The Fission 20 race

The Fission 20 is a popular 20 mile road race in Gloucestershire. Organised by Rogue Runs, it takes place in Berkeley, in March every year. It is generally run by people training for a marathon. There is also a half marathon at the same event.

I recently ran the Fission 20 for the first time. In fact, it was my first time ever running 20 miles! My previous marathon training had consisted of 18 mile runs and one 22 mile run, with no 20 mile run.

I’d discussed with my coach about how to pace it. I had to remember that, for me, the Fission 20 was a training run, not a race. She suggested I start off at marathon pace, then slow it down slightly between five and 10 miles, when the course gets a bit bumpy, and aim to pick up back to marathon pace towards the end. Coming at the end of a week in which I’d already run 24 miles over the course of four runs, I wasn’t going in with fresh legs.

In addition, I’d had a very late night the night before. We’d gone to see Paddington The Musical for my daughter’s birthday (it is amazing!), which finished at 9:45pm. We got home to Gloucestershire at just before 1am. And I needed to be up at 5:30. So of course I woke up at 4:55, worrying about how tired I was and how I wouldn’t be able to run the race.

The weather forecast was for cold, cloudy and possibly wet weather. I’d been warned that the wind across the course was always cold. At the last minute, I decided to put suncream on. I also opted to wear the arm warmers/ sleeves I’d got in the Lisbon half marathon goody bag. They meant I could keep my arms warm without wearing an extra layer and overheating. I was testing out my new Nike Alphaflys, which I plan to wear for Newport marathon.

The race was due to start at 9am. Parking was at Berkeley power station, where Berkeley Green parkrun takes place. There was a 10 minute walk to the social club which was race HQ. I queued for the toilet before picking up my number, then queued for my number, attached it to my vest and queued for the toilet again! There were five normal cubicles, one urinal cubicle and apparently a couple of toilets inside the building. For 650 runners. The bag drop was inside the building and wasn’t secure, but runners are trustworthy people.

There was then a 10 minute walk to the start line. It was a gun start and chip finish, so the race couldn’t start until everyone was out of the toilet. It was delayed by about 10 minutes. I actually couldn’t see where the start line was. I was stood in a crowd of people, who it turned out where slower than me, then the gun went off.

I wove around some people and settled into a rhythm. The first mile went slowly. I had a brief chat with one of my main rivals from last year’s Gloucestershire AAA race series. The Fission 20 is on the series so, even though I was running as a training run rather than a race, I was hoping to bank some points.

My coach had told me the first five miles were largely flat. There was one short climb at just after a mile and a bigger climb at three miles. The first water station was at the top of this hill. The 20 mile race is a two lap course, so we passed each of the three water stations twice. There were also toilets at the water stations. Water was in bottles with the lids off and no sports lids. They were easier to drink out of than paper cups, but not easy enough that I would feel confident I could drink enough water without carrying my own. I balanced the water I was carrying, which contained electrolytes, with the water from the water stations. It meant I had to keep thinking about when I was due to drink, which was slightly complicated.

I was also testing my fuelling on the race. My coach wanted me to take five gels in total – at 3.5 mile intervals. This worked well and I had no adverse effects. The only downside was having to wear my hydration vest (backpack), which I’m not keen on, as my belt doesn’t have space for five gels.

The roads were all open, but there was very little traffic. The road surface was pretty uneven, with lots of potholes. The race was very strictly no headphones, which wasn’t great. I had the same four lines of the last song I’d heard (Blueberry Hill by Yungblud) stuck in my head for the entirety of the race.

We ran through the villages of Hill and Rockhampton. There was a bit of a climb at six miles. This is where I’d been advised to slow down a bit. I actually tried, but every time I looked at my watch it seemed I hadn’t slowed down. In the end, I decided to just stay at the same pace, as I was supposed to be picking back up to marathon pace at 10 miles anyway.

I was running alongside two pairs of women, one of whom I recognised as being in my age category. I thought I could probably sneak in ahead of her at the finish line. As it happens, I overtook both sets of women at eight miles and didn’t see them again.

The route isn’t that interesting and it’s not great running without music. But I had a real confidence boost when I passed the 10 mile mark and started my second lap. The race has a strict four hour cut-off. Anyone who reaches this point at 11am or later has to drop out. And anyone who reaches the fifth water station (14.5 miles) at 11:55 or later also has to drop out.

Everything I’d seen on the first lap seemed to come round quite quickly and I was surprised at how much I remembered. I felt strong and overtook quite a few people, mainly men.

The sun had been shining in the first half and it felt almost warm, despite the chilly wind. In the second half, it clouded over. At 14 miles it started drizzling. This had turned to heavy ran by my last mile.

I finished the second lap at about 18.5 miles and it was then mainly a gradual downhill to the finish line. I’d been advised to run a bit faster for this bit. So I did!

I crossed the finish line in 2:51:03. I’d hoped to run it in under three hours, so I was very happy with that. Managing to maintain marathon pace throughout, despite running on tired legs, has given me a real confidence boost for the marathon. I think using the gels really helped my energy not to dip.

To be more sustainable, entrants to the Fission 20 and half marathon could choose whether they wanted a medal and/ or Tshirt and pay extra for them. I opted for a medal, but not a Tshirt, as I have plenty of race Tshirts.

Sadly I didn’t pick up many points for the Gloucestershire AAA series. I was fourth in my category of county runners, so I’m going to need to do at least another eight races, to cancel this one out!