Having lived, studied, worked, and run lots in the North West over the last couple of decades, the prospect of the Manchester to Liverpool 50 Mile Ultra felt very much like familiar territory. However, the pedant in me feels that it is important to point out that it neither starts in Manchester, nor ends in Liverpool, but Salford to Aintree doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.
It all began at the Imperial War Museum North on the night before where I picked up my race number from a very well-drilled GB Ultras team. The start line was all prepped and ready to go (next to the T-55 tank), and a friendly Liverpudlian also collecting their number offered to take my photo next to the start line. And, I have to say, the atmosphere from here right until the end was extremely collegiate. I elected to stay overnight: partly for extra sleep, partly so that I wouldn’t have to worry about what on earth could be happening on Woodhead Pass or the M67 at 4am, and partly so I had reliable and available sanitation facilities. It probably cost me around the same price as the actual race, but at the price I paid (and being a distant memory over a year ago), it was something I am fortunate enough to have been able to pay for.
I arrived at around 5am and the bag drop was stationed by the seasoned ultrarunning Stocksbridge duo of Garry Harding and Rachel Vernon (the latter of whom leant me a secondary headtorch which was mandatory for a race performed entirely in daylight hours).
The race started promptly at 6am and we departed from Salford Quays in very mild and pleasant conditions. I had seen many people nearly fall into the canal before close to Old Trafford and was wondering if today was the day as over 500 individuals all in close proximity would trip up. Reassuringly, everyone stayed dry as far as I could see.
I knew the route was unlikely to have many inspiring views so in order to mentally stimulate myself throughout, I decided to count all the dogs I came across (you’ll have to read to the bottom to see how many I saw, but you’ve made it this far so I reckon you won’t just skip to the end).
As we left Salford, we went out towards Chorlton and around a moderate body of water. Already the front runners were coming back past us. I was feeling pretty good at this point, pacing by heart rate (although allowing a higher heart rate than I had planned). We headed back west going past Lymm and Warrington, and I had the target of seeing if I could get to 50k in around 5 hours. It was looking promising, but then I had slowed down because of the third aid station. Just over 50k in and I was flagging, I was run/walking a lot more than I would have liked. But, I knew that with 9 hours left before the cut-off and 30k to go, that I was going to finish it unless something really bad happened.
The fifth checkpoint arrived and was greeted again by Rachel and Garry, although this time they genuinely looked concerned for my welfare. After taking on board a lot of watermelon and orange juice (and half-promising Rachel that I would eat the Mini Cheddars I had packed), they gave me an excellent pep talk. It was less than 20k to go now, and their advice was incredibly valuable. My pace (excluding aid stations) actually picked up for the next 10k and I was able to run for 4k and then walk for a few hundred metres before running again.
Feeling a bit like a dessicated troll, the final aid station was appropriately under a bridge. I took on a lot more calories, salty snacks (there were some sort of amazing peanut butter-filled pastry things) and fluid. I could count down less than 10k (at this point it was peak-dog counting territory) and it was a case of running 2k, then walking for a few hundred metres, then starting again. The finish line was, well, not quite in sight, but was nearby. My watch then clocked me doing 80k in under 9 hours, however there was still around 700ish metres left which added another few minutes at the end. I crossed the finish line, felt less unwell than normal which was a positive, and got a couple of photos at the end, as well as the standard Erdinger Alkoholfrei tinny and a packet of crisps.
The collegiate atmosphere continued, there was a group of around 10 runners that I stayed close to for the majority of the race and I managed to chat to a few afterwards. I finished 169th out of just over 500 and, as a result, got awarded one of the gold medals for being in the top 200.
The race, for me, was always going to be educational and not so much about how quickly I could run it. I’m not sure I’d ever run this specific race again, but am reassured that I can do the distance and can plan other ultras accordingly.
Now you’ve made it this far – well done. Secondly, I can put you out of your misery and inform you that there were 83 dogs I saw in total.
