my food in. Anyway, I tried to enjoy the scenery like everyone else, just knowing the impending suffering that loomed ahead aaarrrggghhh!
The night before was like normal a bit of a panic, rushing around finding mandatory kit list items, then trying to fit in the pack. This time was even more fun as I was messaging with a few other guys who were doing it for the first time so I was trying to pass on any tips to make it slightly more comfortable an experience for them. I came across my blogg from 2015 and shared my experiences with them which was weird for me looking back at the pictures and reading the passage. I've come so far in those 10 years and learnt so much almost to the point you forget or become blaze` about it all. Great to look back though loved it.
Roseberry Topping was a spectacle as always, but slightly even more so on a day like that. Incredible coming in and out of the clouds, again this was a new one for me as its normally blizzards lol!
The night before was like normal a bit of a panic, rushing around finding mandatory kit list items, then trying to fit in the pack. This time was even more fun as I was messaging with a few other guys who were doing it for the first time so I was trying to pass on any tips to make it slightly more comfortable an experience for them. I came across my blogg from 2015 and shared my experiences with them which was weird for me looking back at the pictures and reading the passage. I've come so far in those 10 years and learnt so much almost to the point you forget or become blaze` about it all. Great to look back though loved it.
The race ended miserably, as always in this situation you are relying on the kindness of others as you cannot do anything. If I could've carried on to the end and jumped in my car home I would've trust me. Hanging around waiting for the last runners to come through when you're cold and wet probably and in pain, is definitely no fun. Yet there I was sat in a van hanging about. There was no alternative, I know my body quite well, and I knew carrying would have resulted in a much more serious injury. Yes I probably could have pushed myself through the pain to get there but my thinking was, I've finished this race many times so I have nothing to prove there, it is not my main race, yes I won't get my HM miles towards my 2000 which was one of my motivations but I will recovery quicker so I can train better for the 110. I'm not weak, I live to fight another day!
