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Gordonian Runners - An Update From Mark Bissett 8077
Monday, 28 November 2022
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Gordonian Mark Bissett 8077 (1982) features in our Autumn 2022 Newsletter with a small snapshot of his busy summer. Here he describes, in full, the amazing races he’s completed including the most testing weather conditions but the most amazing finish lines. Congratulations Mark on an amazing summer and thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Gordonian Runners. Summer 2022 - Montane Summer Spine Race, UTMB and Spartathlon Three races that would grace any bucket list and I was running all three in one summer season. I already had a spot in the Spine Race, but then unexpectedly secured a place in the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc and then a place on the British Spartathlon Team. Places in these races are difficult to secure, so I wasn’t prepared to pass on any of them, despite the limited recovery time between each event. My winter training had gone well and preparation for the Summer Spine Race was going well. I had competed in some early season trail and road marathons, had competed a 45 mile ultra in Wales and was injury free etc. However, I’d been running with a small hernia for about 6 months and it was beginning to get uncomfortable. I took a calculated gamble and had surgery in East Germany to fix it, 6 weeks before the start of the Spine. This may sound a bit ‘dodgy’, but Dr Koch, is one of Europe’s top hernia surgeons and has treated many Premiership Football players. Summer Spine Race: 19th June – before I knew it, I was stood on the start line of the Spine Race. The hernia was fixed and I had resumed running a week after the operation. I just hoped it was hold out for the duration of this race. The Montane Summer Spine Race, is a 268 mile foot race along The Pennine Way, from Edale in the English Peak District, to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. The cut-off for the event was 156 hours (6.5 days). The race was an incredible and thrilling experience, which tested my resolve to the limit. You are expected to race with a degree of self-sufficiency and skill, which in many ways, sets this race apart from others. Checkpoints were between 40 and 60 miles apart, so fending for yourself and carrying sufficient food and water was crucial. The daytime heat made things very tough for most of the race and as the week went on, the weather got hotter and hotter. I ran low on water several times between checkpoints, so filtering water from rivers, streams and bogs, was essential. We also had some stormy conditions to contend with during the 5 full nights we were on the course. Trying to navigate over the highest peaks of the Northern Pennines and the Cheviots, in bad weather, on boggy ground, in near zero visibility, whilst suffering with severe sleep deprivation, was no joke. I think I got about 7 hours sleep over the duration of the race, which wasn’t enough - waves of tiredness were frustrating and difficult to deal with. Then there were the midges! Trying to sort yourself, your kit and trying to sleep in a small tent, whilst getting savaged by midges was no fun. The goggles we were carrying to protect our eyes in the strong winds, came in useful to protect against these ‘airborne piranhas’ as we got closer to Scotland. The sheer scale of the landscape, as far as the eye could see was daunting and impressive. I finished at Kirk Yetholm in 114 hours 30:27 (4 days 18 hours), in 17th Place from 121 starters. I wasn’t sure this race was going to be a possibility, 6 weeks after my hernia operation, but I took things steady, and everything remained intact. I sent some photos to my surgeon in East Germany, who was genuinely pleased that I’d completed the race. Next up was UTMB in 8 weeks. UTMB: Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc is considered the ‘Super Bowl’ of trail running. A super-iconic race, which attracts the world’s elite trail runners to Chamonix every year. It also gives average runners like myself, the chance to attain one of the rarest levels of human physical achievement. UTMB is a single-stage ultra marathon, which follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc through France, Italy and Switzerland. It has a distance of approximately 171 kilometres (106 mi) and a total elevation gain of around 10,040 metres (32,940 ft). It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in the world and one of the largest, with more than 2,500 starters. The cut-off for the event is 46 hours. My main objective was to finish UTMB, without injuring myself. The last time I had raced in the Alps (2019), I fractured my heel. I was also on the British Spartathlon Team that year and with 3 hard months of rehab, I only just made the start line. This time, I only had 5 weeks before Spartathlon, so I couldn’t afford any dramas. The race starts and finishes in the centre of Chamonix, France - at 6pm on Friday 26th August, we were underway. I’ve been known to get emotional on a finish line, but I don’t mind admitting, I had a lump in my throat as we ran out of Chamonix, cheered on by thousands of supporters - it was like nothing I’ve previously experienced. The late start means you go straight into your first night stage. You are climbing and descending steep technical mountain trails in the dark and at altitude. It’s really hard going and most of the damage in your legs is caused during the steep, never-ending descents. Your quads get ‘trashed’ and into the later stages of the race, descending becomes extremely painful and tricky. The scenery throughout the race was simply breathtaking. The weather was also extremely kind to us. In previous years, the race has been shortened or diverted due to bad weather, but we had fine conditions throughout – actually too warm. The race was both epic and brutal – all the superlatives you can think of rolled into one. I made my descent back into Chamonix at about 08:30 on Sunday morning and was delighted to complete the race, unscathed. I finished in 38:27:16 hours, in 693rd place and 14th in my age category. Approximately 1700 runners finished the race, from about 2795 starters. The next few weeks, were spent recovering and ‘ticking over’, getting ready for the final and most difficult race of the three – Spartathlon in Greece, on 30th September. Spartathlon: In 2019, I realised a dream - kissing the foot of King Leonidas in Sparta, as a Spartathlon finisher. The race was so tough in 2019, I had no desire to put myself through that level of suffering again, but it’s irresistible - the lure of Sparta, the epic finish line, the team, the crews, the history of the race and Greece was too much resist - once is simply not enough. Described by some as the worlds most gruelling race, Spartathlon is a 153 mile (246km) ultramarathon, between Athens and Sparta. It traces the steps of Pheidippides, an Athenian messenger sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek help against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. The race starts from the Acropolis of Athens and finishes in Sparta, at the statue of King Leonidas. Finishers climb the steps and kiss the foot of Leonidas, to complete the race. It is truly awe inspiring and without doubt, one of the best race finish lines on the planet. The race is essentially a road race, with tight cut-off times throughout. At 100 miles, you leave the road and complete a short mountain stage, climbing the Sangas Mountain pass on Mount Parthenion ( 1110m), before rejoining the road for the final 50 miles to Sparta. This year’s race took place in extreme temperatures, the hottest since 2012. On Saturday, temperatures reached 36 degrees and a blistering 38 during day 2. Coping with the heat is the major issue in this race - it’s brutal, the course is very exposed and there is very little relief. Running on the hard road surface is also relentless - it’s tough on the body and the soles of your feet get very painful. Due to the heat, almost every runner suffered sickness and nausea for large parts of the race, including myself. It got extremely difficult to stomach any food or nutrition. As I began the steep descent into Sparta, I was ‘running on vapours’, but the finish line beckoned and the last few kilometres are a pure joy. The public support is fantastic – there is widespread coverage of the race. People in villages come out to support and cheer you past. Car and lorry drivers are constantly sounding their horns in support along the road and as you get closer to the centre of Sparta, the atmosphere builds. Thousands of people cheers you into Sparta, children on bikes ride along side you and the enormity of what you have achieved is applauded right to the finish. You are announced and greeted by the Mayor of Sparta, before approaching Leonidas, climbing the steps of the statue and kissing his foot. A truly magical moment, experienced by few. I finished the race, in a time of 34:13:05, roughly 90 minutes quicker than 2019 and nearly 2 hours inside the 36 hour limit. I was 89th from about 355 starters and 174 finishers. I’m absolutely delighted to have finished these races and honoured to have represented Gordonian Runners at the highest level. I am also very proud to maintain my links with Gordon's School through our small but inclusive Running club. #semperfidelis Mark Bissett 8077 (1982) |