Tips for success in the Montane Dragon's Back Race®
We asked former Dragon’s Back Race participants for their lessons learned and tips for success.
Zoe Murphy: “My strategy is chunking it. I think of chunks at a time and not the whole race.”
Andrew Barnes: “Try not to burn out each day. Tempting as it is to charge to the finish line each day, you need to keep a little in the tank for the next day.”
Oliver Smith: “Train as hard as you can but take it easy when you are in the race. My motto is sleep, eat and smile.”
Colin Green: “It is vital that you prepare for this race by getting time in the mountains and on the steep stuff.”
Shaun Foxcroft: ”Don’t hang about at the support points. Have a strategy for not hanging about. Do all you need to and get moving again.”
Fresh river water is great for rehydration and cooling of on hot days. © No Limits photography
Morten Ellis: “Don’t faff. Keep going and keep moving.”
Zoe Murphy: “When thing get tough, knowing that everyone is in the same boat and in it together really helps.”
Nathan Welch: “Don’t go too fast in the first few days but still make sure you make the cut-offs.”
Richard Ward: “Try to make sure you are moving fast enough to have proper recovery time in the evenings. If it gets too late you do not have enough time for important routine and admin and sleep.”
Shaun Foxcroft: “Wear proper sports underwear to avoid chafing.”
Look after your feet. © No Limits photography
Katie Mills: “Pretend you are happy all the time. My goal is always to have the most fun of everybody. That is the only competition I am interested in. It helps to be happy.”
Orran Smith: “When it is hot, run to a much slower heart-rate than you are used to.“
Nicholas Barber: “Don’t think about the big picture. Try not to worry about what you have done and what you still have to do.”
John Rugen: “Make sure you know what you are doing with your feet. My feet are shredded so you need to have a strategy for good footcare.”
Alan Jeffrey: “I’d say you need at least a year of training for this race. You need to adapt your body to long periods of endurance.”
Alan adds: “Do it for the right reasons. Do it as a target or challenge. Don't do it for the kudos but do it to challenge yourself mentally and physically.”
Sam Skinner: “You can’t be weak minded in this race, even for a minute. It is too easy to feel low and it could be too easy to quit because it is all such a rollercoaster of emotions. You need to be strong minded and focus on the goal of getting to the finish.”
He added another tip: “I do not have my mobile phone so I can shut off from the world and focus on the race.”
Will Kernick: “Be prepared for Wales and the weather.”
Use running poles for greater endurance. © No Limits photography
Deby Kumasaka: “Come to Wales and train on the route and in the hills and mountains.”
Scott Brown: “Learn from your mistakes from the day before. For example, I went too fast at the start of the first two days. Now I take each day much steadier and that is working for me.”
Daniel Wood: “Tape your feet and get out training in the bogs and hills to strengthen your ankles.”
Lee Lawrence: “Do a lot of mountain training.”
Top tips: Make use of the support point for food and admin but don’t stay too long. © No Limits photography
The more you train and in the right terrain the better the race will go. © No Limits photography
Sam Lloyd: “You need to recce the route and while doing that you should try a wide variety of foods. I have found that the foods I thought would work for me just haven’t because of the heat.”
Marcus Pletts: “You need to be mountain fit. You can’t just train on roads or just hills. It’s the mountain fitness that counts.”
Chris Brookman: “Just focus on one day at a time.”
Chris Taylor: “You need to be disciplined. There are so many times when you could let things go, such as having a lie down and not eating after a day of running, or not paying attention to the details. The discipline gets you through.”
Simon Roberts: “Eat more than you think you can. If you do that then you wake up feeling okay. I learned that on my first Dragon’s Back Race.”
Daniel Wood: “This race requires more than only a need for fitness or mental grit and determination. It’s the things you might not think about, such as weaknesses in the body that you need to be aware of. My ankles have not been strong enough and I did not take care of my feet. These things have affected my race and I will learn from them for next time.”
Make use of water where you find it for cooling off in high temperatures. © No Limits photography
Left to right: Poles are a great aid; fuel where you can; and dip a hat in water to cool off. ©No Limits Photography
Train for the terrain. ©No Limits Photography
More tips gleaned from the race
Stay cool: When it is hot – and this year’s race was extremely hot for the first few days – try to cool off in fresh water wherever you can. Look for steams and lakes. You can paddle, wade in or soak your head in the cool water.
Get the calories in: Eat as much as you can throughout the race but especially at the support point because you eat much less when you are on the move.
Poles apart: Running poles are essential for some of the days. Poles are beneficial because they aid balance, reduce impact on the downhills and help to power you uphill. Many people who use poles say they help with endurance.”
Assess and adapt: Learn quickly from what has gone wrong. If you get dehydrated, reassess the situation and take more water with you the next day. If you feel weak or tired, try to eat more during the race and in the evenings. Leaving problems too long will not result in success.
Learn to race: This is not a race you should do without getting some experience of multi-stage and long-distance mountain events first.
Look after evening admin: Routine after you finish each day is important. Andrew barnes said: “I get back, eat chips, wash, eat more food, take on more fluids, eat more food and get more fluids and then bed.”
Make sure you attend to issues as they arise in the race. ©No Limits Photography
Start early to give yourself enough time to make it to the checkpoints. ©No Limits Photography
Race motivation is important
Niclas Sjögren and Robert Berg are doing the race together. They said: “Doing the event as friends has really helped. We can motivate and support each other.”
Oliver Smith: “Have a reason to complete the race. I am raising money for Bigmoose Coffee Co, a charity that works for disabled kids in Cardiff and Epilepsy Research UK. I might not have reached the cut-off on day two, but I am still keeping going in the race as non-competitive because there are loads of people back home who are supporting me and I want to make sure I cross the finish line. I am from Cardiff and so I am running home.
“I have a reason to support the charities, too. My nephew has epilepsy and I have worked with Bigmoose when they put on triathlons for disabled children. All this provides motivation to complete the course.”
Michael Burke, who is taking part in this third Dragon’s Back Race is running for Macmillan Cancer Research after his mum passed away in July.
He said: “Mum had breast cancer and then pancreatic cancer. Macmillan was the charity she asked me to raise money for. It is a good motivation for keeping going, though I have done this race before for other charities and also the Cape Wrath Ultra. I like doing these types of races and also having a charity goal.”