Ridgeway 85
21 watchers
Aug 2010
10:14pm, 30 Aug 2010
9,605 posts
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chrisity
one of our club did this, you might find his account interesting I am indebted beyond mere simple words of thanks to Rob and to Rosie for being my support team on the run. I've wanted to complete the Ridgeway Ultra for a long time and without them I wouldn't have succeeded. At my most lowest points during the race, of which there were many, their encouragement was boundless and a joy to have in the remotest high places of the Wiltshire downs. The race checkpoints were manned by great people and their lights and fires lit up the nights sky after dusk and the whir of generators and hiss of gas stoves heard on the wind. Ghostly apparitions shuffled by and we exchanged comradely words of black humour and then to repass each other hours later. From about checkpoint 6 at 52.4 miles as it got dark my memories are few as I concentrated on route finding but over my shoulder a three quarter moon rose and lit the way. A tawny owl glided down a wooded gulley and a stone curlew called from a high grassland. As dawn broke with the last 6 miles remaining I managed to jog in to find the bronze medal waiting for me and time for a few tears. I have found the limit of what I'm capable of and gone beyond it - probably too far. Soon after I came close to collapse and was taken by ambulance to Swindon hospital as muscle break down chemicals flooded my bloodstream causing acute renal failure and raised potassium levels. A second night in hospital now and continual saline drips are leaching the toxins from my system and despite the kingsize dehydration headache and painful quad muscles I should be discharged fairly soon. Memories abound from this race but never again and never, ever, ever as far as 86.5 miles again! |
Aug 2010
11:19pm, 30 Aug 2010
11,697 posts
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ogee
Shit chrisity, we saw him in the social hall getting treatment from the St John ambulance people, I never realised it was so serious. Please give him my best wishes for a speedy recovery. |
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Aug 2010
11:33pm, 30 Aug 2010
9,608 posts
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chrisity
will do Ogee, he's the gutsiest runner i know but i think he found his match.
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Aug 2010
10:49am, 31 Aug 2010
53 posts
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miss_sunshine
Hi Chrisity - I am guessing he was number 100 - please pass on my best wishes too - he got me from Goring check point back on the Ridgeway - I think he had just pulled a muscle and said he was meeting his crew when we got to the next section - I ran on ahead and warned them and I just thought he stopped as I saw the car go off as he looked very pale at the time - next time I'll be more aware and make sure if they don't sound or look 100% stick with them.
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Aug 2010
12:51pm, 31 Aug 2010
9,614 posts
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chrisity
i've passed the link onto this thread to him, so i expect he has your wishes MS.
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Sep 2010
3:51pm, 2 Sep 2010
1,279 posts
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sarah1
Gosh, Just read this !! Really hope He's better now. Hope everyone is recovering well & no serious injuries 
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Sep 2010
5:00pm, 2 Sep 2010
9,626 posts
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chrisity
news on rich Wilkinson, he says Thanks all here & get well texts I've received - Chris, pass my thanks for their best wishes to the Fetchies. Kidney function back to normal and raised chemical levels falling & should be released from hospital tomorrow. Not sure what happened on this race as I'm no stranger to the long hard slogs just have to go through the race splits & work out. What has come out is that my heart ECG traces show such an unusual pattern (not caused by the race or it's aftermath) that the whole cardiology team gathered around as they'd never seen one like it before. So, I'm about to have a heart ultrasound here in Swindon then will have further tests back home to see if the ECG & heart is normal for me or I've got some underling condition that's lain hidden. So if nothing else, some random good luck of falling ill after the race might have brought light on something - that I hope is nothing to worry about! Whatever the test outcomes are I'll be taking a break from running and try something a little less dangerous. I've booked 10 days in Alaska solo ice climbing. Dicky Wilkinson is in the ward. |
Sep 2010
5:10pm, 2 Sep 2010
328 posts
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bruno.
Good news that he's recovering, and I wonder what has caused it? Perhaps it's just one of those anomalous instances--in my limited experience it seems to me that sometimes you do really well with maintaining a good physical state throughout a race, and sometimes you flirt with problems without ever realising it (and sometimes they develop into more). I wonder what, if any, symptoms he had indicating a problem before he collapsed? In any case glad to hear he's doing better. |
Sep 2010
5:20pm, 2 Sep 2010
2,737 posts
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flip
Glad to see him recovering . I wish him well. Dr. Chriss Ellis , the doctor at kinlochleven in the whw race writes some good stuff about ultra running if anyone hasn't seen it . westhighlandwayrace.org |
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Sep 2010
5:22pm, 2 Sep 2010
2,738 posts
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flip
.............Four athletes have been hospitalised with this in the last 2 years. The muscles break down and liberate their contents into the circulation, with multiple consequences, including clogging of the kidneys, which then fail. In keeping with the theme of this guideline, the manifestations of this are non-specific, although protracted vomiting was a feature in the 2 athletes most severely affected. Both these athletes had kidney failure, which may explain the vomiting, rather than the rhabdomyolysis itself, in which case, there are no obvious early features. Muscle soreness may occur, but you can all expect this, without implicating rhabdomyolysis. 50% of athletes with rhabdomyolysis pass reddy-brown urine, discoloured by muscle breakdown products. As 50% do not, absence of discolouration is no reassurance. Additionally, innocent blood stained urine can occur in runners merely by the bladder walls rubbing. Medical evaluation of discoloured urine is warranted. There appears no means of preventing this. Exertion, heat, seizures and low sodium all dispose to it, but rhabdomyolysis can occur without any of these. There may be a hereditary disposition to rhabdomyolysis with suggested association between it, heatstroke and susceptibility to some drugs. Muscle damage from the large (14,600 ft) amount of downhill running may also be a contributory factor, and a possible explanation for absence of similar cases in the South African studies reviewed.
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