Yukon Arctic Ultra 300 miles- A Diary by Martin Like (part 2)
In an earlier conversation with Don on the river, he had promised to come out and see me on the trail back to Pelly Crossing and true to his word shortly before midnight the light of his truck approached me along the farm road. Accompanying Don was Andrew and Robert, and it was wonderful to see them, because at the moment of their arrival I was going through a particularly hard patch wanting yet again to curl up and sleep. I had a quick cup of strong black coffee supplied by Robert which seemed to do the trick and with an added skip in my step I continued. To my surprise and pleasure, Don and his motley crew decided they were going to stay out all night with me and follow me every half an hour.
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This procession along the wood bordered farm road continued into the early hours ? I would bound on for half an hour and they would drive and catch me up ? I would have a drink of Roberts Coffee and then the process would continue once again. The coffee helped to stave off the menace of sleep, but eventually I succumb. With little warning I went from a good steady pace to dead on my feet. I had to stop. So between meetings I dived off the trail and was in my Bivvy within 4 minutes leaving a flashing red beacon to indicate my presence, and was asleep before the truck caught up with me. I had left instructions with Don to wake me within 1_ hours should this happen.
I woke up myself after 1_ hours and with the added adrenalin rush of Don startling me when he came to wake me, I was up and on my feet within minutes and on my way.
I had a few slides down a few small hills but nothing too spectacular. I was still waiting in eager anticipation for a real monster of a downhill that would take me all the way to the finish ? but sadly this was not forthcoming. As daylight broke my slow procession was bolstered by the addition of Gary in his truck together with his motley crew comprising Steve and Nicola. I felt a certain degree of embarrassment having all these people following my every step. Don was now following me all the time, whilst Gary would drive on every 1km to give me an indication of my progress. It was wonderful to have this support and without them I would have struggled tremendously over the last 10 miles or so ? but I was going so slow and no matter how hard I tried I had absolutely nothing left in the tank ? not even vapours.
Approaching Pelly Crossing (about 3 miles out) I could see Gary?s vehicle parked up about 150 yards ahead of me. I could also see 2 legs under the car and knew that it was Steve about to come out from behind the vehicle to moon me or something equally stupid. As I approached, Dale and Pete from Pelly Farms happened to go by me just as Steve decided to jump out semi naked. To this day I am not sure who was most surprised, as Steve darted back behind the vehicle but with nowhere to hide as Dale and Pete drove by.
From here on in Steve (now thankfully dressed) joined me in walking to the line. I had vowed to run the last mile and with the benefit of my GPS I indicated to Steve the point from where I intended to run. As we passed the point we both broke into a run but after about 20 yards I said ?stuff that? I just couldn?t do it. No matter how much I wanted to finish this monster running , physically I just wasn't capable.
Finally we turned a corner off the farm road and I could see the bridge over the Pelly River 100 yards ahead. The finish was 100 yards the other side of the bridge. As I crossed the bridge I mustered a final run to the line. My finishing time was 7 days 21 hours and 5 minutes.
The elation at finishing is like nothing I have ever felt before ? I was so damned relieved. Marc, Gerard and Laszlo came out to meet me as did everyone else involved in the race. What a wonderful feeling. After a few minutes of backslapping I retired to the bedroom that had been the CP 36 hours earlier. A plate of chicken was sat waiting for me together with 6 cans of beer, a small bottle of Champagne and chocolate by the bucket full. I was like a pig in strawberries. A hot bath had also been run for me, to which I quickly retired and sat in the warm water drinking champers and thinking life was brilliant. By the time I had washed and changed, the trucks had been packed and with no more ceremony we all left in various vehicles for the 170 mile drive back to Whitehorse.
Whitehorse
We arrived back in Whitehorse in the late afternoon. I had slept most of the way, except for the brief stop at Braeburn for another bash at their extraordinarily big beefburgers. At last I was back in the Hotel and my first real opportunity to talk with Andrew. It was so difficult ? I wanted to scream from the roof tops that I had finished the race, but couldn?t because Andrew was so down. It was a real case of life being unfair ? I had gone into this race with an injury that in all likelihood would prevent me from finishing, whilst Andrew had arrived in the Yukon as fit as can be, without a care in the world. To add insult to injury he had been stopped when winning the race ? and commandingly so too. My usual blunt talking had to take a back seat for 24 hours while I tried to choose my words carefully in Andrew presence. Andrew is the best mate anyone can ask for and thankfully after 24 hours he was back in his normal frame of mind and I could return to my normal frank talking.
Back Home
As at the time of writing this report, Andrew has vowed to return next year to Whitehorse to put matters right. Fellow racers Steve and Shirley have similarly indicated that come 2004 they too will be on the start line for the 300.
Whilst I promised myself during the last few days of the race never to do anything as hard ever again, I think it is highly likely that I might also be in Whitehorse next year , but this time to race the monster. I had what most would consider as a good race ? and bearing in mind my physical condition prior to flying the Atlantic I suppose I am bound to agree. However, I learnt a lot out in the Yukon this year, which, if I could utilise, under good race conditions would see me finish this race in 6 days.
Additional Information
_ The race started with 8 racers in the 300 and 19 racers in the 100. On completion 5 racers finished the 300 and 17 the 100.
_ From Britain I was the only competitor to finish the 300 race coming in 4th out of the runners - being beaten by 2 Frenchmen (Marc Perrier and Gerard Verdenet) and 1 Hungarian (Laszlo Kovaks). The first three runners finished together having raced together over the last 128 miles from Carmacks.
_ The trail conditions were far from ideal this year ? and certainly made the 2002 Iditasport trail look tame by comparison ? lack of snow made progress pulling a sled particularly tedious. However, whatever the conditions there are always going to be both positive and negative attributes that will affect the racer.
_ The temperature variations during the course of the race were considerable. On the Tuesday the snow on the trees was melting but by the following Saturday the temperature had plummeted to -40ºF.
_ During the course of the race I lost 14 lbs in weight. I was surprised it wasn?t more ? as I wasn?t eating particularly well during the race.
Thanks
As with all my races, I wouldn?t be there without the support of friends, family and others. No doubt I will miss someone off the list, please tell me if I do. My thanks go to:-
_ My wife Karen and my wonderful children Emily, Jack and Barnaby. My children are now getting used to me going away, but the welcome I receive on my return doesn?t get any less. Barnaby, who is now 2, for the first time noticed I was away.
_ The Cancer Research group from Hay-on-Wye, for who I was raising money. Their enthusiasm before the race was fantastic, their confidence in my ability to finish the race was completely naïve. It appears they kept the town of Hay aware of my exploits in the Yukon and embellished any stories returning from there to an extent that my foot is now famous within the town.
_ My work colleagues, Joy, Chris and Sarah. I publicly apologise to you for not being on top of my job in the period leading up to the race. I think you are probably getting used to me by now.
_ Tim, who with is undoubted engineering skills, prepared my sled.
_ My training partners in the run up to the race ? Andrew Barnett and Shirley Thompson. I owe you both big time.
_ F.W.Golesworthy and Son in Hay. An Aladdin?s cave for kit. In previous races I have often travelled far and wide to find specialist kit ? never once thinking it could be available in Hay. How stupid I feel now. Nearly every bit of specialist kit I required could be found in this amazing shop. Thanks Mary for the bits of discount ? I won?t tell Robert.
_ Last but certainly not least - A massive thanks to all the support staff and organisers of this race. You have a lot to be proud of. This is by far the most enjoyable race I have participated in and that is to the greatest part due to you. Cheers ? beers on me in Whitehorse when I come back next year. It probably isn?t fair to pull certain people out ? but unfortunately I have to ? Don and Gary you were absolute stars ? I wouldn?t have finished without your help. Robert, you can be proud of yourself ? absolutely fantastic event ? I will spread the word.
Charity
As stated above, in doing this race it seemed quite sensible to add a bit of fund raising for charity on top. In previous races I have done this myself, but on top of the training required to participate in these types of events, such fund raising has in the past proved hard work. This time I was blessed with the support from the Hay group for Cancer Research. What a blessing! At the time of writing this report I believe we have raised in the region of £2,000 but any further donations are very welcome.
Further Information
If anyone want any further information regarding this race or to make any contribution to Cancer Research please do not hesitate to contact me on:-
Martin Like
Tryweryn
Hay-on-Wye
Hereford
HR3 5EN
Tel No ? (01497) 821514
Email - mrl@ygelli.freeserve.co.uk
Thanks
Posted by: Admin on Dec 11, 03 | 2:03 pm |
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