Last updated: 25-Oct-18
By Luke Jarmey
We’re pleased to announce our top reviews for June. So congratulations to Seth Grotzke who will receive a pack of 33Shake Chia Energy Gels.
101 KM Peregrinos – Spain
Seth Grotzke (@scquest) delivers a fantastically humorous, and ever-so-slightly harrowing, account of his 101 KM Peregrinos experience. We love the ‘never give up’ mentality and Seth epitomises this, with some rather severe-sounding stomach issues…
‘The 30 kilometre climb and final 20 kilometres can be summarized fairly quickly. Diarrhoea. Lying on the side of the trail trying to convince the passing runners that everything was fine, I normally look like this, and not to call the Red Cross.’
‘His designation of “friend” is up for review since he would not let me quit in the last two kilometres…what kind of a friend would do that!’
In no particular order, here’s the rest of our top reviews:
Salomon Ultra 50K Trail Race – England, UK
A review of the Salomon Ultra 50K Trail, jam packed with juicy tit bits of information, comes from David Searle. Certainly one to take some time poring over, if you’re considering the race.
‘Ever since getting into off road running and reading Richard Askwith’s brilliant, “Feet in the Clouds”, I have been longing to visit the area and run.’
Lake Martin 100 – USA
‘This was my first 100 miler. I loved everything about it: from the aid station volunteers to the scenery, and just the overall atmosphere. This is supposed to be a “good” first for a 50 or 100 miler. My opinion is yes and no. Why?…’
Interested to know why? Well, give the rest of Jennifer Sutton’s engaging review of the Lake Martin 100 a minute of your time. It’s a cracker.
The Wall – England, UK
A concise review from Tom Hughes (@DJDelights), that delivers the appraisal you need to motivate yourself to sign up for The Wall.
‘Plenty of additional support along the way from locals in their houses which the route went past.’
Grand Canyon 50/50 Trail Run – USA
With a bucket list setting like the Grand Canyon, the race itself better live up to the vista! Indeed, going by Lauren Steinheimer’s (@irunintotrees79) review of the Grand Canyon 50/50, it sounds like it does.
‘It was a zero-impact, ultra-green event with unique finisher prizes crafted by local tribes.’
As race prizes go, these sound particularly cool!
South Downs Way 100 – England, UK
Sarah Cooke’s (@SarahCrunning) reviews are always firm favourites and we are a big fan of the Centurion races. A match made in heaven you might say? Well it certainly is in this case. As always from Sarah, an absolutely fantastic review and a must read for anyone contemplating the South Downs Way 100.
‘The Centurion attention to detail comes into its own on a 100 miler. For shorter distances, there is some appeal in a low-key approach and not having a marked route. Once you have been on your feet beyond 18 hours and your body is telling you to sleep you do not want to be worrying about which direction to run in unless you are a really skilled navigator.’
Pennine Barrier – England, UK
Great organisation can really make or break a race. It seems to have made it here, for the Pennine Barrier, where Ashleigh Bennett (@ashstroller) dishes out praise for Wayne Drinkwater and his team at GBULTRA.
‘The GBULTRA team seem to keep their races low key, by this I mean not mass entries. By doing this they ensure that you are welcomed and made to feel part of the family’
Furthermore, we believe the mark of great organisers, is often how they deal with the inevitable mishaps and hiccups that occur in race organisation. And then improve on them for the next edition:
‘The only minor negative I have was with the conditions being so hot this year an additional water stop would have being beneficial. Wayne however did speak to the cafes on route (2) and they allowed us to top up, he has already highlighted this issue himself and will look to add an additional water station next year.’
Ultra-Trail Cape Town – South Africa
‘What an event! From the jaw dropping scenery to the varied terrain to the impeccable organisation – everything about this challenge is epic. I ran the 100km in December 2016 and despite having done a couple of 100milers previously this easily ranks as the hardest thing I have ever put myself through.’
Incredible scenery and a hard-as-nails challenge… sounds like the perfect ultra to us! Give the rest of Neil Beacher’s (@lankytoreador) review a read if you fancy an excuse to visit the South African sun and run the Ultra-Trail Cape Town.
The Nomad Ultra – England, UK
A first ultra for Richard Pawling and going by his review of the Nomad Ultra, he seems to have had a whale of a time. We like his inclusion of constructive criticism regarding the course marking. Great stuff.
‘…in places the pink markers really seemed to dry up! But overall, I loved the event, would definitely come back, and would certainly say it was worth five stars!!’
London 2 Brighton Challenge – England, UK
‘This was only my second ultra, my first was also with Action challenge last year on the south coast challenge. My preparation this year was not what I had hoped.’
Give the rest of Kevin Potter’s review a read to find out what happened at the London 2 Brighton Challenge. Spoiler… stomach issues make an appearance, but don’t hamper an impressive finishing time!
