My First Ultra Marathon || Canalathon 50k

Come with me to compete in my first Ultra Marathon!! What a day, and I am over the moon with my with my result. Something fun to do before the triathlon season gets started, and a great confidence boost!
Subscribe to follow along and follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/laurabardsley

Good morning it is 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning and I’m off to go and run an ultra marathon that’s why I went this early on Sunday um oh God why did I sign up to these things anyway yeah I’m already to go I’m just going to make a

Coffee get some cereal and then head on over it’s in Yorkshire is it Sai Bridge sa bridge I don’t know what to say run from there all the way sort of like Rochdale way it’s the Rochdale canal and yeah I’m excited I think I’m nervous and

I think my mom’s going to come and meet me at the Finish Line I think G is going to meet me halfway it’s like an out and back route so it’ be nice to have some support out there never done anything like this my longest ever run was

Obviously in my Iron Man I did the marathon um that’s the longest I’ve ever run and then outside of that it’s been like 30 32k so I don’t know we’ll see how it goes it’s just something I’ve wanted to do for a while and to sort of

Take that distance off so here we are I don’t know if I regret this but I’ll get it done it’s just going to be a nice day out I’m not going for like any times or anything like that it’s literally just uh just to do the distance which is

Um like a huge achievement in itself make a coffee and yeah I should get some cereal that’s what I always have before my long runs supposed to be nice today apparently it’s supposed to be dry and bright no real wind whereas yesterday it was windy raining like all conditions

You don’t want to run in so I’m thinking it’ll probably be a bit wet under thought which is a bit annoying because I it is on a canal they said it’s not like a traily canal it is quite firm ground sorry h a drink um but I think

It’s bound to be a bit softer underground obviously with it being raining but I don’t have trailer shoes so I’m just running my normal trainers so let’s hope that it’s not too wet so anyway I’ll live alone right I’ve had my breakfast I filled up my little water pouches I’ve got some

Squash for the car the most important things if you know you know hopefully just help with any potential stomach upset um so I’ll take two now and might I might take one more before the race starts just to really make sure that I don’t have an upset stomach is the mustard

Right let’s pray to the toilet gods that I’m all good right I’ve arrived look how beautiful it is today Blue Sky it’s not a blue sky in I don’t know how long here in the UK so I’ve chosen a good day but I’m just going to go register now I’m so

EXC no I’m not excited at all nervous um quite a few people here I think it’s going to be a good event and next beforeand come back we’ll do a briefing off you go thank you hello me Please you heard all that Laura then I heard it yeah that’s fine so we are off about 2k in um it’s a beautiful day nice down the canal so far wonderful it’s pretty perfect I was looking around and everyone was very fing Trail shes and

I’m here in not trail shoes so can yeah I will take you when I can so about 8 and 1 half K in being pretty good at the moment although the like to get a bit packish why do I do I don’t always feel hungry but anyway um I’ll

Have a gel in maybe like when I get to 10K have my first gel uh yeah just keeping pling on with 10K in 50 minutes 10 seconds so about a 5 minute pce be a bit too quick to be fair but I’m feeling right at the moment and then see what

Happens but only 4 10ks to go only 8 5K onlys to go easy we can do eights so I’m have a g now and then we see you in the next 10K it’s absolutely beautiful around here a lot of people think like out back rout is quite boring which I guess they

Can be but and this is the view a too bad just went to rade station about 14k yeah just to 14K now I just St to get the water and I’m off again these short sharper pills are absolutely killer we get them all out the way on the way there the turn point

On the way back obviously they’re all Shar sh sharp downhills but yeah they just your heart rate a little bit which bit uncomfortable but anyway that we’ll be down here on the way back the um c f has got a little like muddy and puddly

Um in the past s of 5K so I don’t have the best train on all over place the first 15K it was perfect Under Foot so just a bit better but almost at 20K woo 20K in 1 hour 40 and 30 seconds get tough but positive mental

Attitude what we need just had a bit of soaring just chump that in between 19 and 20K so a park run into the 10 point almost 23k in I think I can Sak out from the do up ahead make smile Oh yay there they are yay smashing it that’s the first two

Girls no I know well done smashing It Well Done keep going right then just done the turn point we’re heading back it was about 25. 6K so I hate that when they’re like oh it’s going to be halfway it’s not halfway that’s actually 600 me

But anyway we’re doing it I had a banana some water at the O station such lucky people volunteering to help so they were nice but yeah there’s a little time back up and then all of the brid now downhill right 30k done 20K to go see left

Pretty right back on the mudy side of the canal but almost at 15K left so almost at 35k I’ve feel it right break it down it’s like 7K of the marathon another 7ish K to end that’s what I’m thinking just about to over to 40 km it’s killing

Me a bit now feel my legs are a bit crumpy but also shoes it’s the furthest I’ve run myb last year just had ja and I don’t really know what else to say had some sweets had someing had a banana halfway come on we’re almost into see

Single digit almost sooner when it it’s like 9.9k left feels much shorter than 10 myself right I’ve just gone through the marathon par 33530 which is a p only that’s the second time Marathon the other time was my ey man so that’s good so s

Okay I’d be lying if I said my legs are fresh my CR up trying to stay positive I’m not focus on that I’ve got like 7K left like 40 minutes 40 minutes I can do this oh God God guys I got 5K left I’m wling I’m loving feels tough now time okay it’s

Okay okay 40 out 4 K to go oh come on you’ve run 4K a million times it’s just my legs they’re like solid it’s my not think about that 47 down three to go three k to go oh my God why do I do this why do I do this 2K to

Go like 2,000 M oh I can do this I can do this oh God come on this felt hard this felt hard last 10K I felt really hard 49 done last oh my God oh my God I got nothing else to give but I’m always there

Finish better bit 50k not having this 50 and a half smashing it you’re in third overall first woman come on through the bridge almost there through the bridge come on let’s go so proud well done go on laa follow him in nice and St Egg last push now well done last finish Goa hi everyone there a thank well done hanky CH on it yeah well done you are picture picture third overall my legs are killing they’re cramping they’re hurting I’m a winner so it’s fine I’m a CH you won it I can’t get this on my head oh third overall including the men

I was surprised those two girls in front oh seem really strong well you were stronger buy Road running Sho I’ll do a um debrief when I get home yeah smashed it now I’m a champ an ultra you are first Ultra first win thank you well done you back in the car

My legs are cramping up so bad I feel like this drive home isn’t going to be great but anyway um I’ve got a monster that’s what I was craving I’ve got a protein shake and I’ve got a tu Pringles cuz I need some salt so I’ll do a

Debrief when I get home I’m fuzz in that was that was great well it was awful but it was great good times oh my God right I’m literally walked upstairs it’s not even my muscles it’s the cha for my ass this is tragic like whenever my leggings touch my bomb

Jesus oh right let me just go down OB see St with it guys has just turned my bath on for me but getting in with what is going to be a very chafed bum isn’t going to be fun oh yay here’s my bed on so yeah smashed it

50k 4 hours 16 minutes was my time 41630 or something let me just find you my trophy everything in this bag got a hat that was one of my prizes here it is there it is it says canalon Ultra vate champ that’s what Gaz calls me all the time a

Champ I’m over the moon I’m glad it’s done but I’m over the moon I enjoyed it to be fair um first 25k felt great was averaging like just under 5 minute per kilometer the first 25k was feeling really strong really good had a gel at like I don’t know I can’t even remember

I need to probably remember these things to tell my coach actually to be there on the way out I was feeling really hungry actually to be so I had a gel earlier than I thought I was going to and then also had some soaring um I had one of

Like chocolate orange soaring bars and had that at like 15K cuz I feel myself getting hungry tried to keep on top of my nutrition my stomach felt great like no issues there so all those am modium that I took I took two before I left and

Then one when I got there as well so things you got to do for these longer events felt decent for the first sort of like 25k so on the the way out so all the elevation on this run is on the way out because it’s basically the elevation graph goes

Like that and like that so on the way out when you’re going when you’re running down the canal whenever you hit a lock you just go to a short sharp uphill and I think there must have been like 15 20 of them so it was a lot of

Little short sharp burst and up a hill but then obviously on the way back they were all downhill which I thought was going to be nice at the time but then when your legs are cramping and trying to run downhill that hurts so I didn’t enjoy that too much but the flats were

Nice there was a part on the canal that was like a really muddy wet rain like obiously it had been raining so it’s like puddles and stuff and when you’re wearing I don’t think I’ve got them here but I have just my normal I wore my

Trailers I wear Ty Rock I don’t have trail running shoes I’m not a trail Runner um and they were the only ones with like the smallest bit of grip it was either them or my endorphin Elites which are just like smooth as anything so there’s no way I was wearing them but

They’ve got the tiniest bit of GR so I wore them um everyone else was in trailer shoes and I probably looked like a complete novice when I got there cuz everyone had like all the gear um and I didn’t but I still did okay but yeah

Most of the canal was just nice flat either sort of pavement or just like a bit peedy Stony so it was perfect I enjoy running on that sort of surface that was good for me um but yeah there was like maybe in total like 8 to 10k of

Like muddy puddles where you’re like jumping and sliding and so that really got in like the way of your your groove and then on the way back I mean I’ve never done any distance anything like that my longest ever run was obviously my Iron Man run which was a marathon off

The bike but other than that that’s my longest ever run other than that I’ve done a 30k a couple of times and another 30 have I done a 32k I don’t know something like that anyway yeah I’ve never run anything near that distance so it it’s a nice confidence boost to know

That I can do it but I could tell like when I hit the 35k mark that’s where I started to feel like like inside my legs like my hamstrings into my glutes like my hip everything just started to feel a bit crampy my cars were fine which is

Good cuz I thought my cars were going to be the one that was going to go not go but like start cramping um but yeah my quads I could feel them cramping and then you start running a bit funny and then because as well it’s it’s a lonely

Old run there’s no one there supporting it’s not like a big event it was a really small event and obviously just like members of the public on on the canal it’s not like a supported event like in a Iron Man we kind of be distracted it’s just you on the canal no

One supporting you and when I got to the final K and I saw Gaz at the end he sort of ran my last like 800 MERS with me I really picked up my Pace cuz it’s was nice obious to have that like support but when you’re cramping and you just

Like your head’s down a bit it didn’t drop completely but my head was dropping um and my Pace was like maybe around 5 it was like 530 53 then it was like 517 518 520 it like it was just creeping down in the last sort of like 7K after I

Hit the marathon it was then starting to to drop quite a bit which is is understandable um but then when I saw g i really picked up my Pace in that last cometer so it is amazing what some support can do on what you are capable

Of doing um your head is a very powerful thing but anyway went through the marathon in like 335 I think that was which is a marathon PB because I’ve never been a marathon because as well in the when I did my Iron Man my Iron Man run was like 41.987012 bum cheeks it’s like under my bum and like the top of my legs they’re so chafed and that’s the worst bit my coach asked me um yesterday what’s like my post race treat and I always crave like something really salty after a Race So I had Pringles or like hula hoop salt

Really salted and a monster I always crave those two things a bit of salt and a monster and then I had a protein shake as well I’m not hungry at all I always find I don’t want anyone else but I always find after long events I’m never

Hungry I’ll be hungry later we’re going to have a spaghetti bones that’s the sort of thing I’m craving just like a big pasta dish with cheese it’s going to be great and then yeah Gaz so Gaz went drove to the turn point and then he

Walked B down the canal so I saw him at about 23 and 1 12K he was there and then obviously I went out and back and turned and then saw him again at maybe like 27k so it was nice to see him twice um and

Then my mom and Gaz were both at the end which was so nice and all the dogs made me so happy um so yeah I’m really happy that was great experience the it like the the event was it was really small I don’t think there was more than like 40 people

In in the race in the 50k there was 100K that went an hour earlier and there was a 50k and for like for the quality of like the canal and it’s such a good place to to run um it was a shame that it wasn’t more like better attended I

Don’t know if maybe there not advertised it very well or whatever but it was one it would be one that I would absolutely do again the staff were already great and the yeah as I said the like location was beautiful you running through like the countryside and it was it was lovely

So definitely one I would recommend it’s called canalon my face is all salty um so I think I mean there’s not much to to cover it’s not like TR where there’s loads going on I I ran for 50k 25k out 25k back um averaged about 5 minute per kilometer for the first 30k

And then started to drop off a bit but it’s one of those things um so yeah I’m proud of myself and we going to get a bath now and it’s going to hurt get into that bath but I’m going to get a bath and then I’m going to do a bit of

Stretching do some th rolling and sit on the sofa all day and get Gaz to make us tea so thank you for watching I hope this video was fun interesting and um yeah I’ll come back to you back at you sorry within the video very soon but do

Make sure to like subscribe leave a comment below it’s always great to check to the comments and I will speak to you soon goodbye