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An event of special interest at XMiles where Anthony Clark (England) of XMiles once again came head to head with XMiles ambassador Rob Turner (Scotland).
The last time they both toed the line together was back in 2016 in Perth were Rob (07:17:11) pipped Anthony (07:17:43) to 3rd place whilst being crowned Scottish 100k champion 2016, just 32 seconds separating them.
Rob missed 2017 where the ACP was hosted in Hull, England. This time Anthony ran a PB of 07:04:28, 2nd overall and Silver medal in the British 100k Championship.
So for 2018 we travelled to Redwich, Wales on the 31st March and what unfolded was a fantastic race with the lead swapping a number of times over the 100k, 32 lap, 2.2 miles route.
For the teams, crew and spectators one of the closest battled 100k races, 7 hours of running and only 7 seconds between 1st and 2nd place!
Just around 7hrs run and seconds in it....exciting finish to the ACP 100km!! pic.twitter.com/SojYvbeBtT
— steven way (@marigold_bac) March 31, 2018
Read Rob's race report on the following link;
I'd packed nutrition for every eventuality. If the proverbial hits the fan there were high sugar fixes like a Snickers Bar, Soreen malt loaf and a packet of ready salted crisps. If I consumed any of those items during the event, then something had gone wrong and I was now fighting to stay in the race. These were emergency supplies! I was delighted not to need any of those foods during the race, however, they were all devoured post race when the biggest hunger arrived about an hour after finishing. The real race nutrition, from XMiles in the previous week, was a double combination of mixed flavour Honey Stinger gels and Active Root hydration.
Honey Stingers are the only gels I can consume that don't cause any stomach issues. That's not to say that other gels don't work, quite the opposite, but other gels cause some issues for me with my sensitive tummy. Too much carbohydrate at the one time causes issues that you don't want 50 miles into a championship race.
I have been using Active Root since late last year when I came across them at a showing of the 'Trails In Motion' movie. I was on the lookout for a new product and this came along at the tight time. My first taste was pleasant. Ginger beer is one of my favourite tipples, thirst quenching. With Active Root I knew I had found a product that I could tolerate for 7 or more hours.
The approach was simple, at the start of lap 4, 8 miles into the race, I would pick up a gel, miss a lap, then pick up Active Root mixed with water, miss a lap and return to a gel. As the race reaches the final laps, there are some additional ingredients that I like to have at my disposal. I use a pickling juice for cramps. There is little scientific evidence of it's efficacy for cramping but anecdotally there is evidence. I would add this vinegar to the Active Root bottle towards the end of the race to stave off cramping.
On training runs leading up to the race, I had trained how to take both the Honey Stinger gels and Active Root in combination. The result was small amounts into the stomach over a set time period. In the race, I would take 2 miles, one lap, to eat a full gel, putting only a pea size amount in my mouth at any one time. Allowing that to go down and waiting for a few minutes before taking another pea size amount. With Active Root, I took a similar approach. A sip, swallow, let it settle, then another sip and continue this for two miles. This meant that I didn't engulf my stomach with lots of sugar/carbs at once. The ginger win the Active Root product helping keep my stomach in a settled state.
The combination of products and approach worked perfectly, I reported no issues with my stomach during the race, only had one toilet stop and I felt I had a steady stream of energy throughout the 7 hours. There was no bonk, low points or energy deficits, I had certainly hit the jackpot with my in race nutrition.
