Angus Robinson – Ultra Marathon

In mid-August this year Wane Drinkwater organised the inaugural Ultra Great Britain event. This is a coast to coast, 200 mile, Ultra Marathon Running Race using the Trans-Pennine Trail. Wayne was the Event Director who developed the project from its conception through to a very successful conclusion. He has a lot of experience in organising this kind of race which presents some unique challenges.

A normal running competition will usually have a mass start with the runners quickly forming into a line such that the first and last to finish will have a time gap of a few minutes to an hour or so, dependant on the length of the race. In this case there were 200 places and the course started near Southport, finishing by the old railway station, on the Hornsea Sea front. The gap between the winner and the rear runners was measured in days. This makes for a huge logistical challenge where Wayne had to negotiate use of the course with various TPT “Landlords”, organise places for runners and their support teams to eat, rest and sleep plus the need to have all eventualities (such as weather etc.) covered.

Attached below are typical comments made by competitors. It is worth mentioning that these athletes had recently completed the 200 mile race and could still find the enthusiasm to be so complementary.

Perhaps the star entrant was a 63 year old runner from Singapore who liked to be addressed as Stephan. Meeting him was a real treat; although exhausted after such a long run he was a delightful character with a generosity of spirit to hold a gentle conversation with the Town Mayor and all those who were complementing him on his achievement. Not only is Stephan an accomplished Ultra Marathon Runner (having completed in many international long distance races) but he has put his hobby to a useful effect by raising a huge amount of cash for a hospice.