I’m currently in Vegas having just checked in, I’m visiting 4 cities whilst here in America and two days ago I completed my first 60km ultra marathon in Central Park, New York, known to its regular racers as ‘the loops’.

I was quiet and didn’t know what to expect as I turned up in the morning for the 9 loop run organised by New York Road Runners. The race felt small against the backdrop of New York City which made it feel special and something unique.

The national anthem was sung which gave me the time to recognise where I was and what I was about to do and I found it quite moving. The klaxon sounded and we started. I was very cold by this point and was shivering, I knew I had a tendency to run quicker than I needed at the beginning so made sure I took it easy.

I tagged on to a group of runners who were used to this race, I loved sitting behind them overhearing their American accent and running conversation. I surprised myself by not introducing myself but I was unusually quiet so let myself just be.

I took the first 5.2 mile loop to warm up and check in with myself after which there are 8x 4 mile loops. I didn’t have a clear pacing plan or strategy other than to take it easy and go the distance. I was hoping to complete within 8 hours and harboured a secret desire to do 7:00 or 7:20 ish. I had never ran past 33k before, so this was all new territory.

After the third loop they all started to turn in to one, my focus narrowed and my mind cleared. My mind became only interested in continuing to run, checking in on any twinge, deciding which water to take (electrolyte mix or water), when to eat, what to eat and when or if to go to the loo.

During the run I ate 3 homemade peanut butter sandwiches and two bananas, stopping only briefly to pick them up from the nutrition table. The 2 litre water bladder and 2x 500ml electrolyte premix worked really well and were just running out when I crossed the finish line, I didn’t suffer from cramps or headaches so I think I got the hydration right for that distance!

I had no idea how I was doing compared to anyone else for the whole race which was fine with me, I was racing myself not anyone else. Once I got past the 35k mark I relaxed into it, although I knew I still had a long way to go it felt like the bulk of it was done and I wasn’t in a bad state. I now just needed to accept the process, do the distance and keep on checking in.

It’s strange how minutes, hours, kms, loops all merged. None of it meant as much, time seemed to lose its power over me. I concentrated on the now. There was something very freeing about that.

The final loop came and it was over, I crossed the line, I had to check I hadn’t missed a loop. The nature of the loops means no one knows if you are a finisher or not, you just stop if you are. It was strange being on my own having just finished the most challenging endurance test I’d ever done and now it was over. I took myself off to a bit of grass, sat, put on my lovely new tracksuit bottoms, tried to keep warm although it got colder and colder, stretched and eventually left the park to get the subway back to the hotel.

On the 17th November 2019 I finished 94th out of 375 with a time of 6:13:52, an avg pace of 10:02mpm and 12th out of 36 of my age. More importantly, I broke my own preconceptions about what I can do.

What do you tell yourself you can’t do? You’d be surprised what you can achieve if you allow yourself to.