Last weekend, Agustín and I headed out to Exmoor for my first race in almost 15 years, and his very first race ever. I did the 10K, and he did the 50K. Because we’re both new to this, I wanted to document my lessons learned. As always, I share my mistakes on the blog and in my books—so that you don’t have to make them, too!

Banner Image by Melk Hagelslag from Pixabay

Lessons learned

Sign up in advance. I’ve already signed up for my next two races. Why? Because I want to be sure they send me my bib in advance. Agustín got his in the post a few days before the race, but because I signed up just two weeks before the event, I had to pick up my bib on the day of the race. I was so nervous, and it was annoying to have one more thing to do before I hit the start line. Next time, I’m planning in advance.

Hills are hard. I tend to forget that I live in a lowland area. The hills are small here. I managed to ignore the fact that the 10K was marked as “Moderate–Strenuous” and that it had 591 meters of ascent. I should have trained differently, adding in more hill training. I’ve got a fantastic hill to do that on, but I was more focused on preparing for the distance. Next time, I’ll train appropriately for the ascent.

Sleep is hard. I don’t usually have trouble sleeping, but we were both nervous the night before the race, and we both had trouble sleeping. I took 5mg of melatonin, and I got to sleep but I couldn’t stay asleep. If I had brought melatonin in 1mg and 3mg, we probably could have gotten a better night’s sleep before the race. Next time, I’ll make sure to bring them—they’ve been added to the packing list.

Caffeine is good. I usually only have one cup of caffeinated coffee or tea each day, and then after that I have decaffeinated coffee or herbal tea. So the few times that I’ve taken caffeine chews when on a hike, I’ve seen great results. I recently had a low energy day when I was walking the Ridgeway, so I ate a caffeine chew and felt fantastic. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring them with me for the race. Next time, I’ll make sure to bring them—I’ve already added them to my packing list.

Fat is satisfying. I don’t eat strict keto, but my way of eating is high fat, low carb—unlike most runners. The event was supposed to be serving venison burgers and beef burgers after the race, which I was looking forward to. But for some reason, they just had pizza, pasties, and jacket potatoes. I scarfed down a very unsatisfying slice of cheese pizza. It was delicious, but I just don’t feel satiated when I eat lots of carbs. Next time, I’ll bring more keto-friendly foods for after the race (and also some protein powder and a shaker bottle).

What I did well

Train for a longer distance. The route was hillier than I expected, but I knew I was good with the distance. I had trained up to 14K in the weeks before the race, so I knew I could do 40% more than the distance I needed to cover on the race. This gave me a lot of confidence, even though the hills were rough.

Relax with Rescue Remedy. I was super nervous the night before and the day of the race, but luckily I brought some Rescue Remedy with me to calm my nerves. As always, it worked! It’s such an easy remedy to nervousness, and it’s easy to pack.

Avoid the ford. There was a point at the beginning of the route where we had to run through a ford. The ford was down to the left, and the river was running swiftly through. It appeared as though I’d get my feet wet during the crossing, so I took the stone bridge that was just to the right of it. The two routes were parallel, so it didn’t feel like cheating, even though the race arrows indicated a ford crossing. Agustín did take the ford, and his feet got soaked, leading to some gigantic blisters on his 50K race.

Bring warm layers. I brought fresh clothes for after the race: a clean base layer, fleece, down jacket, and waterproof to go on top. I also brought a warm hat (which I didn’t need). The first thing I did after my run was to change my clothes. I was so comfortable for the rest of the day.

Make it an excuse to travel. Neither Agustín nor I had ever been to Exmoor before. We stayed in one of the twin seaside villages of Lynton and Lynmouth and walked around a bit the evening before the race. It was so much fun to go on a road trip together (we love listening to podcasts in the car), see a new place, and run in the same event. We’re going to use future races as an excuse to see more of the country.

Related reading

Read about my two adventures along England’s most popular National Trail in this second edition of my book Alone on the South Downs Way. This book contains all the blisters, sweat, and tears from my first life-changing journey—and all the joy, presence, and magic of the second one. More than just a walking travelogue or memoirs of a walking holiday, this book contains my reflections on walking the trail, including lessons learned and practical information to help you plan your hiking adventure. It includes a suggested packing list, gear recommendations, and other useful tips, such as when to walk the trail, where to stay, and how much you’ll need to budget.

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