“Getting my first ultra so wrong was my greatest learning experience”

Ultrarunner and coach, Mike Hewston, explains why his first ultra was a disaster and how getting it so wrong taught him very important lessons...

Have you always been a runner?

I’ve always been heavily into training and fitness but not running. It was in 2012 and then 2013 that I ran a couple of running events – a half marathon and a 17 miler – and I essentially winged them. Then I didn’t do anything until signing up for an Aberdeen half marathon in 2018, running it for charity. That went well enough, so I thought I’d challenge myself to more running events, and in 2019 signed up for two 10Ks, six half marathons, three full marathons and a 50K. You could say that I don’t do anything by halves!

I completed all the races apart from the last half and final marathon due to life getting in the way. I did however complete the 50K which went totally wrong!

Tell us more – what was the race?

It was the 50K Run to the Blades near Glasgow. The course is on a closed-off windfarm and it’s pretty flat with very little elevation so on paper it was the perfect first ultra.

So what happened?

It was a total disaster from my point of view. Everything went wrong due to very poor preparation in terms of training, mentality, nutrition, kit usage and stamina. I did absolutely everything wrong! At the finish line I broke down in tears as I was in agony. Plus, I had a marathon two weeks’ later and the thought of having to recover and do that was horrific.

Let’s look at your training – what hadn’t you got right?

I’d run marathon distances by the time of the ultra and my Stirling marathon in the run-up to the race had gone well. But it hadn’t set me up to understand enough going into the 50K and what running a long distance feels like on my body. Ultimately, I hadn’t trained with an ultra in mind and my pacing was all over the place. I started far too quickly and was pacing myself as if I was running a half marathon. I had a specific time in mind that I thought I should hit. In fact, it’s taken me 5 years to get that time and so I was massively out. My expectations just weren’t realistic from the ‘get go’.

I also hadn’t prepared my body well enough. I was really tired before I’d even started the race because of 14-hour workdays in the weeks leading up to the race.

And what about your kit?

I used a hydration vest I’d never run in before. Plus, I used a bladder I’d never used before. There’s a lot to be said for the “don’t try anything new on race day” mantra. My kit just didn’t work for me when I needed it to because I hadn’t practiced with it.

Did you manage to take on enough nutrition?

Simply put, no! I didn’t drink enough during the race and hardly took on any nutrition. I also hadn’t realised that how your body responds to nutrition at 20 miles is very different to how it will respond at 40 miles, and I just hadn’t trained my gut for taking on nutrition during an ultra event.

Anything else go wrong?

I simply didn’t understand the importance of the mental game when running an ultra and the resilience needed, especially when things started to unravel. Making adaptations when things go wrong is part and parcel of ultrarunning, but mentally, I wasn’t in a good place to handle the setbacks.

At the end of the day, every single element just flipped the wrong way for me during my first ultra and so it’s no surprise that I started to pick up injuries as the race went on. 13 miles in and my hips went. I then started harboring injuries and feeling more and more sorry for myself!

It was clearly a tough experience, so why did you decide to do another ultra?

I’m not someone who gives up and I decided to learn from my mistakes. I also realised that I had put a lot of pressure on myself when going into my first ultra, which I didn’t want to do the next time.

I did a 32-mile run a few months’ later once I’d healed, and took on all the lessons from getting it wrong. As a result, I had a totally different experience. I was much faster, I wasn’t in tears at the end and I could get on with my day after the race rather than feeling totally broken. It was a self-supported race too which came with extra challenges, but all the mistakes from my first ultra put me in a really good place going into the 32-miler. I was taught things that I really needed to know! I now focus on getting the key elements right – training and preparation, kit, nutrition and mentality.

Above everything, what’s the key thing your first ultra taught you?

I’ve learnt that when it comes to ultras, running is far more mental than physical. I’ve focused on changing my mentality above anything else and this is when my performance has improved. It’s about asking yourself – how are you going to act and react when something hurts or blindsides you? Ultras allow you to ask questions of yourself, and provide an exploration into you as a person and what you can learn. They’re about so much more than running!

Follow Mike Hewston @running_beyond_limits