My race calendar for 2023 is taking shape, there are some definite dates in there with races entered, but two big question marks remain and I’m waiting with bated breath for ballot results coming my way on January 1st and 10th respectively.
The spring is ‘sorted’. The main event will be in May: the Dales High Way with Punk Panther, 90 miles from Saltaire to Appleby. Not just a little further than the 81 mile Dalesway which I ran in August, but a lot more elevation (14,000 ft) as well as remote terrain (not least the Howgill Fells) involved. I will be preparing for this race by doing three shorter ultras between now and then, and will also recce the entire route by walking it, in sections, with a friend. I am incredibly excited about it already!
For my other two planned A races in 2023 there is rather more enthusiasm than there are places available, and here the dreaded ballot enters the stage.
At the end of October I hope to run the Snowdonia Marathon Eryri again. This iconic, scenic and very hilly road marathon circumnavigates Snowdon. I have run it 4 times now, in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022. In the past you had to enter at a given time and date and the race invariably sold out within minutes, it was always a bit of a white knuckle ride at the computer keyboard. For a long time the chosen moment was midnight on January 1st and I do remember sitting at a party ignoring all the happy new year hugs, fireworks and Auld Lang Syne singing, completely glued to the screen on my phone to enter this event. The organisers have recently introduced a ballot entry, I am waiting now for the outcome for 2023 which will come into my inbox on January 1st. You had to state how many times you had run the marathon before, but it’s not clear to me how that information will be used in the ballot. A certain percentage of places for runners who have never run the event perhaps? Should loyalty be rewarded in some way, or should we stand aside for others to have a chance now? I have no idea how they will do the allocation, and I am quite glad it’s not my responsibility to design a fair and equitable system, I am just selfishly hoping I will have a place! The hotel is booked anyway 😀
In late summer I very much hope to be on the start line of the CCC in Chamonix. 100km from Courmayeur back to Chamonix, with an allowed time of 26 hours and 30 minutes, and for me definitely a chance of getting timed out, and even if all goes well and I run my best race I know I would not have lots of time to spare! I talked in a recent post about going to Val d’Aran last July, a ‘by UTMB’ race, not just for a brilliant experience running in the Pyrenees, but specifically to obtain these things called ‘Running Stones’ which you need to enter the ballot for the UTMB races in Chamonix. And the more Running Stones you have, the more chances you have of making it through the ballot. For running Val d’Aran we were given double the normal amount of Running Stones which made it doubly worth doing! So I now have 9 Stones which means my name will go into the ballot 9 times. Still, I could be unlucky and fail, but I have high hopes. Ballot result on January 10th. I have some reservations about the direction of travel UTMB is taking, with making participation in their own races the only available route into their key races in Chamonix (OCC, CCC and UTMB). Following my Val d’Aran experience I also wonder if the races are not getting too big and congested, there was a lot more queuing on narrow mountain paths than I had expected. Still, I loved most of it and did feel swept up by the festival atmosphere which is truly special, so my desire to race in Chamonix at least the once remains. I was there in September this year for a couple of days and had a look round, running the last section of the CCC by myself. Let’s hope the ballot will be in my favour 🤞
Still, I should add a massive proviso. I have been very lucky with both good health and absence of injuries in 2022 and am hugely grateful for that. Nothing about health can be taken for granted and I would never do so. Anything can happen, from a twisted ankle to major illness, to radically alter all the best laid training and racing plans. I count my blessings each day!
