Endure 24 – Leeds 29/30 June 2024
As the name suggests, this event is a 24 hour test of physical and mental endurance. Runners from all over the country descend upon Bramham Park for the weekend near Wetherby to take on this challenge, which can be done solo, in pairs, or teams. The challenge is to run a 5 mile route around Bramham Park, completing as many laps as you can (or want to) in 24 hours!!!
We have had several Dragons teams take part in the event in previous years, which also includes camping for 2 nights, music on the Friday night and yoga on Saturday morning.
This year, 2 smaller teams of Dragons took on a slightly more gruelling challenge. Gill Brown and Dan Babington entered as a pair and Carolyn Park, Alex Ryan and Darren Mawson entered as a trio, meaning more running and less rest!
We arrived on Friday afternoon to bag our spot in the campsite, this year choosing to be close to the event village for better access, but also importantly making sure we were close to the 24-hour coffee van for those middle of the night refuels. And close enough (but not too close) to the portaloos!!! After registering and getting our T-shirts, numbers and chips, we headed home, opting for a decent night’s sleep over the temptations of the Friday night bar and music on offer.
We returned at about 10am on Saturday morning with enough equipment and snacks to live off for about a month and found that other tents had been pitched up pretty much on top of our tent…but we still just about managed to make space for the all important Dragons gazebo.
Fast forward 2 hours and we all made our way over to the start where anticipation was building for the start of the event. Music provided a great atmosphere and there was fantastic camaraderie with other runners as we all prepared ourselves for the challenge ahead. The countdown to noon commenced and Gill and Carolyn set out on their first laps with all the other runners. We smiled and waved at all the supporters as we left the event village and turned the corner into the woods where everyone settled down into their rhythm and it quietened down a bit.
The 5 mile route is a mix of woodland trails and gravel paths, with a small amount of grassy fields with a few undulations – a really lovely run actually. Some teams were going flat out and clearly in it to win it, but most people, especially small teams, pairs and solos, walked the uphills, and ran the flat and downhills – this was a test of endurance not speed after all. This all makes for a really friendly, supportive atmosphere where people get to know each other on the route and help each other if they look to be struggling.
50 mins later, the virtual batons were handed onto Dan and Alex who set out for their first laps, Darren setting off 50 mins later.
And so this continued for a few hours. A big challenge of this event is working out when / how much to eat to ensure you are not too full but have enough fuel to keep going – not easy in 40 min breaks. Therefore, at around teatime, we took turns to do a double lap to give time for each other to properly eat. The challenge of doing this though is that muscles then start to seize up making it harder to get going again. So it was a balancing act; we ate little and often, stretched out as much as we could and made use of our foam rollers and massage guns to try and stop muscles getting tight.
This was all going great…and then the rain came! Poor Dan and Alex were on their respective triple and double laps whilst the rest of us took cover in the tent, willing the rain to pass. It didn’t. Gill then set out on a triple lap to give Dan a chance to get an hour’s sleep. This was a low point. 15 miles in the dark and the rain, with the paths turning into a bit of a mudbath. Not easy…but the camaraderie of other runners and the event volunteers really helped. We were all in this together. And parts of the course are lit up with fairy lights making for some really magical moments. There is a firepit that stays alight all night in the event village, where there is also 24 hour refreshments and massage. And halfway round there is a 24 hour floodlit refuelling station with gels, fresh fruit and electrolytes. And of course, you have other runners around you, all with head torches on, so you are never alone! It’s quite something to behold to look across Bramham Park and see lots of little bobbing headlights in the darkness.
Of course, with the night, comes the dawn and two lucky Dragons were fortunate to witness a beautiful sunrise, the rain having subsided at about midnight. The sun came up, the course dried out and things got a bit easier. Well, in some ways. By this time, we were all very tired – running on either no sleep or an hour if we were lucky – and many miles into the event. Legs were very heavy but again, the other runners (and by this point, the many walkers) really helped and supported each other. The end was in sight and spirits were lifted.
On the final lap, the rest of the team is allowed to run in together and finish the event as a team, which is fantastic to watch as all the teams, pairs and solos get cheered in and celebrated as they finish their challenge. It’s such a great atmosphere – lots of hugging and highfives, tears are shed (of relief or happiness, or probably both!)
24 hours of running completed!
Time to pack up, head home and sleep for a week…
Huge congratulations to both Dragons Teams:
Gillian Brown and Dan Babington (in total, they completed 24 laps / 120 miles – they also came THIRD in the “Mixed Pair” category and were presented with a trophy!
Carolyn Park, Darren Mawson & Alexandra Ryan (in total, they completed 27 laps / 135 miles) – they came 26th out of 75 teams in the “Mixed Small Team” category – such an incredible achievement!
