Running in the sun

 As part of our planning for the 10 peaks in September, four intrepid TACHers met in Talybont a few weeks ago for a 20 mile run on the route.  As we climbed out of our cars it was obvious that the day would be a hot one - it had been sunny all week.  Now, this is the weird thing- how do you plan for a run up in the Brecons?  No matter what the conditions are like at the car, there is no knowing what it will be like up in the hills.  I found that out during the Brecon 40m when I stood on the start line in my shorts, looked at what everyone else was wearing and quickly popped my tights on.  Very glad I was too; the horizontal rain was freezing.

Anyway, as we climbed it was clear that the day was a scorcher.  I was very glad of the 2 litres of water I took, as well as the fact that we would be stopping at the Storey Arms mid point to refuel.  Chris and Graham decided to cut their run a little shorter, leaving David and I to sweat away on the full route as planned.  We noticed a lot of soldiers on the hills - mostly solo and carrying massive bergens as well as a rifle.  We said hello to quite a few but very rarely got a reply.  David said that they didn't look the ideal types to be up there in full uniform; they looked young and not as craggy as you might hope.  We advised one to get into a stream as he seemed rather bewildered.

A surge of testosterone on the first big hill established me as the fittest, but also the one with the most sore legs for the rest of the run - do I never learn?  David was stronger than me on the second half - although his recent return from Hong Kong hinted at acclimatisation to the heat.  At Storey Arms I took my shirt and shoes off and sat in the stream - bliss.

A horrible crawl back up to Corn Dhu and we were well on route back to the car.  I was very happy at this stage to walk anything that veered from horizontal but unfortunately my plans for strolling were scuppered by a chance meeting with the race organiser for the September race.  He had run the whole 58km in that weather!  He was very pleased to run and chat with us, which of course meant that I had to pretend I wasn't falling apart.  Luckily I am a demon descender and made good use of gravity to pretend I could still run at a decent lick.
Back at the car I was finding breathing difficult; very odd.  David suggested exercise-induced asthma as a cause.  I found it easier to breath through my nose - maybe something to do with controlled breathing - so with me remaining uncharacteristically silent we headed to The Star for refreshments. One pint of coke and ice and I was restored to my usual voluble self.  So, either the cold drink relaxed my pipes or I was suffering low blood sugar I don't know, but it was a relief.

The following day we found out that two of the soldiers on the exercise had died, with another in intensive care.  It seems they weren't prepared for the weather up there, and the Army's response was that the process needs to be tough to select the best soldiers.  I don't know how to respond to that, other than to remind myself of the importance of careful planning.

So, a great run that was very challenging due to the conditions, with a chilling reminder of how easy it is to get it wrong up there.