1d (edited) • 🏅 Races
Race report
Race to the stones, England
11th & 12th July
100km
16hrs 40mins
Humid, hot then cooler and hot
Goals
To get round in one piece and enjoy it after last year's achillies injury. To get round safely in the heat.
Training
Lots of walking and cycling up to October 2025 when I started running again. Back on my training plan in December 2025. Ran 800 miles in training, 4 weeks out I ran 60 miles in the week and the same for week 3 then taper.
Race day
The Ridgeway path is 139km long, this race covers 100km of it. I am running 100km over 2 days with camping overnight. You can run 100km straight through or 50km on day 1 or day 2.
I arrived at the start at 6am, my start wave time was 6.50am. I got my number and took my overnight bag to the vans. Racepac full, suncream and hat on, already feeling quite hot without a cloud in the sky. We're off , they set you off in batches of about 200. The paths are quite narrow to start with. I always call day 1 tree roots and rabbit holes, it's only about the first 10km but you need to have your wits about you and your sunglasses off under the trees. It's very up and down to start with in woodland and crop fields but you soon get onto wider paths There are some road crossing but very little tarmac running.
The aid stations are well stocked with water, squash, coke cola, fresh fruit, snacks. There are medics, sun cream and toilets. They also put out extra water tables when it's really hot so you can probably get water every 5km. The villages also put out water and peoples crews will spray you with water. There was even some lads in a back garden with a hose waiting to spray people ( they always ask first if you want to be soaked) 😀.
It was really hot in the afternoon, I was 5km from the finish when I went past a guy with a bag of ice, great for putting in your bra top 😂.
Made it to basecamp in 8hrs with stops, longer than I expected but got round safe in the heat. Basecamp is huge, got my allocated tent and bag then off to the showers. There is a food marquee open all day for competitors, there's vegetarian food, bake potatoes, chips etc and more vendors that you can buy from like pizza, beer, coffee, ice cream. They also put up large gazebos for shade. Basecamp is out in the countryside on a hill so it's always breezy although last night was very windy so the tents were rattling about.
Day 2, am I ready for this? Alarm went off at 4.30 am, had breakfast, packed up racepac and belongings, suncream and hat on. Got my blisters checked with the medic. Off we go at a little after 6am, lovely and cool at this point, walked a bit to settle my breakfast then set off to beat the heat. I did about 20km before it got really hot. I love day 2 with its huge sweeping views, lots of people with fresh legs only running today.
The last pitstop is always a tease because you can see the kites flying up on the hill from miles away and you always think your closer than you are.12km left after that last pitstop, getting really hot. Now for the last dog leg into Avebury village, around a traffic cone and marshal then back across a field to finish because the village isn't big enough to accommodate the event.
Finished in just over 9hrs today with stops, what an achievement😊I have 90 mins before the coach back to the start so time for a shower and food, my legs took a bit of persuading to walk to the next field.
Fuelling and gear
Salmon racpac 8 with 1.5L bladder and 2 x 500ml soft flasks ( I sweat alot) spare socks and T shirt, first aid, hot cross bun, malt loaf. Trusted running t shirts,Brooks cascadia trail shoes and UYN socks. Tailwind in water, Precision hydration dehydration tabs in one bottle, gel chews for emergency, salt tablets.
What I do differently
Nothing really, I've done this event before.
Would I run this event again?
Probably not because it's in July and I'm not handling the hot weather. I would definitely recommend to others if they can cope with the heat. A trail full of history Uffington white horse, Barbury castle, Avebury stones.
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Race report
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