Cape Wrath Ultra - Lessons Learned

[@trailrunningphil]

Enjoyed the series a great deal! :) Great work putting these video together Dave. I look forward to picking up more tips and sharing your adventures with you!

[@filmmytrailrun]

Thanks Phil, I have a few more recent videos in the can but before I start editing them I want to circle back and do a quick “Final Thoughts on The NDW100”. That race has been knocking around in my head and there are some definite learnings I wasn’t to share.

[@willneverforgets3341]

Good analysis!!!! 🙂 Never had to endure such distances in that horrible weather until now. The advantages of trail running in Spain. - Watch: I've run 100k on my watch and it had not even consumed 50% with GPS, bluetooth and everything on. Good to invest in a good watch. - Navigating is very important, most races are not perfectly signposted, and those like CWU, have no signage at all. take time to make sure you're on track. - Clothing: Cannot agree more. Good clothing is basic. - Poles: I take them always on any run from 25k! Poles are like my spare legs. - Walking is Running too... for trails it's perfectly fin. For those of us who have come to trail runnig from road races, it's a bit strange at the beginning.

[@filmmytrailrun]

Thanks for your response Will. I agree with everything you said. I enjoy making these “reflections” videos because they force me to take a look at what worked well and where I need to improve 💪🏃🏼‍♂️

[@reluctantfellrunner]

Good luck with your running.

[@filmmytrailrun]

Thanks Reluctant Fell Runner. Hopefully this time next week I will be in the thick of it. Really looking forward to the adventure in Cape Town 👍🏃🏼‍♂️

[@raymondcummins3273]

Well done Dave. :-) Some great and honest advise there. I loved the reference to the "shaky bridge", that brings back memories. :-) Let's hope the navigation is a bit less challenging on your next event, I have heard it's well marked..............time will tell.

[@filmmytrailrun]

Thanks Ray, I already have the GPX file downloaded…and confirmed…on my watch. Only one month to go 😱

[@FilmMyRun]

You did really well Dave. Good advice there. I’d love to give it a go but it’s pretty expensive for me. Maybe one day. See you at North Downs Way. I’ll be volunteering so I’ll look out for you.

[@filmmytrailrun]

Thanks Stephen, yeah the CWU is pricey alright but when you see what they have to do to make it all happen day after day in such a remote part of the UK you start to understand. I’m still trying to figure out my strategy for the NDW. These things generally need to bounce around in my head for a while. If conditions were dry, based on what I’ve seen of the trail, I’m wondering if road shoes might be the way to go. It would be great to see you out there. I will be flying solo so any support I can get out on the course will be very much appreciated.

[@cuperativa]

Great video. I also used the Speed Goat, definitely not the right choice. I tried the Mudclaw on day 7 but my foot was destroyed on the hard terrain, also wrong. Which shoes do you want to use if you face exact the same conditions? About poles I broke my first carbon pole after 10 minutes on day 2 and the second on day 4. Spare poles are needed and probably aluminum poles are better or not?

[@filmmytrailrun]

Thanks for the positive feedback. I agree with you on the shoes. I stuck with the Speedgoats even though they were terrible on soft ground. They were good for all the runnable terrain. So something with just a little more grip would be ideal. Regarding the poles I think you can be lucky or unlucky so I would just bring a spare set and if I broke a third pole I would hope to borrow one from an exiting competitor. All the best.

[@stephenfuller1066]

You mention your watch battery. What watch did you use and were you able to fully charge it before each day? Well done 🏃‍♂️💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@filmmytrailrun]

Thanks Stephen, I used the Garmin Fenix 5. I was able to fully charge it each evening but this watch only provides about 8 hours of battery when using maps and GPS. If I was going to use this watch for the event again I would lower the GPS sensitivity and ensure I had all non-essential activities, e.g. Bluetooth, switched off.

[@slowfranklin3094]

Glorified road show... rofl, you made my day! :)

[@filmmytrailrun]

And your day has only just begun 👍 A good start.

[@redwheelbarrow9729]

Great video. Trail shoes up a size and a half?

[@filmmytrailrun]

Thank you. Yep, up at least 1 full size and for me a size and a half seems to be the sweet spot. That said, the shoe still needs to feel like a good fit….it just has extra space in the toe box. Be aware also that most of the big names are doing “wide-fit” so I will be wearing a 10.5 Wide Hoka this Saturday for Leadville where I would normally take a 9 in a fashion shoe. All the best with you own running 👍

[@redwheelbarrow9729]

@@filmmytrailrun thanks for the tip!

[@averageultrarunner7314]

I recognise the day 2 error before the climb up right into the last 10k or so. Made the same one!

[@averageultrarunner7314]

Also, agree with all your tips! Only one I can’t relate to is the competitive part - I was a solid mid packer just happy to finish 😆

[@filmmytrailrun]

Spot on. That one was particularly easy to make because I knew we were going to be tracking along the side of the loch so in my head it made perfect sense to carry on straight. We live and we learn.

[@filmmytrailrun]

Any finisher can be very proud. It’s quite an undertaking 😛

[@averageultrarunner7314]

@@filmmytrailrun absolutely! You just sort of trundle past on the track ha. And agreed, it’s a cracking journey!

[@duhvong]

So you say...Dont do it without poles? I did it twice (succeeded once - timed out day 3 1st time around - by 5 mins) and poles wouldnt have helped me. In fact they would have hindered me. You need less weight, and less faff on CWU. But I guess - if you feel like poles would help you then go for it. But you can indeed do it without poles. the one I failed? 2021 - COVID, single tents, and brillliant sunshine in August... The one I succeeded - 2022. 8 days and the worst CWU weather on all the events history. Non stop rain, floods, high winds, high drop out rate, and I was the (one of if not the) oldest to finish at almost 62. As far as navigation - do the routes as recces. learn the key points where you can make mistakes. I recced 4,5,6,7 and I had already run day 1-3. That helped enormously. And as far as food - I loded up on days 1 and 2 with bars and gels, I collapsed with no energy end of day 2. Day 3 I completed with mild hypothermia. But I switched to sugar diet mid way (fizzy drinks, tic tacs), loaded up with soups and chips in the evening. and end of day 4 I bought a lot of sugar loaded food to sustain me through to the end. Shoes - Altra Timp 4 wide toed shoes and soft on the feet but admittedly less grip than some (no blisters - duplicate replacement shoes swapped end of day 5 - take at least 2 pairs). In 2022, with it being so wet, it didnt make a lot of difference in my opinion. Good video. But I say again - you can do the run without poles.

[@filmmytrailrun]

Apologies for the slow response, I’ve been off KZbin for a little while. 2022 was the year I did it also. A wet one to be sure. Can you do CWU without poles? Absolutely, but I am so used to them now that they really add very little faff and I wouldn’t be without them in any mountainous race longer than about 50k. Sounds like you had to experiment with what food worked for you. To finish in 2022 is an added badge of honor. 270 started, 104 finished. Still one of my fondest memories. Planning to go back as a volunteer at some stage in the future. I hope your running is going well and you have more great adventures ahead 🏃🏻‍♂️⛰️💪