🥈Madeira Skyrace

Racing above the clouds, down to the sea.

Prior to this race I took two weeks off from any running. I think a sensible precaution. It was weirdly painful landing on my left calf in an area very close to the bone after Transylvania100. The kind of pain you know you can’t ignore. I couldn’t shake the pain despite rest, and ended up getting an MRI in Bucharest (easy cheap private imaging there) which thankfully cleared me to run again. At this point I had a less than a week to test it out before the race. The clear MRI gave me confidence to go for it.

How much fitness can you lose in three weeks? The fact that I had just done a tough mountain ultra in Romania means the body needed some time to recover anyway.  I tried to access gyms and pools and rent bikes during this time, but rural Romania and Bucharest was not the easiest for this 😬. When I am at home, I am usually back on the bike or in the pool the next day after an ultra. For several days the most exercise I did was a wander around sightseeing, and some core work in the Airbnb. With less than a week to go once I’d got the MRI report, I think I may then have done a bit too much to ‘test’ things. I was debating dropping to the 22k skyrace instead, but had my heart on the full course. I felt I needed to get a few good runs in to make sure the injury was settled and that it was realistic that I tackle a beast like the full Madeira skyrace. Pre race evening I still had a bit of DOMS from this, and pain in the area, but was now committed to roll the dice and see what was possible. Standing in the dark on race morning realising I was not in my best condition but hoping things would go alright. I love the moments before a race start. A time of quiet reflection of everything that got you there, what it means, how lucky you are to be here in this place at this time doing something awesome like this.

The initial climb of 1400m out of town and then into cool forest trail, and eventually rising above the clouds, was awesome. Sitting in 2nd at a comfortable pace but realising my legs were nowhere near as springy as they should be. Once above the clouds a deep dark red and orange light started piercing through the gaps in the forest. What followed was the most spectacular sunrise I have seen. A deep dark red hitting the top of fluffy cloud tops highlighting each contour and bouncing off the mountain peaks. I debated getting my phone out for some pics/video but realised there were some photographers ahead, and decided to rely on their skill at capturing this beautiful site, whilst I concentrate on the technical trail beneath my feet (the photos I have seen definitely don’t do it justice!). I summited that first climb 2mins back from 1st and 2mins ahead of 3rd. One of the race officials however needed to do something with my gps tracker here which ate into this time a fair bit. Patiently waiting for him to do what he needed to do then shooting off, I could now see the chasers behind me. A bit frustrating to lose time like this, but out of my control.

What followed was a 4K loop of very technical mountain running losing 400m then climbing 500m to the next peak, with several chain/rope segments on both the downhill and uphill, rock climbing at times, with some fun drop offs on either side. I lost places here, not willing to push the downhills too much on my painful leg. Landing heavily still caused a pang of discomfort. A little turn around on the summit and highest point of the course showed 2-4th were pretty close.

The next part, 13-27km, was unaided and no water available. A net downhill of 1300m but with some punchy climbs and more chain/rope stuff to keep it interesting. Because of this it took a longer time to traverse than I realised and I was out of water and gels with 6k left to the aid station, starting to feel pretty dry and hot by the end of this. I let 2nd and 3rd go a bit on the steep descents, but thought I was moving pretty well, trying to mentally quiet the pain signals in my leg. To my surprise the few runnable kms on forestry trails and the two short climbs saw me catching 2-3rd again as they entered the aid station, where my support team was waiting. Amanda was with her mum Deborah and step-dad Michael who quickly sorted me out with full flasks and a bottle of water over the head, allowing me to leave first out of the group! So awesome having crew like this.  

The vibe of the second half was non-stop steep hills. So much of it way over 30% grade! Some along beautiful ancient water races (great to get some water over yourself to cool down). After the 27k aid station I reassessed, took on some fuel and water, and realised the body was going to feel subpar until the end, meaning I just needed to push and grind it out to the finish! Running through idyllic hilly villages with coastal views, along ancient cobbled trails, all the way down to the coast (we were at 1880m less than 2hrs ago!).

I realised at the coast there was a shorter 15k race that had just set off, as I could see the tail end of it and all the supporters lined up on the bridge. I had been eating into the lead a wee bit, but unfortunately for me 1st place managed to sneak through before the short race started but I did not. So I then spent many kms, and most of the rest of the race, threading my way through walkers and back-of-pack runners on single trail 😬, which just extended his lead.

(“On your right!” 😂)

A huge zig-zag climb back up the cliffs from the coast was a lot of fun, passing at least a hundred people, with support along the route, including kiwi runner Anna Frost there on a trail running camp. More very steep ups and downs (gaining 300m in a km, then losing it again, then repeat). At around 40k in I was sent seperate to the shorter race straight off the road to jump into an above waist-height river. About a km of river “running”, clambering up the slippery rocks, trying to ward off cramp. Coming out absolutely soaked a km later to re-join the shorter course runners and tackle the final remaining 1000m of more steep hills. 

By this point, I knew I was a safe 2nd place and I knew 1st was too far ahead to catch. Now it was just about giving my best, and not making any mistakes. Anything runnable I ran, threw myself down the descents, the ridiculously steep stuff I set into power hiking hands on knees. Because of the frequent rock climbing, chain/rope segments and the river section, I decided not to take my poles for this race. Those last 7k of steep hills I would have loved them! 😂. A quick pit stop at an aid station where Amanda again had a bottle to pour over my head. Still passing the shorter racers, no one passing me. Listening to a podcast and grinding up the hills. Relentless hills. A water fountain or two to soak my cap in and eventually the finish line came into view. Michael handed me a NZ and Scottish flag to cross the line with, which was pretty cool, and a great feeling to finally be done!  

Finishing, some hugs, re-check of my mandatory gear, some interviews and snacks and back to our accomodation 300m away for a shower. 

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 Deborah and Michael were there when I did my first Ironman back in 2019 in Taupo. They had the same flags and amazing support for me back then, as well as my win at Ben Nevis Ultra in Scotland and wins at Coast to coast & Shotover moonlight marathon in NZ, and were with me when I messed up my race at World champs in Spain last year. They are an amazing support team, bring the energy, and it means a lot. Spending time with them travelling before and after races and the support during they can see how much it can take, and they selflessly provide that extra boost along the course. 

As many European races, a full meal and drinks included when you finish which I gladly made use of before a prizegiving in the square with the Portuguese national champs, prize money, and the mayor handing out medals. I love events like this with local buy in and support in a big way 😁

A few days to explore Madeira, and it’s amazing mountainous scenery, a nice hotel pool and sauna, before flying back over to Lisbon. 

Really proud to have given this one a good shot. One of those days you just battle the body through it. Perhaps I should have trusted the residual fitness and done less in those last few days before the race and been fresher, or maybe that would have been worse. Who knows. It would have been nice to have been fighting a bit further up the course for first, closer to the splits I know I’m capable of. But a good experiment for me of time and training between ultras and what is possible. I always think it is a massive win to learn and develop during a race. Some things I will definitely take some learnings from for myself and those I coach.   Madeira is a spectacular place and this event I would recommend to anyone’s list of tough but amazing races around the world. 

What’s next? Lavaredo, with a medical conference and seeing family/friends in Scotland, and some travel inbetween. Hopefully some training between races this time! 😁