Friday 13th not so lucky, or is it?
Ben Smith ultra-athlete set off on his 7 day UK Mini Trial ahead of his upcoming USA Challenge last week, with members of the public turning out to support and run with him whatever the weather, despite the 5.00am start!
It was a great start to the week. Ben’s hometown in Portishead saw him run with 20 people throughout the morning. It drizzled with rain and then the sun came out just as he was about to set off on his bike to Worcester. Covering 104 miles of running and cycling that day Ben was ready to refuel and sleep, it was a good day!
Day 2 was a different story. The rain didn’t stop and Ben ran his 5.00 am marathon alone. Already cold and wet from his run he climbed on his bike and set off for Altrincham. If the weather wasn’t enough to dampen him a few hours in, he was presented with road closures and diversions forcing him to add even more miles to his day’s already large total. Knowing he wouldn’t make it to Altrincham until very late, he took the safest decision and diverted to Stoke on Trent.
Day 3, after letting all the supporters know about the change of route, Ben was so pleased and very surprised to see runners arrive to join him in Stoke on Trent the following morning! It was a great run, with everyone lifting Ben’s spirits he had the realisation that going to the USA solo was not going to be easy. The cycle to Kirkham went well and Ben’s family were waiting to greet him for the night.
On day 4, it was another 5.00 am start for the marathon. Ben set off with family and 401 supporters and after 5 mins, ouch, the pain from his Achilles and calf area kicked in. Not being able to put any pressure on his foot sounded the alarm bells. Ben again took the difficult but safest decision to stop the UK mini-trial as the risk of more severe damage was too great.
Although the 7 days UK mini-trial ended early Ben has been very positive about it. He said ‘I have learned so much in the 4 days of the trial. This is why I wanted to get out there on the road before the USA starts. Fortunately, the injury I picked up is not as bad as I thought which is great. Seems I fell short of tearing it and it’s just tight and in spasms. It’s getting better every day which is a positive thing.’
Support the whole team who put all this together
This is premium stuff! Subscribe for ONLY 99p for ALL online content!
Subscribe
Get right to the heart of ultra-running featuring interviews and podcasts with world class athletes, extraordinary race directors, ultra-running coaches, nutritional experts and in depth race reviews from around the globe!Get your access now
Read this Article
If you've pre-ordered your Ultra Runner Mag you'll have access to 5 Articles whilst you wait for it to arrive.
Leave a Reply
We take you to the heart of all the latest Ultra-marathons with Race Reviews from all over the UK and the World. Shining the Spotlight on Solo Adventures and Personal Journey's.