Ep 45 - Kev does Suffolk Backyard Ultra while Lizzie does everything else!

This episode is a Lizzie Gatherer takeover featuring the Suffolk Backyard Ultra 2025. It contains a behind the scenes listen into the race and its mad formula, with competitor, crew and volunteer support interviews. Oh and a tiny record gets broken along the way

 https://www.challenge-running.com/e/suffolk-back-yard-ultra-11504

https://ultramadlizzie.com/

Aid Station website where you can find the episodes or leave comment https://www.aidstation.co.uk/

Please feel free to give the show some feedback on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/aid-station/id1549735359

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:32

Hello, this is Lizzie Gatherer, and this is the Aid Station Takeover, and I am interviewing Kevin Munt. He is here with me now, and we have Suffolk Backyard Ultra come in this weekend, and it is Kev's pre-race preamble. Kev, how are you feeling?

SPEAKER_13 0:54

Well, not bad. About three weeks ago, I was quite up for this. Um, went down with a cold actually about two and a half weeks ago. Um, I haven't been great since and haven't done much running since, but I guess some of it might be just the usual tapering, um not nerves, but uh things that you think are going wrong with you that uh often happens in the taper, and then they're not really in it. All changes on race day, so I'm hoping that's what happens. Um but after last year um I went into it uh having had six days before it, very ill, so why not give it another shot?

SPEAKER_04 1:37

So you're you're basically in fighting form this year compared to how you were last year. And um why are you so you did it last year, why are you coming back? Why are you coming back for more?

SPEAKER_13 1:48

Um well I I I know this might sound daft, but I think I was capable of a lot more than I did 25 last year, um, which I was happy with off the back of um what I had going into it. Um I just think there's more in there. Uh so I entered pretty much immediately uh after it last year because I don't think I'm done with what I'm capable of at Backyards yet.

SPEAKER_04 2:17

And do you have a goal or is that to remain a secret?

SPEAKER_13 2:21

Well, it isn't a secret because this will come out after the event, so I can lay my cards on the table. Um yeah, I you know, I had to decide. Well, what do you think Well, let's go back a bit. I mean, most people say that that with Backyard that you shouldn't have a goal, you just keep going until you're the last one left, which is fair enough, but in reality, everybody needs some sort of aim uh to keep going, break the monotony, tick off a load of targets along the way. Um so I checked up on who had run the furthest in a backyard in the 65 plus age group, and it's a Russian guy who incredibly has done 61 yards. Um, and so I thought, well, that's my target. I've got a um beat that, um be quite nice to take a Russian off the books, I'm not afraid to say it, um, and uh that'll be my target.

SPEAKER_04 3:31

That sounds like a really good plan to me, and I think there might be a few other people there that both of us know. Um, so are there any other people that you're looking to beat their PBs?

SPEAKER_13 3:44

Uh well, yeah, there's um uh Keith Burg, who is in the 60 plus age group, and he's done 42, which he did at Russellbock, uh when you with along with you. I think he was about fourth or fifth, wasn't he, at Russellbock? Um so he would be a target along the way. I mean basically I shall aim to pass my P PB, uh which we I would do at 26, um and then tick off things along the way till I get to Keith's target um or Keith's PB, um, and then just keep going, pass yours.

unknown 4:27

Thank you.

SPEAKER_13 4:29

Give you another target. Um and you know, that would be my I mean I would be delighted if if I could uh achieve 61 or 62 anyway.

SPEAKER_04 4:42

And that would um put you on the at-large list, so that would be pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_13 4:48

Yeah, I to be honest, I hadn't it isn't something that that was immediately in my mind, but yeah, that would be pretty good to get on the at-large list. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:59

That could be awkward though, because if we're both on the at-large list, who's gonna crew us?

SPEAKER_13 5:06

Yeah, I'm sure we can sort something out and rope some people in. That would be pretty amazing if if that was possible at all to get um onto the satellite team together from the same club.

SPEAKER_04 5:21

That would that would be awesome. Um so Suffolk this year is it's on a new course. Um, I think that's due to the amount of people who are now entered into the race. So, do you know anything about the new course? Have you done a recce? Um, is there any gossip you've got? What do you know?

SPEAKER_13 5:42

I don't know anything about the new course except that it is in um Thetford Forest in Suffolk, uh, not far from the old course. Um, it is on forestry land. The course is flat and supposedly easier than the old Nettishall uh nature reserve course. And um I have the only thing I've seen is um Dom, who you ran with at um Russell Bok. Since become Strava mates with him, and I see he went there last weekend, I think, and did a loop of it. So I've had to obviously look at his trace round the course. Um it looks like just one big wide loop, which was quite interesting because I thought it might zigzag around through the forest, but it just seems to go round one big perimeter loop. Uh, and apparently the tracks are wide and um typical forestry, so it doesn't sound like there's going to be any complications. Certainly all the the gates and the cattle grid crossings and things like that that were at Netoshul have been gone, so it should be a a quicker course anyway.

SPEAKER_04 6:54

I did run with Don um a few weeks ago actually, and he'd he'd done a recce of the course, so I can confirm, yeah. I don't think there'd be any there won't be any bottleneck situations, um, and it's yeah, it should be a pretty fast course. I'm really excited to see how everyone gets on this year.

SPEAKER_13 7:10

Yeah, I think the other thing as well is the size of the field, there's I think there were 350 entered, and Lindley said he was expecting about 325 to actually show up, so that'll be the biggest field in the UK so far in a backyard. So it's gonna make the first 24 hours very interesting. It'll be more like going around in the London marathon, I think, for a while.

SPEAKER_04 7:37

Actually, yeah, when you're standing on the 24-hour start line, that's gonna be a strange feeling because usually the field would be quite small by that point, but I think in this case there's gonna be a lot of people left.

SPEAKER_13 7:49

Yeah, I think there were I think there were about 30 odd at Rasselbok got to 24. So you could say, I would imagine it could be in the 40s at least in in terms of numbers still in it at 24 hours, anyway.

SPEAKER_04 8:04

I was told I think it's 10% of the field are usually left at the 24 hour mark.

SPEAKER_13 8:11

Oh right. Okay, so that would be around about 32. Yeah, yeah. Alright.

SPEAKER_04 8:17

Um, right, is there any I don't know, any words of wisdom you want to say or um I don't know, is there um any tricks or tactics you're gonna use?

SPEAKER_13 8:31

Um No, I mean it's just internal mental strength, you know, like everybody who does these things and goes to their limit, whatever their limit is, uh will have to apply their own personal mental strength at the end of it. So um I have done a lot of long stuff before and have always come to rely on that and know it's there and know what I've done before. I will be using a lot of uh thought process visualization of tough events I've done before and tough situations in those events I've been in, um, just to remind myself that I'm just running around a four-mile loop in a forest and it's not that difficult. So I'm you know, I've been in a lot tougher events, um, but it you know, the longer it goes, uh yeah, the more you have to turn to those those uh the mental side. And of course I'll be heavily relying on you, Lizzie, to kick me round. Um I've supplied Lizzie with a a large document.

SPEAKER_04 9:37

It's a four-page size, the the font size is probably ten. It's a four-page A4 document, but it's really good, it's very, very detailed.

SPEAKER_13 9:48

Yeah, so um that's the other side of it I think that I should address is that this you cannot do this or go as far as you want to go, uh without being crude, something I learned quite early on with these events. Um, and the crew will make a massive difference or having Lizzie there. Uh, and uh actually she inspired me to think of bigger numbers by doing her 50 at Russell Bach, and it made open my eyes to think, yeah, because I I I used to think I need to know if I can do 200 miles in 48 hours, and now I think I need to you know I'm thinking bigger than that. So that's thanks to you and having a and a close up uh view of that. Um but yeah, I mean it it's gonna be all about the teamwork. I mean, my job, as I said in the document, is just to turn up and run. Um, and the crew's job is everything else, basically.

SPEAKER_04 10:51

Yeah, well, I'm very good at shouting, so uh and I'm very good at positive thoughts, so yeah. I'm I'm hoping we'll we'll be a good team. Um, and I have uh one final question for you. It's on behalf of Hannah. Have you checked the weather?

SPEAKER_13 11:11

Yes, I have checked the weather. Um it's well, it keeps changing, but it's likely to be uh I don't know, sunny intervals with showers and rain. Um and there's rain now forecast Saturday and Sunday, I think. But it gets nice on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday.

SPEAKER_08 11:32

So I'll pack my shorts.

SPEAKER_13 11:35

So that's where we want to be. Stay out there till the sun's out all day.

SPEAKER_04 11:42

So here we are. It is Saturday, the 7th of June. I am at Suffolk Backyard Ultra. Kev and I have got a pretty decent spot. We thought it was next to the corral, but it turns out it's not. Um, but anyway, it's near the loos, um, and I'm just doing a little roaming walk around now. So, yeah, the atmosphere's really cool. There's like lots of group photos being taken place under the backyard ultra sign. Um and solo photos too. Um, someone uh is having one done now. Uh so we've got the solo crew areas, uh, we have got the race registration and um drinks area, that's all down in one end. Um the time right now is 11:23, so we do not have too long until kickoff. Um the grounds are actually really huge, so there's about I'd say 300 to 325 competitors. Um, with that comes a lot of tents, but to be honest, because there's so much space here, it doesn't feel that busy, it's still surprisingly got an intimate feel to it. Um, I am approaching a big area where my friend Dom is hanging out, and his wife Christina and their friend Lucy, who's right in front of me. This is Lucy's first ever backyard ultra. Are you going for massive numbers, Lucy? And hello, by the way. Hello, who knows? We'll try for 12. Okay, 12 is a very that's a very good start. Um, so we start at 12 o'clock today. So that means you finish at midnight. So really you need to do more than 12, otherwise, it's a bit rubbish uh finishing in the middle of the night. Okay, let's try for sunrise then. Okay, sunrise. Um, and how are you feeling about this? Excited. Okay, I'm loving the one-word. I've been giving this podcast and I want to do well, and you're giving me one-word answers. Um I'm glad you're excited. Any other words?

SPEAKER_06 13:54

I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready to go. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 13:58

Okay, that's good. Lucy is ready, and Dom says she's after my total. Right, here's Dom. He's just doing something with his feet. How are you, Dom?

SPEAKER_19 14:04

My gammy toes. Uh yeah, feeling about as good as you can do. Yeah, yeah. Ready to go, just want to get started, you know.

SPEAKER_04 14:11

And you're here um to support my Christina.

SPEAKER_07 14:15

Yes. Um, yeah, we're gonna try. I'm gonna try beat my previous 12, so I'm gonna try and do a PB. We'll see how it goes. Aiming for 15. Yeah, see if the body holds up. And what happens when you get to 13 yards? Then, oh, and then you're gonna give me a beautiful new hoodie. Absolutely. In exchange for a cupcake.

SPEAKER_04 14:36

Two cupcakes, we really. All right, two cupcakes. Okay, but are you are you all feeling super excited here though?

SPEAKER_07 14:42

Yeah, we're ready. We just want to get going and yeah, I think we're prepared. Cool, cool. Good setup going on. We're ready.

SPEAKER_04 14:48

It's it's a very impressive setup. Thank you very much for talking to me. Yay. Right, I'm gonna go and find another. I'm gonna find another victim. Right, I'm gonna I'm gonna keep I'm gonna keep roaming around and I'm gonna go over to the other side. Uh well, hopefully we can find Vic, Julie, and Ian. Uh, I'm hoping the fact that I know people here will make the podcasting thing easier. Oh yes, I can see Luke. Right. Okay, so the tents are like set up. Um, it's kind of festival style. Not that I've ever been to a festival, but this is how I imagine a festival to be. Um, they're all in rows with nice walkways going through. Hello, Luke. I have a podcast in my hand. How are you?

SPEAKER_20 15:32

Hello, podcast in your hand. I'm I'm very well, thank you.

SPEAKER_04 15:37

Um, what is your plan today?

SPEAKER_20 15:39

Um, I'm going to run and try and keep running.

SPEAKER_04 15:42

Excellent. I like that plan. Oh, and Luke has a drone in his hand, which I'm very excited about because it does really, really cool footage. Um, I'm gonna ask you a couple of questions. What's your favourite backyard ultra snack?

SPEAKER_20 15:55

Oh um, probably um I don't know actually. Probably bananas.

SPEAKER_04 16:03

Okay, and what is your favourite um backyard bit of kit?

SPEAKER_20 16:09

Um my dinosaur outfit.

SPEAKER_04 16:12

Oh my god, yes, thank you very much, Luke. They were good answers. I shall leave you to it. Right, who have we got in here? Hello Julie, can I come in with my shoes on? Great. Um, how are you today? I'm good, thank you. She's eating a massive cookie. So um Julie's recently won a race, haven't you? Yes. Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_08 16:34

Um I was running Cardiff to London, um so 200 miles, um, and it was hot.

SPEAKER_04 16:41

And she did very, very well.

SPEAKER_08 16:44

What was your time? I can't remember.

SPEAKER_04 16:47

Oh my gosh. 56 hours something. That is very impressive. I'm gonna ask you the same questions I asked Luke, uh, if I can remember what they are. Oh yes, what's your favourite backyard snack?

SPEAKER_08 16:59

Um that depends. Depends on how you're feeling. Depends if you're in a sweet mood. Savory mood? If you're in a sweet mood. Sweet mood. It'll be one of these cookies. And if you're in a savory mood, probably a baby bell. Oh yes, okay.

SPEAKER_04 17:14

And then the second question is what is your favourite bit of backyard kit that you can't live without or you can't backyard without?

SPEAKER_07 17:23

I don't know.

SPEAKER_08 17:24

I don't particularly have anything because I we quite often Ian and I travel light, so we've packed the bare minimum, so I can kind of manage on very little. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 17:34

Sorry. I'm failing at my first ever podcast takeover. Right, Vic, Vic, Vic, okay, Julie's gone for shoes, right? Vic, you have got to save the day. Okay, this is I've been handed this podcast um to take over, um, and I'm trying to get exciting answers from people. Earlier I had Lucy who gave me one-word answers. Thanks, Lucy.

SPEAKER_08 17:58

Um, yes, okay, which which is not Lucy. That's Orkney. Orkney course is just amazing.

SPEAKER_04 18:06

How far is that from home? Um that sounds like it's Scotland. Yeah, yeah, it's it's an island. It's it's the island, it's brilliant.

SPEAKER_08 18:15

Um it's in a place called Twat.

SPEAKER_04 18:18

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_08 18:20

And it's absolutely brilliant. It's not the flattest, of course, it's got quite a big hill in it, and it's an out and back. Okay. Um, but it's really good fun. At the turnaround, they have the party caravan that has people with music 24-7.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

That sounds amazing.

SPEAKER_08 18:34

And there's some of the locals come out and cheer you past, and it's just really good fun.

SPEAKER_04 18:39

Okay, so Orkney Backyard Ultra in Twax. Yes, okay. Right, that's thank you very much, Judy. That was good. Right, Vic. Um, so that's now I've got three questions. Um so the first one is what's your favourite backyard altar snack?

SPEAKER_05 18:55

Bananas. That's what Luke says. Bananas, banana puree, banana flavoured drinks, bananas in general, banana flapjacks.

SPEAKER_04 19:03

And then the second question is your uh bit of kit that you can't live without. Oh fluffy socks. Oh, I like it, like it. And then Julie's third question favourite backyard culture. Oh, hang on, I need to introduce Vic. Uh just assuming everyone knows. Vic is like the backyard queen. She's done 12 backyard ultras in, I think, less than 12 months. In yeah, 12 backyard ultras in 10 months because she is absolutely mental in the best possible way. Um, so she really knows her backyard courses. So, which is your favourite course?

SPEAKER_05 19:41

It is Russell Bark Sherwood Pine. Yeah! It was my first ever backyard ultra. So, and then I PB'd on it, and then it was my dad's first and only backyard ultra. He's 74, and he did a backyard ultra, and we run those yards together. So it's like triple A special, and it is the most beautiful course and the most like encouraging, amazing atmosphere.

SPEAKER_04 20:02

Yeah, that is amazing. I love it. Thank you so much, Vic. I'm gonna hang up for now.

SPEAKER_10 20:32

We have a medical that virtue. I don't need to add any voice to the doctor, but I just want to die.

SPEAKER_09 20:41

I don't have to do that.

SPEAKER_10 20:42

I didn't have to do it.

SPEAKER_04 21:02

Right, so uh I am here with Tom and Daisy. I know these two because Tom did the Wild Horse last year, and Daisy is his other half. Yes, yes, yeah. So uh Tom and Daisy, hi. Uh how many backyard ultras have you done before?

SPEAKER_18 21:16

Uh zero.

SPEAKER_04 21:17

Oh, and um are you are you doing this one together or are you running separately?

SPEAKER_06 21:21

Um probably separately. Tom's a bit quicker than me.

SPEAKER_18 21:23

We'll see, we'll see.

SPEAKER_06 21:25

Do you uh do you have any plans as to how many yards you want to do? Um I'm just gonna do as many as I can today. Um haven't done much training to be quite perfectly honest. So we'll we'll see how it goes.

SPEAKER_18 21:36

Tom I'm counting it as a new event, so more than one, I'll be happy.

SPEAKER_04 21:40

Basically, because it's your first time, every lap is a PB. I like it. And how are you? I let me try and be clever. In three words, how are you feeling about this event, Daisy?

SPEAKER_06 21:52

Ooh, um nervous, um c confused, um, excited.

SPEAKER_18 22:00

Brilliant.

SPEAKER_06 22:01

Tom, three words.

SPEAKER_18 22:02

Yeah, the same. Confused, confused, confused, actually. I don't know what I'm meant to be doing, how fast I'm meant to be doing, what I'm meant to be eating.

SPEAKER_04 22:10

Brilliant. Thanks so much, guys. Thank you. Right, I'm here with Dan. Now Dan has uh I'm attracted to Dan because he is in the world's smallest tent. I have never seen anything so tiny in all my life. And he sat here looking cozy as anything. He's got everything he needs. Hi Dan. Um have you done a backyard ultra before?

SPEAKER_10 22:29

No, never.

SPEAKER_04 22:30

Oh my gosh, how are you feeling about this backyard ultra?

SPEAKER_10 22:33

A little bit anxious.

SPEAKER_04 22:35

And do you have a uh distance in mind?

SPEAKER_10 22:38

I'd like to reach a hundred. So a hundred yards? Um no, a hundred miles. So 20, so 24, 24 yards would be good. Um I've done 50 odd races. So anything beyond 50 would be good. But if I got to 24 yards, a hundred miles, that would be good.

SPEAKER_04 22:59

So what's your your distance PB? It's 50 miles, isn't it? Yeah, just over 50. Okay, yeah, yeah. Amazing. So looking looking to double your distance. Hopefully. I absolutely think you can do this because you've got the right course and the right environment for this, uh, and an amazing attendance setup. Uh talk us through, what have you got in here?

SPEAKER_10 23:17

Oh, I've got um tons, tons of nutrition, I've got loads of different um drinks, powders, and uh I've got watermelon, I've got cheese and pickle sandwiches, uh orange, salted potatoes, uh loads of gels, wagon wheels. Wagon wheels, Snickers, uh flapjacks, peanuts, uh kind of everything that I might fancy. Yeah, excellent.

SPEAKER_04 23:46

It looks like you're I mean, considering it's your first backyard ultra, you look like you're super organised. I actually thought you were gonna tell me this was like your fifth or something. You look very pro. And I'm stealing this joke from someone else, but I also see he has a hammer in here. Is the hammer for when you are down to the final two people?

SPEAKER_10 24:04

No.

SPEAKER_04 24:06

Brilliant, right? Thanks so much, Dan. I'm here with Rachel, she's the wife of Simon. Tell me about Simon and what he is gonna do this weekend.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

Well, he's he's crazy enough to say you should never set limits. When you all the YouTube videos you watch, they all say don't set a limit because you'll stop. So he's decided that his limit is just to win it. Basically, that's the only way he can not stop. So that's what his goodness try and do.

SPEAKER_04 24:38

He has I've seen uh step back a bit, I've seen on his Instagram he has a number in mind.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

Yeah, 90.

SPEAKER_04 24:47

How many miles?

SPEAKER_02 24:48

Oh, I've forgotten.

SPEAKER_04 24:52

What's the charity he's doing it for?

SPEAKER_02 24:53

It's for the Prince of Wales hospice in Pontyract, where uh they looked after his sister five years ago when she passed away.

SPEAKER_04 25:00

Well, I wish him the best of luck. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

Thank you.

SPEAKER_10 25:06

One minute, guys! Remember, guys, at four o'clock in the morning, you paid for this shit. Okay, it's not my fault. Twenty seconds, guys!

SPEAKER_04 25:32

Okay, oh thank you. Right I'm here with Gareth Jones, uh, or Mr. Jones, maybe, and then by the end of this it will be Jonesy, hopefully. Uh so you did your first yard in 30 minutes. What is your game plan?

SPEAKER_12 25:44

Uh so my game plan is I I run a social media page called Mental Health Wanderer, and everyone on there told me to go out and just take it easy. Um I don't particularly like listening to people, so I just went out and just I haven't run since the Marathon Desabs of Alter Trail a couple of weeks ago, so I just went out and got rid of the cobwebs, you know.

SPEAKER_04 26:02

Sounds good to me. And are you here for the long haul or have you got a set distance in mind?

SPEAKER_12 26:07

Um I mean I think everyone wants to run as far as as far as possible, and I always give 100% into everything I do, so we'll just see how the body holds up. Um it's been a tough couple of months, but um yeah, let's just go just enjoy it.

SPEAKER_04 26:20

Is this your first backyard ultra or have you done one before?

SPEAKER_12 26:22

Uh I've done quite a few. Um I held my own last year called Jonesy's Backyard Ultra, which was you know, it was it was something to be old, but um yeah, I've done quite a few now.

SPEAKER_09 26:32

And what's your PB?

SPEAKER_12 26:33

Uh my PB was 24 hours on my own.

SPEAKER_04 26:37

Excellent. And then on the uh organised backyard ulters, what's your PB?

SPEAKER_12 26:41

Uh 32.

SPEAKER_04 26:42

Fantastic. So it's 1247. Uh when the runners started, the weather was quite fine. Um I'm uh standing here with an umbrella that is absolutely peeing it down. Um we had so um you know Gareth Jones came in at 30 minutes, um there was a handful of people up to him, and then the runners are coming in thick and fast. Um it's gonna be interesting to see what time Kev comes in. Um we'll probably use that as the basis for the rest of his yards. Um or the or maybe this first one might be a little bit quicker, we should see. Um yeah, so I'll try and grab Kev when he comes in off the first yard and see what he thinks of the course. Just describe some of the runners to you. So you've got a real mixed bag here. You've got some looking extremely serious, uh, some running quite fast, some casually strolling. Uh one guy's just checked his watch and done a very interesting facial expression at his uh time. Uh and yeah, some are just in groups chatting, some are solo, everyone's looking uh the the rain's just stopped actually, but that was um a short, sharp downpour, and everyone's looking quite bedraggled already. Uh so actually I think already this is gonna just sort of make it fairly interesting because getting this damp early on um means you know, if if people have you know if they've got soaked through at the beginning uh and they're still feeling fresh, they might not be too bothered about changing their clothes and then they could regret that later because they could really start feeling the cold. Um we've got one lady coming in now who is uh positively bouncing in, she looks delighted at hearing that. Hello Dom. So, yes, so still waiting for Kev. We are on 12.51. Uh he did say he was aiming for 51 to 55 minute yard times. Right and Paul, how was it? Oh yeah, amazing as always. Well I've kept entertaining the whole area.

SPEAKER_13 28:54

Yeah, well, Paul got me round actually because he had the pace in on 53 minutes, so all good.

SPEAKER_04 29:01

Yeah, that's that's perfect timing for my first yard.

SPEAKER_10 29:03

I'm pausing it as well. I'm pausing it so we get the first impressions of the routes.

SPEAKER_13 29:08

Yeah, it's all right. Yeah, yeah, downhill for a mile and a half, and just a drag of nothing, and then it all seemed to be downhill again. Oh, okay. It's really, really easy, wide open tracks, yeah, exactly all through the forest, just nice.

SPEAKER_04 29:26

I'm taking a pee. Here's Dan. How was the first yard, Dan?

SPEAKER_10 29:32

It was nice, lovely route, and um, but I ran it a little bit too quickly. Came in about 45 minutes, so I'm gonna slow down on the next one.

SPEAKER_04 29:44

Sounds like a good plan, well done. Right, I'm here with Duncan who has just rung the bell. Tell me, Duncan, how was your race?

SPEAKER_14 29:53

Um I was actually good, my legs are feeling good, but I just don't run fast enough to get the restart and go again.

SPEAKER_04 30:02

So you you got timed out on this lap, did you?

SPEAKER_14 30:04

No, I didn't get timed out on the I I came back with two minutes of spare and then I went out again and then turned round.

SPEAKER_04 30:10

Oh okay, fair enough. Um but you're still smiling, so I'm thinking you had a pretty good time.

SPEAKER_14 30:15

Yeah, I had a good time and in the back of my head and I got a dive five hundred miles back up Denver's. I don't know how long that's gonna I don't know how long that's gonna take me.

SPEAKER_04 30:28

And how many so hang on, how many miles have you run today?

SPEAKER_14 30:31

Well that four laps. Four laps, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:36

Okay, so okay, so that is a big round trip. Um but I really yeah it looks like you've enjoyed yourself. So uh lovely. Thanks very much. Right, Grumpy Runners. Just Grumpy Grumpy Grumpy is here and he's just about to tell me something very interesting.

SPEAKER_17 30:53

I think you've over uh oversold it.

SPEAKER_09 30:56

Is that where you're ignore the bike?

SPEAKER_17 31:01

Yeah, so I've I first volunteered a few years ago um and and I rocked up and it was absolute chaos because it was just so many people and everyone wants hot water, especially it's when it gets to darkness and it's it's proper crazy. Um and and then suddenly once the first 24 hours is out of the way and the majority of the runners have sort of dropped out, it suddenly goes to this deathly quiet. And this was the year when John Stocker and Matt Blackburn were um finding it out, and we got to the first hour, uh well to like um I know what it was, 30 something hours, 30, 40 hours when the third place person dropped out, and you've got these two sort of going, oh well, we just like we'll we'll call it quits after about five more, and and we'll be like, Yeah, great. And and we're all like, No, you've got to battle it out to the end, and they're like, nah. So then we started trying to find ways of enticing them into doing a bit more, and it was uh well the British record is or the course record was the first thing that they had to chase down, then it was the British record, which like wasn't that far ahead, then it was like European, and it was like, Oh, brilliant, okay, we've beaten that, and then I was talking to Matt Blackburn, and and he was like, I've had it, I can't do anymore. And we threw down you're so close to getting Courtney DeWalters records and beating her, and then suddenly that flicked a switch in him, and he went, That is like standing on the shoulder of giants, and and so he got when they got to that, they were like, This is amazing, and then it was like it's another 10 or so to get the world records, and they were like, Oh, but they they slogged their way through it, and eventually, when it got down to whatever it was, it must have been about 78, I guess. And they were like, This is just like ridiculous, and they both were like, Now we've got the world record, can we just call it quits? And like, no, we've got to just battle it out, and they were like, and um, yeah, they they they it took about three or four laps for them to sort of finally sort of knock each other out, and but it could have been either of them at that point, it was just like brutal, it was brutal.

SPEAKER_04 33:14

That was amazing that you were here for it as well. I thought I would share some tips with you. It's currently 8 22. Kev is out on lap 9. It's we've had quite the torrential downpour, um, so he's had a quick change of clothes, some Vaseline, some tea, and some cake. Uh, he seems to be going very well. Um, but yeah, I'll let you know what I've been, the joys of being crew. So I have been crew before, um, and I have helped out over at events, but I haven't been stationary crew in a base, and I'm also not a camper, so this has been quite the learning experience for me. So um I wasn't sure if I should let Kev know this in person or wait till he hears it on the podcast. But um I was over in the tea tent, funnily enough, and uh chatting to a few people, and while I was over there, I did not realise that my our gazebo blew away and landed on someone's head. Um luckily that someone seems to be completely fine and was very good spirited about it. But I I hadn't I hadn't any clue that the gazebo had blown away. So when I came back to it and I came in, I looked around and I thought, Crack it's like an earthquake's uh gone off because there was just stuff everywhere. So I was sort of casually tidying everything up, thinking maybe a big gust of wind had blown one of the walls and then that had banged everything over on the table. And then I could hear a voice saying, Excuse me! Uh and yeah, this uh very, very kind family had returned to the gazebo. Someone else called John had uh come along with his tent pegs, so we've got much more suitable tent pegs now. And it turns out those little bits of string in the bag, which are called guy ropes, I'm sure this is very common knowledge to most of you. I didn't realise how important they were when it's quite windy. So um this very kind family whose wife was hit on the head with a gazebo have uh re-erected the gazebo, put these guy ropes on. We've got these borrowed tent pegs as well. Uh the wind has settled and now it's raining. So, what I'm discovering is the steady stream um casually flowing through. So I've got a little sponge and I keep mopping the floor and uh and and and cleaning cleaning everything up. So so my tips would be have a gazebo that is windproof and uh this one is rainproof, but the floor um allows water in. And then another little tip is Kev very cleverly bought some bits of string and some pegs. So I've erected washing lines in here so his damp kit can air and dry. Uh, and let's see, oh yes, and another tip is I have a plate for Kev with a selection of food because he's um he's usually quite good at remembering to ask me what he would like to eat, but sometimes he forgets. So I have a plate which currently has ginger, biscuits, cake, and pretzels. So he's got a bit of sweet, a bit of savoury. Uh the ginger is for his tummy feels a bit dodgy, and uh he has got a cup of tea. Apparently he doesn't mind cold tea, which is just as well because the hot water is not very hot. Um so yeah, so that's that's my tips, my weather, uh my weather tips at the moment. I'm sure um I will come up with some more crew tips later on for you all bye for now.

SPEAKER_16 37:21

Uh Matthew Colton.

SPEAKER_04 37:22

And uh I was just eavesdropping and you sound in all of these runners.

SPEAKER_16 37:26

Oh god, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:27

Are you a runner yourself?

SPEAKER_16 37:28

Absolutely not, um, which makes it even more of a I I don't know how they're still standing, to be honest. It's just incredible, yeah. I think to not only just to run this distance, but to keep stopping, having your body sort of half-seas up, run again. Just yeah, it's just how does the human body manage it? I don't know. So hats off to all of them, and it's been chucking it down. Like mentally, how you sort of come back in freezing cold, soaking wet, go again, they don't want to eat, they don't want to drink, they don't want to do anything, but yeah, just so are you here as crew or crew, yeah, yeah. Just a good friend of mine, yeah. Just needed someone to try and feed him and try and get some fluids in.

SPEAKER_04 38:02

What sort of state is he in at the moment?

SPEAKER_16 38:04

He's I think this may be the end.

unknown 38:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_16 38:07

He's only he's done a marathon before, so to go, you know, 40 minutes.

SPEAKER_04 38:10

Until you know the numbers, what yard are we on?

SPEAKER_16 38:12

Er we are on lap 11, I think. So I'm guessing he's on about 45, 46 miles or something like that. Yeah, I mean, when you've only ever done 26 in one go, that's pretty bad go. Yeah, he's just done a marathon. Yeah, he's done a marathon, he's never done one of these before.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

So I think, you know, brilliant.

SPEAKER_16 38:32

And yeah, all of them. I mean, I don't know how they do it. Uh people you hear about people going to Tuesday, World Records on Wednesday or something. They're machines, aren't they? I think they you have to you have to learn this stuff. But it's amazing, it's brilliant. It's been fantastic, everyone loves it. And I think what also is good about the event, they um no one's competing against anyone else, so everyone's helping each other. Yeah, you know, you can walk and run, and there's no competitive edge to it, so it's um much nicer spirit, I think, than some of the competitive racing. So it's been great, doing amazing. Yeah, thank you. No, no way, thank you.

SPEAKER_04 39:02

It's 3 46 in the morning, Sunday morning. Uh Kev is currently out on his 16th yard. He came in, he gave me a bit of a scare when he came in off 15 because he came in, I think it was after the three-minute whistle. So I actually was on my I was running back to the gazebo to grab his go bag, um, a snack and a drink, so I that I could meet him as he crossed the line. But um, yeah, so he didn't didn't quite get as far as the gazebo off the back of 15. He just uh used the used the railings, did a bit of stretching. Um he had some caffeine, he was ready for some parasitimo, and then he had a really, really good hang on, sorry, I'm telling you the wrong thing. It was lap fourteen, it was lap fourteen that he came in um with not too much time to spare. And then he he did lap fifteen in a really, really good time. Uh he said he's he set out a bit quicker so that he was with the main with the main pack. He I think he ran a lot of that yard with Dom. Um so yeah, so he came back, totally different person actually. Uh four fourteen was uh he was looking a bit sorry for himself, and fifteen he was um looking very awake and agile. So let's ha see how he comes in off the next one. He should be in uh hopefully within the next well and maybe in about five minutes time. But I just heard the b first bird song, which is very exciting, and I'm sure that the sun is beginning to rise because the sky does look slightly less dark, and I have to comment on the moon last night, it was absolutely stunning, uh really, really beautiful. So, yeah, it's been it's been a really nice night actually, not no rain, not windy, um, and the runners are just yeah, they're just chugging along, getting it done. Bye for now. I'm in the medical tent with Bruce, and I'm gonna see if I can gleam any uh interesting gossip from him, no names. Um, but yeah, what sort of casualties have you seen over the course of the race so far?

SPEAKER_15 41:12

So it's been a relatively quiet race from that point of view there. We've had a few things to do with some foot care, blister taping and draining, and a few strapping up of knees, ankles, and a couple of people feeling a bit faint and sick after finishing their races, really. Okay, so it sound sounds like the usual kind of the usual sort of things that you expect from any kind of distance running event. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:35

Yeah, no crazy stories.

SPEAKER_15 41:37

No, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing terribly exciting from that point of view.

SPEAKER_04 41:41

And did you find there was a rush hour?

SPEAKER_15 41:43

Uh we had a little bit of about a couple of hours ago on the last one where we actually had a couple of people just uh within a few minutes of each other both feeling a bit unwell, but aside from that, uh yeah, it's been like been a relatively steady but slow stream.

SPEAKER_04 41:57

No cues out the door then. No, no. Brilliant, cool. Well, thanks ever so much. That's quite alright. Take care.

SPEAKER_15 42:04

Okay, then right.

SPEAKER_04 42:07

I'm here with Jim. Uh it was his second ever backyard ultra. How did it go?

SPEAKER_11 42:13

It went well until like what was it, lap 13? My head fell off a bit. And then uh yeah, I just had to grind it out, and that last lap was just I'd got in with like 30 seconds, had no nutrition, and then I walked out and then walked back again. So okay.

SPEAKER_04 42:30

And how'd you feel about it though? I feel good.

SPEAKER_11 42:33

Yeah, it's my longest I've ever done. That's fantastic. Yeah, I'm chuffed. I did I did 17 yards altogether, yeah. Yeah. So I've got over 100k from chuffed.

SPEAKER_04 42:46

See my maths have gone already, so I'm not even I'm not even running. And then what's the plan now?

SPEAKER_11 42:52

Uh some some warm food, so hence of chips, and then uh get my sleep. Get some sleep for a few hours and then see what the crack is.

SPEAKER_04 43:00

And what's next after this one?

SPEAKER_11 43:02

Well, I've got Russell Bach, but we'll see what happens. Cool.

SPEAKER_04 43:08

Well, well done for today. Well today and yesterday.

SPEAKER_11 43:11

You did a bad job. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 43:16

It's 4 55 in the morning, and Kev is just running towards me. See if we can grab a few words from him. Hiya, Kev. So uh there were 271 starters. Yeah. When I checked at 4 30, there was only 70 left.

SPEAKER_13 43:33

Oh really? Wow.

SPEAKER_04 43:35

How's it going?

SPEAKER_13 43:37

Well, still in there, hanging in. Um hello everybody. First time you've heard me on the podcast. Um what was that? Do you know?

SPEAKER_03 43:49

Uh that was like 15, I think.

SPEAKER_13 43:53

Right, okay. Yeah, so yeah, getting round, getting it done. Hanging in there. Um Yeah, I'm afraid not too bad, isn't it? So Yeah, I haven't been on here because I've just been concentrating and Lizzie's been doing all the work, which is excellent. Um can I get some coke? So I'm just sat in my chair and getting fed or water anyway, at least. And next life I'm gonna go for a shoe change and something change. And just heading for I need to get to the twenty-four mark and then pay me, which is twenty-six. I think the race record for sixty-five plus is twenty-eight. So that's the target.

SPEAKER_04 45:06

And that was Kev's seventeenth lap. Right, I'm just with Dave, he's the media guy. He also does the spine. So Kev, you'll be seeing Dave in uh yeah, when you do the winter spine. So Dave, what have you seen today or yesterday?

SPEAKER_01 45:28

Well, today has been quite an interesting morning. Um the wind has been up, so it's been quite chilly. So all the competitors who've been a little bit cold overnight because of that early rain in the evening yesterday, they still haven't had that opportunity to warm up again. Uh, I think what we're finding now is as the sun's coming out, they're starting to find a rhythm, but we're also reaching a point where we're going to cross that 100-mile marker for a lot of the competitors. So it might be that we see a number of people dropping out of midday today, not because of any of the conditions, but just because they have that milestone. Um I'm thinking now, really, we might only have five or six people who are committed to going towards that 60 60 hour marker, and um that for me I think is quite exciting because they're they're gonna get a lot of attention all by themselves, and everyone else just gets to watch them and support them. And I think that's when we're gonna see the true um sort of spirit of a backyard ultra of trying to keep people going.

SPEAKER_04 46:23

Yeah, I can't wait. I've just counted actually. There's about someone told me when you get to the 24-hour marker, there's usually about 10% of the field in, and I just counted this there's uh 30, I think it was 34 roughly that are still in. So that's quite a good. I think that 10% is is it's quite good. I think we're two seven five starters, I think.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

I think so, yeah. Um I mean to be above 10% now is good. Um we'll see what it's like when it comes to lap 25 and whether we still have above 10%. Uh I know that other events with bigger fields will they'll have maybe even 100 people still in the race at that point, but that's purely by the the depth of talent that's available. Whereas here I think we're going to have a very sharp end to the field of people who are very capable of pushing to that very, very top level.

SPEAKER_04 47:12

Great, thanks ever so much, Dave, for your time and enjoy the rest of your day today. Well done, Care Francia! You wanted to take a little bag at the rest of us. I don't know. Everyone keeps asking me about it, so uh you can't you have to do it. That's why I was I was getting a little bit twitchy because I was like, you need to come in soon because I want you to eat. Well, I didn't ask me to do it.

SPEAKER_13 47:47

Well, I went off a quick, but it's not with a group, I just you know you can't tell you what they've run you do.

SPEAKER_06 48:00

Expect to five stuff. My last one.

SPEAKER_04 48:03

I hope you don't mind. Oh, I didn't lend it. I gave it to them. You will find if they end up easy for you, I won't tell you. I believe it's about 20. Is this a 24?

SPEAKER_13 48:24

Yeah. What call is that?

SPEAKER_04 48:26

Oh, you're about to go on your 100 miles. Come on, mate. Right. We're gonna have to stand up to see, I think. We are on fifty well, we're on 58, so we need one more whistle and then you can stand up. I had a great interview with um Dave, the oh sorry, the um media guy. I told him to look out for you on the spine.

SPEAKER_13 48:56

Thanks, Lizzie.

SPEAKER_04 48:57

Mike, you're welcome. See you later. Any requests for the next lap? Coke, coke, coke, okay. So, as well as an atmosphere, I would say there is a smell, there's an underlying odour BL. Smells like hard work. I'm not saying that's you. I think it's mind effort. I've been told it's a South South African horn, lots of clapping and cheering. Um, so this is a really big milestone, and for many, this is when the next yard is when the real race begins. So we would expect a number of runners to pull out after this yard because they've reached a 100-mile milestone. So this is where you figure out who was in it for 100 miles and who's in it for the long haul. So the runners are coming in in an array of states. I'm not gonna name names, um, you'll know why in a minute. So some are dancing, some oh gosh, uh Alana's doing a sprint finish. Oh, I said I wasn't gonna do names, uh, although that's fine. Uh, someone came in that had clearly uh had a messy accident, shall we say? Um wow, this is an epic, epic sprint finish. Um, some people are going in and worshipping the ground. Uh oh my gosh, the two-minute whistle just went, but it was a joke. There's actually 12 minutes to go. I was I was about to have a messy accident then. We've got people skipping over the line. There's a few tears, a few kisses. Just a few more competitors to come in. The time is eleven fifty-two, so I'll expect Kevin about three minutes. Great stuff! This way. You have a milkshake. I know, I've got so many treats. Uh fresh water, normal water, custic. Normal water, yeah. If you what do you want? Coffee? Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 52:14

Do you want it next? Yeah, I've got red and blue. Oh yeah, or the pro shirt.

SPEAKER_09 52:21

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:24

I've got a mosquito. Okay. Yeah, but you you're come on, you you're doing this is so you're gonna match your PB on the next yard, then the one after that you have PB, and then you're literally a hop and a jump away from a UK record. A UK record. Okay. We are recording, so if you want to have to say any words of wisdom, don't run a backyard. Okay, so Graham, excellent as always, Kev. Posted looking great. Dom, brilliant work great, Kev. Keep it coming. Sandra, fab effort, all the best for today. Dean, absolutely smashing it, buddy. Super consistent. Uh that was Dean Callaway, Dean Thomas. Awesome effort, Kev. Keep it going with a selection of emojis. Uh, keep street steaming on, Kev. And Ethan, go, go, go, kiss, kiss.

SPEAKER_11 53:26

Oh, my grandson.

SPEAKER_04 53:27

Ah, then we have Julie Leopard. Awesome, Kev, such consistent laps, loving watching your miles tick up. Caroline Dobbin, great to see you start each new lap. Awesome effort, so nearly at your goal. Keep going at your first goal, I would would say. That's the one.

SPEAKER_13 53:47

Thank you, everybody, for the nice ejects.

SPEAKER_06 54:49

So uh like PB, PB.

SPEAKER_04 55:03

Well done, this way. Well done. Right. If we stick into the spreadsheet, you've got beer and chocolate. Is that what you would like? Oh yeah, I'll buy a bit of chocolate. I'll have a drunk of beer.

SPEAKER_13 55:19

Nice. Cheese. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 55:28

Do you want um hydration? Was it just plain water? So Kev has just achieved his PB and he's celebrating with an alcohol-free beer.

SPEAKER_13 55:46

Yes, lovely. Edding uh Vice I know. Is it vice beer? No, isotonic it says, but yeah, rather nice. Fir first one.

SPEAKER_04 55:58

You've got four minutes to enjoy it.

SPEAKER_13 56:01

That's not bad actually, is it? So yeah, I will enjoy it. So I've got two more to do, that's the important bit. I will be the men's 65 plus British champion.

SPEAKER_04 56:18

That is pretty epic. Well done, Kev. So Kev's just running in to nab himself a UK record for his age category. This means he is completing his twenty-eighth yard. Congratulations, congratulations on your UK records. Fantastic. I have gotten it.

SPEAKER_13 56:57

Yeah, cheers, thanks very much. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 57:01

Are you up for some cheese chips? Can you manage it? Are you up? Oh tea, I've got tea.

SPEAKER_13 57:07

Yeah, I didn't take those um salt tablets, did I?

SPEAKER_04 57:11

Um, did you not?

SPEAKER_13 57:13

I don't know, I can't remember.

SPEAKER_04 57:14

No, you did, you had them with milkshake, didn't you? Or was that ship? No, that was your salt tablets. How good are those chips?

SPEAKER_13 57:22

Absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_04 57:24

How good does it feel to be a UK record holder?

SPEAKER_13 57:27

Really, really special.

SPEAKER_04 57:29

Did you run that yard with someone?

SPEAKER_13 57:31

Um, yeah, Stuart. Who um yeah got me round because I was walking and he said, Come on, let's get this record.

SPEAKER_04 57:42

I mean I must admit I did shed a little tear there. And so is everyone at Heart Road on his messages that are coming in are phenomenal.

SPEAKER_13 57:53

Thanks.

SPEAKER_03 57:58

Well done. I'm honoured to shake your hand and you may ring the bell. And then I'm afraid you know what you have to do. Two, three, eight. There you are, I have to cross it out. You do, my love, I'm afraid. Well done. And for all your hard earned Yeah, look at that.

SPEAKER_13 58:26

There you are. DNF. A dog tag.

SPEAKER_03 58:28

A dog tag, incredible. So so proud. Oh absolutely amazing. I read you can longer.

SPEAKER_12 58:36

Yeah, very like all that. Well done. Well done. Well done, well, well done. Can I get a quick uh right?

SPEAKER_13 58:49

Can you say your name, please? Kevin Mann. How did it go? Uh it went really well. Yeah, and a great result. Um, really tough towards the end, but yeah, it it everything went right, which was amazing. 30 laps is is something else. So is that what you were hoping for today? I I was yeah, I was hoping to get that British over 65's record, so that was 28. So I thought, oh, if there's any more in the tank, put a couple more on it. Maybe it'll be more difficult for somebody to get. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_18 59:22

Yeah, had that margin. Yeah, that's right. Well, well done, and what an amazing achievement. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_13 59:28

Thanks very much. Great event as well. That concluded my involvement in the Suffolk Backyard Ultra. Uh I'm sorry that this podcast has got a little bit self-indulgent, um, but I hope it has also provided some inspiration for everyone to keep up their running and ultra distance aims. Uh there's no such thing uh in my ideas these days as old as in the chronological terms. Health and fitness levels would be a much better way of judging longevity. When I DNF'd on thirty yards, the nearest competitor in age to me was forty-seven, exactly twenty years younger than me. I hope that every one of you are still setting targets and achieving running, or for that matter, life aims, well into later life. Uh I must thank uh a lot of people actually who helped me get round this event uh and get to where I did. Firstly, Paul Telford, who must have run, I don't know, ten yards with me or so. Absolute blast, real laugh. We had a really good time doing it, made the early yards go by really quickly. Manuel Nicholas, who I haven't seen since the King Alfred's Way 200, really great to see him again because I did quite a bit of miles at the end of that race with him. And it was nice to pass each other quite a bit towards the end, keep each other going. Uh special thanks to Dom, who has been referred to as Dom, I think, all the way through this podcast. His name's Dominique Halbert and his wife Christina Halbert. Uh Christina got twelve done, which is a really great effort, and Dom was running around in advance of her slightly getting stuff prepped. Uh so he was doing her crewing for twelve yards before he got going. So that's a great effort by him, and then he was just constantly encouraging uh me whenever we passed or saw each other out on the course. Um I also like to thank all the guys in the corral past 28 yards who gave me so much encouragement, um, especially Stuart Deadman, uh, who paced me to the record on yard 28. Uh, he picked me up about I don't know, a mile or so in uh as I was walking, and uh said, Come on, let's get on with it and get this record. And it was really good to chat to him, and it's really funny how your mind when you're talking to somebody else goes off what you're doing, and you just it's like going out with a run with a friend. Uh so that was really good. Um, and I have to also mention Andy Ims, a top bloke. Um, Andy did 41. I know he might have been looking for more because I think 41's around his PB, but what a guy. I mean, the race didn't get going for him until about 30, I shouldn't think. He was strolling round, chatting to everybody, uh running at his own pace, stopping when he wanted to, picking up the pace when he wanted to, and just generally seemed to be enjoying the event, and it certainly uh made me realise how good, you know, the the really good guys are uh in this uh ultra running community in the backyard scene every trying to encourage each other to get around. Um also a well done to the last female to stop, Evelina Schnesko, who did 28 yards, well done. There were some really strong women out there. There was one Chinese woman who ran up the only hill in the race every time, and she was the only one I saw do it. She passed me every time up that hill. And then we come to the last two uh Jan Voorsbals of Belgium. Uh what are they putting in that beer in Belgium? But I mean, they I mean they're coming out everywhere and and winning races and producing world records and all team records and everything, so they really are the nation to beat at the moment. So word on to Jan and to his assist, Nima Giavarti of Switzerland, who timed out on 41-49th yard, giving uh Jan the win. But uh I think uh Nima did 55 last year at Suffolk, so obviously he's got more in there, but he certainly pushed Jan all the way on this one. And also, can't leave him out, Lynn Lee Chambers, the RD and owner of Challenge Running, uh, a very brave man to move this event from its well-established base Nettershore uh nature reserve uh and move it over to Thetford Forest. Really good move, in my opinion, fantastic course, ever so fast. Um, any of you top guys out there want to push some times uh sorry, push some distances, uh this is the place to do it now in the UK. I mean it already was the biggest event in the UK, and I think it's just gonna grow even more. There's loads of space there, brilliant camping, the catering arrangements were a really good addition. Um and I can't see it going anywhere else but up, so very good event in my opinion. Uh I know it's already out there to be had if you want to enter for the 2026 race. Uh so get your entries in. I'm not in any commission, so I just think it's so good, it'd be great to have a really good field there of top people going at it. Um because you know, we're all really ultra fans, uh, especially uh the backyard ultra fans uh want to see some big mileage in the UK, I'm sure. And finally, a very, very special thanks to the one and only the wonderful Lizzie Gatherer. Uh Lizzie is ultra mad, ultra fantastic crew, ultra loud cheerleader, ultra motivator, ultra organised, too ultra good at podcast hosting for my liking. How long to the next bloody age station?