Top 10 things I learned at the UTA 100 in 2019 by Joe Ward

Top 10 things I learned at the UTA 100 in 2019 by Joe Ward

1. There’s no such thing as too much preparation! – Before race day I did the following … vacuum sealed all of my mandatory gear, had a Chinese massage, had a Thai massage, Float Tank, caught up on sleep, prepped my support crew, new socks, 4 weeks of daily meditation, gave up coffee and alcohol for 3/4 weeks, I even got my nose and ear hair waxed! I wasn’t just prepared, I was 110% ready, body, mind and NOSE! Why did I do all of this preparation? Because there’s no such thing as too much preparation before race day and I wanted to turn up to that start line with no stone unturned! I wanted to be confident I had set everything up for a great day and left nothing to chance. I wanted to get all the little 1% extras to create the perfect run.
2. Ironpot mountain is a son of a b*tch! – Ironpot lives on private land at 33kms, just after Dunphy’s. It’s only about 10/12 minutes of climbing but wow! It kills me! Then the decent afterwards destroys your quads. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I tackle this climb and descent, it still spits me out and destroys me every time I tackle it. I’ve spoken to a couple of expert trail runners and the only way to improve here seems to be the same way you improve at anything. The big P – Practice. Practice climbing. Practice steep descents. Practice. Practice. If only Ironpot Mountain wasn’t on private land!
3. You never feel 100% ready. Even if you waxed your nose hair! – Ok, this is the start line. Relax, breathe. “But everyone else looks so strong and confident?!” Trust me, they’re all in the same boat. 100km is a bloody long way and everyone, absolutely EVERYONE, no matter what part of the field they’re in, will experience highs and lows. Don’t worry if you worry. It’s natural, healthy and a necessary part of the process. If you feel a little nervous, this is confirmation that YOU ARE READY!
4. Fake it till you make it! – “You look so strong!” someone tells me at the top of Nellie’s Glen shortly after I’ve dragged my ass to the top of that punishing climb. Sometimes you hear some words of encouragement and the temptation is to laugh cynically or provide an accurate update on your declining mental state. Over the years I’ve learnt the best response is either to say thanks or to pretend it’s true. “Thanks, I feel fantastic!” Lies, all lies but lies with the strategy of manifesting a positive attitude. “Bring it on! Lets do this!”
5. Kisses equal power! – At every checkpoint I arranged to receive 3 kisses. One from each of my wonderful support crew. As trivial as this sounds, kisses are a powerful weapon. Kisses from people that care about you will keep you moving through the lows and get you out of those tricky checkpoints. Even if you don’t think this technique works, who doesn’t love kisses?? xxx
6. If you can maintain your pace you will move through the field – It didn’t feel like I was overtaking many runners during the race but there must have been quite a few runners resting at the checkpoints, especially in the last 25kms or so. I tend to spend as little time as possible in each checkpoint and I was still getting overtaken by a few runners during some of the climbs and descents. Despite this, I was pleasantly surprised to see after the run that I had moved through the field from around 160th at the start to finish 75th overall. It seems all you need to do to move up the field is KEEP GOING! I’m not sure if this works quite so well towards the pointy end but I guess the main message here is don’t be upset if runners overtake you. Chances are, you’re still making great progress through the field just be making consistent forward progress.
7. 8500 stairs is a lot of frickin stairs! – Simple training on the most scenic parts of the course is not enough to prepare you for 8500 stairs. You need to train a lot of stairs both in the mountains and locally too. In fact, you don’t just need to train stairs for a good time. You need to train a ridiculous amount of stairs just to avoid cramping up in the later stages and reducing your pace to a crawl. The UTA is a race full to the brim with stairs, steps and ledges of all varieties. Metal ones, big ones, skinny ones, steep ones, windy ones but mostly never-ending ones! Next year I will focus a little more on stair training and try to spend more time learning to love stairs 🙂
8. Deliveroo doesn’t do much business in Blackheath – I finished the race. I was exhausted, cold and starving. I should have prepared for this! Make sure you have a car, a plan and/or a very supportive crew. Turns out Deliveroo doesn’t deliver much to our place in Blackheath so my wife Emma had to pop out and pick up some pizzas at 9pm at night. When you run 100kms you are going to be STARVING! Make sure you have a plan for post race refuelling that doesn’t involve moving much. I think I’ll prep some post race recovery food before hand for next year.
9. If in doubt, chat to a medic – At the end of the race, after crossing the line at Scenic World, I had achieved a new PB of 12:39. I felt euphoric but totally and utterly exhausted. I hit the caffeine tablets pretty hard towards the end and I felt like I was having heart palpitations. I went to see the medics just in case and after some fizzy water and 15 minutes with a Heart Rate Monitor, they discharged me. I try to practice what I preach so I was very grateful to chat to a medic and get the all clear. If in doubt, use the experts. That’s what they’re there for. Nine times out of ten, the medics will check you out and tell you that you’re absolutely fine. It may feel like a waste of your time and theirs but Medics will always tell you to get checked just in case and if it gives you confidence that there’s nothing to worry about, it was worth the visit to the Medics tent. Plus medics always say nice things to tired runners 🙂
10. The UTA is EPIC!! – the course, the scenery, the camaraderie, the support, the marshals and organisers, everything about this race is first class. I’ll be back to run a sub 12 next year and no doubt I’ll learn ten new lessons next time round too. If you haven’t run this race then ENTER NOW! This race is a journey.

Happy running everyone 🙂

Joe x