The friends will run non-stop for two days with hills equivalent to six summits of Pen y Fan
TWO runners attempting their biggest ultramarathon yet will have to battle through 50 hours of sleep deprivation to get to the finish line.
Susie Ventris-Field, 44, and Tomos Owen, 29, have signed up to the Epona 100, which covers 100 miles of stunning but very steep Welsh scenery.
The pair already have 15 ultramarathons between them but this extreme challenge will be by far their toughest task yet – doubling their longest distance run to date.
The race starts on June 21 and the cut-off time to finish is 50 hours, which means it will end at 8am on Monday June 23.
“This morning, I woke up at three, ran to an exercise class, did that class and ran here,” said Susie.
It means they will be running through two days and two nights.
“I think the hardest thing is just staying awake that long because it is a really long time,” said Tomos, Deputy CEO of Oasis, a charity that helps refugees and asylum seekers in Cardiff.
Their strategy involves taking short naps throughout the race but not properly falling asleep because they would not be able to complete the race if they spent too long asleep.
Susie said that neither of them have particular experience of running through the night.
“I feel like it can’t be much worse than managing a small child around full-time work,” she said.
“I was super sleep deprived then.”
But it is not just the distance and the sleeplessness that they have to cope with. The route has over 17,000 feet of elevation – the equivalent summit height of six Pen y Fan’s stacked on top of each other.
“The consolation is that there is 17,000 feet of downhill too. That is what I am going to focus on,” said Susie, the CEO of charity.
On race day, eating is a key part of the strategy and they plan to use chocolate bars, crisps and fizzy drinks, or anything else they can use for the energy to carry on.
“In my mind I just keep thinking ‘I’m going to run 10 miles and get loads of food and then run another 10 miles and get more food.’ That is how I break it down,” said Tomos.
The pair also have to navigate their way round the route using a mixture of markers on the route and their watches. The route starts in Abergavenny and follows along the Brecon Way, the Cambrian Way and the ancient Offa’s Dyke.
Susie said this has been an issue for them in the past when they got lost on their Gower Ultra.
The finish of the exhausting run lands on Susie’s birthday: “I’m excited to be sung to at midnight by Tomos.”
But, as it is a school day, Susie’s husband and daughter might not be able to meet her at the finish line alongside Tomos’ wife and their Oasis colleagues.
What does the training involve?
Early mornings have become Susie’s best friend, as she juggles being a CEO, training for the ultramarathon and her family life, taking care of her 10-year-old daughter.
“This morning, I woke up at three, ran to an exercise class, did that class and ran here,” said Susie.
Her training plan consists of 55 to 60 miles a week, with some cross-training and pace work dotted in to get to the required fitness level.
“I find it a really good headspace around work. I listen to music or a podcast or just nothing really,” she said.
Susie is the less experienced of the two because before she moved to Cardiff in 2013, she had never run before. She got into running because all you need are trainers and some time.
It started small with a 10km race and then spiralled into 10 miles and then 44 miles at the Brecon to Cardiff Ultra. The furthest Tomos has run so far is 50 miles at the Gower Ultra.
To train for the lack of sleep, they have planned several training runs through the night starting on a Friday night.
The race is also extremely hilly and so Susie has joined a fell running club to help her get used to the steep climbs. The group ran up Pen y Fan on one of the Tuesday evening sessions.
Tomos joked that they would give each other piggybacks because he liked going uphill but disliked the downhill stretches.
Although Tomos is not yet matching Susie’s weekly mileage, he ran a 30-mile ultra in just under six hours in Aberdare in preparation for the race.
The two of them consistently run 10 miles of a Monday morning together and even after Tomos’ ultra on the Saturday, he made it to their Monday morning run.
“Think of all the philosophical discussions we wouldn’t have had if we didn’t go out at 5:30 on a Monday morning. We have smashed the patriarchy. We have sorted out politics. It is a pretty broad spectrum,” said Susie.
Why did they decide to do the race?
With a steaming cup of tea in hand and sweaty running kit strewn on the radiator, the pair described their motivations for running the race.
“You have to go big for fundraising. 100 miles felt like it is big enough to ask people to support us,” said Tomos.
They are hoping to raise £5,000 to help keep the hot lunches served every day, the English classes, the casework and the space for refugees and asylum seekers to commune in.
“We have between 100 and 200 people coming here every day. The demand for it just keeps going up and up, so innovative fundraising is a way of keeping us going,” said Susie.
Susie recognised that as well as the financial benefits this race would bring, it would also help to improve the profile of the Splott-based charity.
“I spend a lot of time running around in my refugee’s welcome t-shirt. At a time when there is a lot of negativity about migration and asylum seekers, I think it’s really important. We are promoting a positive message,” she said.
“What I like about ultra running is that when I stand on the start line, I know that for the next however many hours I just have to run. I have no other responsibilities.
“It is the most supportive and chatty environment. You will run with strangers for 10 miles and chat away,” said Tomos.
