This was my first Maverick event - I was roped into this one by my wife Jenn for a change, instead of the usual culprits Matt/Paul. Jenn was keen to find some more interesting races after lakeland 50 in the summer and we decided to run it together.
Since I’m training towards Ultra Mediterrania in January 2027 I was fit and ready to use it as a training run.
An early start up and leaving the house at 6am we’d drive there, run the race and then home on the same day. A little harsh with a 2.5hour drive each way.
We arrived in good time, about 8am for a 9am start. Parked easily and close to the event village, less than 2min between the van and registration, loads of toilets, nice and relaxed start.
Once registered we got ready and stayed warm in the van until 15min before start. It was a COLD morning, I’d have worn gloves if I had brought them. We huddled into the gantry and listened to what little we could hear (from near the back) of the race briefing. Spotted our friend Sarah who snapped a pic and saw us off.
The first mile or so was road and slightly up hill - I was consciously trying to run slow and not push the pace to much for Jenn who normally runs a sensible pace vs my normal run hard and struggle later tactics. It was hard not to skip past a few people when in a crowd though, mainly wanting to spread out - soon enough we did and the asphalt turned to fire roads.
Despite being a bit chilly we were treated to a stunning morning and before and at the first (5.5mile) aid station we’d taken layers off.
Just before the first aid station we were also caught up by my friend Richard who I worked with about 20 years ago and recently reunited (via strava/instagram) through a shared love of the trails.
After the first aid station I was eyeing the elevation screen of watch willing the first climb. The elevation showed two (three?) big climbs with undulation between. I was looking around me wondering where a big climb was going to come. Reaching the end of the bay we took a right - here it was. A long grassy climb aside the cliffs with a couple of false summits. A good chance to change the pace and eat.
Towards the top we bared left (half marathon routers would go straight on and climb a little higher) and down to Swanage sea front where we were met again by Richard who (who as I only realised after made a cracking photo bomb to our selfie). Rich and I ran together for a while and it was nice to catch up.
Next was a small and pretty climb through some gardens towards aid station 2. Here I was switching my soft flasks around having finished two, one of which was filled with an experimental nutrition/gel mix I’d made myself, it didn’t take long but Jenn decided to start giving me shit about taking too long - I was just happy I didn’t need a shit due to my experimenting.
I had been feeling sick all morning but I think this had more to do with eating a lot before we started and recovering from a cold.
I found the next section of the race to be the hardest part. There was constant undulation and a mix of off-camber grassy paths or rutted narrow single track. It was constant running and a lot of effort to keep up a good pace. A lot of wind blast at times too making us pretty cold having warmed up nicely in the sunny sheltered parts.
My favourite part of this section was the steep descent and immediate ascent pictured, similar to what you get on the Cornish coast. I found I was really enjoying the climbs here, I was using my poles and my shoulder wasn’t giving me too much jip (torn ligament due to an mtb injury in the summer) like the last time I used them.
We reached the third aid station a little after St Aldhelm's Head - a quicker pause this time and no jip from Jenn. I hadn’t eaten a lot but a cup of coke at each aid station was winner for the day. We walked a long paved climb shortly afterward and I ate one of my duck wraps. Duck wrap, what a terrible fucking choice. I had one on a long run a couple of weeks ago and it was OK but I couldn’t want anything less. Next time it’s something plainer.
There was a lot of asphalt on this section but it was quiet for traffic. When we did switch back to the trails it became very windy again. I remember thinking how lucky we were the trails were bone dry. If there had been a lot of rain it would be an absolute mud fest.
Time for the final climb - used my poles and went on ahead chatting to a few people along the way and waiting for Jenn at the top. I really enjoyed the longer climbs on this route a steady hike for a much longer time than our local trails offer.
All “climbs” done it was a gradual decent down to Corfe Castle (the last aid station) then about 4.5 miles of “flat” trails back. The last few miles were slow, run walk - our legs were tired but there’s only one way to get it done so you keep it moving. We finished in a little under seven and a half hours which is roughly what we planned and briefly caught friends before a long drive home. A good day out.
