The North Downs Ridge 50K Ultramarathon

[@mirrorsbrightly]

Watching your attitude while being short on energy and in the thick of it is inspiring. Keep it up!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Really appreciate that. I like to think it's all just for fun and don't take these races too seriously.

[@thenewsh44]

Well done! Love watching your videos, they are very calming yet motivational!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying them!

[@Ultrarunningamber]

Now that looks like my kind of race. Love love the trails. Excellent race even having been injured not long before it. Congrats.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! It is a great event if you get a chance to run it!

[@ChrisBrannan-cg7td]

Really enjoying your videos James. Hoping to do my first Ultra next year. Your vids are certainly inspo for wanting this

[@Bradw1982]

Great effort mate! Great video and inspirational stuff 👏

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Brad!

[@dannygrays]

Another beautifully shot film James. Congrats! Great meeting you and thanks for the chat beforehand.

[@jamesday1]

Great to meet you too Danny! Looked like you were having a great time out there. How did you get on?

[@dannygrays]

@@jamesday1 thanks James. Yep was fun. Done in 6 hrs & 47 secs. Yep, found it much tougher than I thought but great feeling to finish and get the 1st ultra of the year done. UTS in May! Good luck with the Copenhagen mara training

[@jamesday1]

Amazing! Well done! It was a pretty hard route with the hills and mud. At least you've now got a good idea of pace and timing for an ultra. Pacing will be super important at UTS with the elevation and terrain. Looks like you were in the middle of the field so I would been looking at the UTS results from last year for the people who finished in the middle of the results and looking at their average pace. I did this for the SDW100 and it made a huge difference for my pacing on the day.

[@dannygrays]

@@jamesday1 thank you. Yep, right in the middle of the pack! Yes, that's great advice, I'll definitely do that for UTS. Though looks like a lot of climbing but the KZbin vids on the course look amazing! I have a friend doing the UTS 100miler!!!! I'm debating whether to get some poles and taking the strength work seriously for once by going to the gym for the 1st time in over a decade. Cheers for the advice and encouragement. Appreciate it.

[@SteveSalisbury]

Huge effort. Well done!

[@marypagones6073]

Brilliant video on a beautiful course that gave me serious LOTR vibes. Loved the info on pacing the race. Worried for you a little bit with the new shoes. LOL.

[@nagger2000]

Sterling efforts James. Really enjoyed this format, watching the ups and downs of your energy levels and how you managed yourself. Thanks.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! I've always enjoyed these types of videos. I love watching the Run Steep Get High channel and Jamil Coury's videos of him running ultras and the format is exactly like this. Videos like his Hardrock 100 from 2017 are definitely worth checking out.

[@harryruns1]

Great video James and great race 🙂

[@jesshashi]

Strong work, James!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Jess!

[@Gez-C]

Great effort James! Looks a lovely course / route, one to look in to next year

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Yeah, it's definitely worth checking out!

[@paulpurves484]

Well done James.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Paul!

[@michaelbennett6778]

Well done James on a tough old course ! The flat stretch after Newlands is always horrible and kinda feels always too long .. you commented you were suffering after putting too much into the previous climb but that stretch is always mentally sapping . 😅 Great work

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Michael! Yeah that section was definitely a challenge!

[@sturgmanrunning8546]

Well done!! Good effort 💪

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Really appreciate the support!

[@mijzzzz]

well done, that looked a nice event

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Yeah, a really nice set up and route!

[@bev9708]

BRAVO BRAVO James!!! You not only made it look kinda easy, but did it filming at the same time!!! I dunno how you youtubers manage to run an ultra and film at the same time!! You must've been pretty nervous about the shoes, so glad those Zegamas worked out for you... though it's not ALL Zoom X foam, did you notice any extra energy return from it anyway?? I've got my first full 50k trail ultra coming up start of April (my first one last year was actually shortened by a couple of kms) and I'm really excited and a bit scared!! I won't be wearing new shoes for the first time though😂😂I'm a huge fan of the Asics Trabuco Max 2🥰 which I find the perfect compromise for wet conditions that's still super comfy on the roads with enough cush for long distances!! Only 4mm lugs on the Zegamas too, so I imagine you found the same thing!!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Bev! To be honest, I had no idea they had Zoom X foam 😂 but they were nice and comfortable and grippy enough for the conditions! Good luck with your 50k! No need to be nervous! You know you can run the distance now so you can just go out and enjoy it!

[@bev9708]

@@jamesday1 THANKS James... it's not finishing 50k that scares me but the 25km of pain!!😂😟😬 Btw James, I can't remember if I already asked you, but are you gonna join Ben Notley on his Greensand Way 100 fundraiser in October??

[@Kosh42EFG]

I thought I saw you there! Needless to say you overtook me fairly early on 🤣

[@movemorenowjames]

James. Great video and great channel - stories really well told. Can’t believe I have just stumbled on your channel - you seem to know a lot of familiar names …

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Really appreciate that! Same with your channel - looks great and so surprising I've not discovered it before! Will check out your videos.

[@movemorenowjames]

@@jamesday1 thanks … what’s next on your hit list re ultras ?

[@kellyhall1997]

Good job!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Kelly!

[@petewilcock]

Solid grind!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Pete!

[@andyisaacs4554]

Awesome....well done James , which shoes did you end up using

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Andy! I went with the Nike's latest version of the Zegama's and they worked great for me.

[@paulmulks]

Are you mental? You purchased Nike Zegama thinking they are grippy 😂 I also have a pair and I wore them for the Lulworth Cove Marathon 2 weeks ago and I fell flat on my back 4 times in the slippy mud 😂 They are terrible in wet conditions which is why Nike are putting a Vibram outsole on the v2. Cracking effort in the event though 👏🏻

[@marcioduarte2906]

Good race and effort. 👌 Which shoes did you end up using?

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Marcio! I went with the Nike Zegama's and found they worked pretty well for me on the day.

[@jacobdeleur]

Awesome job, James! So nice to see you enjoy the race, I can relate to the ups and downs, the pacing and the joy of the trails. Looks like a good day! How's your swedish coming along? Will we be able to chat on the trails of UltraVasan and Kullamannen (I'm signed up now, seriously nervous...)?

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Jacob! I recently got to the point where I'm confident enough to have basic conversations in Swedish which is such a nice milestone. Yeah, definitely come a say hi if you see me at the races! I think UltraVasan will be really fun. I'm also a bit nervous about Kullamannen. How it goes is probably heavily dependent on the weather but I feel like once you get through that first night with the hills, it should be smooth running.

[@patrikandersson2284]

Similar conditions to the Kullamannen ❤