The Bastion, Hever Castle 2017
In a word ‘TOUGH!’
I have never done an iron distance race before so have nothing really to compare it to, but I can confirm all the reviews and comments made on the race. It is relentless, gruelling, brutal, exhausting, punishing and warrants the huge amount of kudos that comes to those that complete it. If you enjoy the ‘suffer’ and think your tough enough then this race is certainly one to have in your portfolio.
The race is based in the beautiful grounds of Hever Castle, swimming in the huge lake and along the River Eden that feeds the lake, then riding out into the Kent and East Sussex countryside. The run then returns to the grounds of both Hever Castle and Chiddingstone castle.
Swimming is my favourite discipline, I love my OWS and and out of all the places that I have swum this is one of my favourite, a long straight stretch of 500-600m allows the field to sort itself out before the first buoy. Then its a quick loop around the top of the lake and you head back along the river. The river is quite narrow but quite intimate with over hanging trees and vegetation, it meanders around so sighting is more important than most races otherwise you’ll end up on the reeds. The swim goes under a couple of foot bridges which is perfect for supporters who get to see you 4 times over the course of 2 laps. The only issue is in a couple of patches the water is very shallow, understandable considering it is a man made lake, but I did find myself having to adjust my stroke so as to avoid dragging my knuckles in the mud. I swam well and completed the 3.8km swim in 56mins45secs.
I am not a cyclist, in fact I would go so far as to say I really don’t like the bike discipline. Luckily I am local to the area, so much of my training had been on the course, if I hadn’t known the course before I am sure I would have struggled more than I did. The course is either going up or down all the time, there is no flat anywhere. It is a 3 lapper which I quite like as you don’t have to think in miles or km which I find can be quite daunting – it’s just three, two, one. Despite the hills, it is beautiful and if I hadn’t been blowing so hard up the hills or holding on so tight down the hills I may have enjoyed the views and sunshine. All of the junctions were well marshalled and those that required them had traffic marshals allowing you to race through without stopping, which I’m not sure was a good thing or not. Unfortunately with the hat and hills I was sick at the top of the Ashdown Forest on the last lap with 35km to go, fortunately the main hills had been done so I just nursed the bike home in a little under 7hrs 30 mins.
The run starts in Hever Castle and heads out of the grounds and across to Chiddingston. It is almost all cross country but this time of year the ground was so hard it was like road running – I ran it in racing flats with no problems. Again it is a lapped course, 4 times around the 10km loop, which psychologically (for me at least) makes it easier, although each km was marked. On the course there were 5 feed/water stations and whilst it probably meant for a slower than normal run stopping for 60 seconds every 2km they were necessary after a brutal ride and the really hot temperatures. The stations had plenty of water, cola and energy drink along with gels and jelly babies although disappointing nothing savoury, the only thing I wanted after the second lap was salt. About 6km of the loop was undulating with the rest being flat, I am not sure I would classify it as a hard run in-terms of hills but the cumulative effect of the bike before, my being sick and the temperature meant that I adopted a run/walk strategy. Knowing the course helped at this point as I knew where the hills were and so where I would walk, whilst staying honest on the flats and downhills.
I had looked that times of the previous years results and had seen a lot of people had done 5hr marathons and I had thought at the time that if I was doing that time I would have to be in all sorts of trouble. My time in the run was a 4:41 which is slow and considerably slower than I would expect but my mindset had changed from competitive to survival, I picked my head up and started to smile. I knew that if I kept doing what I was doing I was going to complete the event which was the number one goal so I stuck with it. As the sun and the temperature dropped the run became an absolute pleasure, you don’t often get the opportunity to run through such amazing grounds, with complete strangers absolutely ecstatic for your achievement. I was able to savour those moments which I don’t think I have ever done before whilst racing.