Challenge Roth

Way back in 2019, after I had done Roth in 2018, me and Dan decided to play the lottery game and try to get a place for 2020. For those that haven’t tried, entries open and are sold out in around 15 seconds!!

Dan being a millennial, was fast on the keyboard and got a place, I was a few seconds too late. The plan, then was for me and Ann to go and support Dan. Fast forward passed 2020 and 2021, when no racing really happened, and Dan’s entry was for 2022. Now, as luck would have it, the day after we raced in Sardinia last October, Roth opened up a final batch of a few places for the 2022 race. So, me, Dan, Ann and Rachel, all got on line to try to bag me a place…..Dan won again and got me one!!

So, 10 days after the Lakesman, we flew to Munich, hired a car and travelled to our air bnb near Roth. The thing about Roth is that it is the smallest of German towns, with hardly any accommodation available, and what is available is quickly snapped up by the pros. In 2019, we stayed in Nuremburg – 20 miles away, this time, another smaller village about the same distance away. Logistics is probably the biggest challenge with this race – split transition, lots of back and to for all the usual pre-race activities.

Friday morning, we took part in the practice swim. The swim course is in the main ship canal, and for a short time early on the Friday and Saturday morning they close the canal to traffic and let athletes (and their families) swim on the course. On the Friday morning, we swam 1km upstream slowly, and 1km downstream quickly….current assisted it seemed. We then went into Roth for coffee, registration and the biggest Expo I’ve been too (Hooray, the Clif bar stall is back doing unlimited free samples ).

Back to the air bnb and a short run, really to see how Dan’s injury was more than anything…still there sadly!

Saturday saw a short spin on the bikes and then the usual kit faffing before racking and bag drop off in the afternoon, and the return of the in-person race brief in the finishing stadium (a scaffold affair built specifically for the race event and removed again afterwards).

So, onto race day – 4:30 alarm for a relatively sedate start time – 6:50 for Dan 7:25 for me. The usual breakfast of soaked oats with nut and chocolate – the first 1000 calories of the day and 1 litre of PH.

Despite the weather forecasting 30+ degrees for the day, at 5:00 it was SEC hoody weather, and off we drove to T1 again. By 6:30 everything was done that needed doing (including the re-inflation of tyres – for the first time, I took air out of my tyres when I left the bike on Saturday in direct sunlight and 30+ degrees) and the sun was up. The pros we starting and the AG fields started to gather. AG waves were 5 mins apart, and the protocol was, one group in the water ready to go, the next group in a pen on the side of the canal, the next group at the start of the queue outside the pen. Soon enough it was time to enter the 22 degree water, and splash up the canal to the start line – around 50m from where you enter. My grand plan was to start at the front on the side nearest the canal bank, as I figured the current that I would swim into would be weakest by the bank. What I hadn’t taken into account was that the only place you could stand up, was at that edge, so 100 of the 200 in the wave migrated to that edge. I stuck to the plan, and hoped others would move out as we got towards the start time……it sort of worked, but in any case, the first 200m were carnage – no idea how the wave had been put together, but there seemed to be all ages and all abilities, and it took time to sort ourselves out! The good thing about swimming up a canal and back, is that they put distance markers every 200m on the canal bank, so I had set my watch to alert every 10 mins, knowing that I would have a good idea of distance covered. I found some great feet, and got to the 1500m turnaround point in what I estimated to be 25 mins. Now I thought this was the “into the current section”, and thought I was on for an awesome time!! The turn buoy was carnage, and I lost the good feet I had found, and ended up swimming alone for some time, but I wasn’t too concerned, as I was expecting to be swept speedily downstream. It soon became evident that someone had either turned the tap off, or I had backed off to much - but my pace was very similar to the way out, if maybe a little slower!! I passed under the bridge with loads of spectators on at 3100m and soon after that the 1 hour buzzer went on my watch. Another turnaround buoy and the last 300m to the exit and out in 1:06 - not what I expected at the first turn buoy, and may 2-3 mins slower than would have made me smile, but onwards.

T1 was always going to be quick despite the size of it to accommodate 5000 athletes. My T1 bag contained a race belt - so off with the wetsuit, into the bag and off we go. On the bike and riding in 2:30 . There’s a 200m stretch up from T1 to the main road, and I saw Ann there which is always good for the moral.

One of the “special” features of Roth is that for those caught drafting, you get the standard 5 minute penalty, but there is also an extra out and back 1km on the run that you have to complete as an extra punishment…..to be avoided at all costs.

The bike course is a dream. Closed roads, smooth tarmac, some sections where you would just gladly cycle all day. Its not flat – about 1400m in total, and there are some long draggy hills, but some outstanding long descents and flat sections.

I had split the bike course into sections – first major climb 38-45km, Solar Hill 71-73km, passed T1 at 85km and back round again, then a little 10km bit into T2. I had my nutrition plan as ever – tailwind syrup, picking up water at the aid stations and diluting into my aero bottle. I quickly became aware that I was going to need more than the standard 750ml per hour and on the second loop upped it to over 1000ml per hour (there are loads of feed stations), and in addition at every feed station I took a water bottle to squirt over my head and down my back - it was starting to get warm.

Now Solar Hill is something special. You approach it, and can hear it, and then you take a right-hand turn and its in front of you. The road has crowd control barriers keeping the crowds about 2 meters away from you for the first couple of hundred meters, this is where I saw Ann again. Then the barriers disappear, the crowds close in, you can’t really see a gap to go through until you get right to it, the noise is deafening, spectators are hitting you with inflatable batons, and so it goes on for several minutes – you forget entirely that you are climbing a hill!! First 85km to T1 completed in 2:32, happy with that. Round the loop again, up Solar again, where there are still 100s of people, and the 2nd loop completed in 2:36, happy with that too and feeling good. In to T2 in 5:23 and 10 mins quicker than last time out! My only concern – 8 bottles consumed on the bike….no pee…hmmm!!

Flying dismount, bike grabbed by a volunteer to be racked for you, and off for another quick transition – socks on, trainers on, glasses on, cap full of nutrition in hand and off we go. T2 was 3 mins, which would have been 2:30 if they hadn’t put an aid station within T2 with sponges…..grabbed 6 and stuffed them down my trisuit….but because I hadn’t pocketed my nutrition yet, it all got a bit messy!!! Ann was dutifully on the entrance to T2 and the exit, and I know she is always happy to see us back off the bike, so that made me happy!

So, out onto the run – 4 * 90gram PH gels, 12 PH salt tablets in my pockets. The plan was to run between the aid stations and walk the aid station to either take gels or salt tablets, always drink water and get sponges / dunk my cap in the big water bins. This worked wonderfully and I completed the first HM in 2 hours, feeling amazingly pretty good!! A bit of mental maths, and repeating that 2 hours for the second half would see me finish in about 10:35…a 20 min PB and a respectable time - I cut myself some slack and mentally went for 10:45.

At 25km, the wheels started to loosen and soon the plan was in a mess!! Within 1 km, my left quad was hurting, my left calf / achillees was hurting, my right hip flexor was complaining and my stomach was sick of having stuff emptied into it. My nutrition thus far had been spot on, and I had consumed 500-750ml of water every 2-3km (what I didn’t realise to start with was that the water they were giving out at the start and end of the aid stations was for cooling, not drinking (and was being pumped into the containers from the canal - oh well, it would mix with the water I had consumed in the swim!!). There were also very kind volunteers through buckets of water over you which was very welcome!

The last 15km, takes you through the town, out the other side, up a hill, down a hill, and back again before entering the stadium. Now there was lots going on in my mind here. I could see my 10:45 slipping away as the run periods got shorter and the walk periods longer, and I moved onto salt tablets and coke to keep me going. A brief flirt with “I just cant be arsed with this”, but that was soon discarded, then my mind went back to a conversation we had the previous night about how special it would be to be the last athlete finishing in the finish line party at 11pm….but I couldn’t work out how to make 15km last the 6 hours I needed it too! Just as this was all washing round my slightly fuzzy mind, I reached the 32km point which is an Erdinger fan zone, and where Ann would be waiting patiently for me. I saw her and stopped for a chat – she told me that Dan had won his AG, finished in 8:37 and run a 3:05 marathon. I had seen him after 2km on the run (he had done 26km) and he looked to moving very well! I set off again, a touch emotional and vowed to get myself round in sub 11 (I’ve only gone longer than 11 at Lanza and Wales, a record I’m quite proud of!)

Walk, jog, walk, jog, coke, salt, dunk head in bucket of water and finally back into town and 40km done. The 11 hours was looking dodgy, and entering the stadium I knew it had just slipped away, but focused on the finishing experience – which is the best I have been part of….finally crossing the line in 11:02.

Am I happy…yes of course, just finishing 140.6 is a success, doing so in 36 degree heat 2 weeks after burying myself to get the AG win at the Lakesman is great. Dan had, had a great day, and I was only really here to watch him do just that. From where I was at 25km of the run, thinking 10:45 was possible, I would have liked to stay under 11 again…..but that’s racing 