Being based in the UK now, me and Sean had been working towards the date of June 18th for our first OCR in more than a year. But, as with everything at the moment, things are ever-changing and as the race was based in Wales the difference in restrictions saw the race being pushed back to October - cue disappointment and frustration.

So it was time to look for a new challenge! We are lucky in the UK because the trail and running races are still going ahead but as we’re still training for OCR, it’s been tricky training for one thing to just jump into a different race that you haven’t been preparing for. I took part in a 21km the weekend before and it was hard to not feel disappointed when I didn’t perform as I wanted to, despite not training specifically for it. I’m not sure if anyone else is feeling this but I knew I didn’t want to compete in another straight-up running race.

So I set out to scour the races that were going ahead. Initially, I stumbled across an 80km race that I thought could be interesting, seeing as I’ve never run more than 50km before, but with Nuclear Race due to be only 3 weeks after, I chatted with coach and we knew I wouldn’t be fully recovered in time. It was then that I stumbled across the Relish Running Omnium and that caught my interest!

So What Is It?
I hadn’t come across the format of an Omnium before, but it seems that it comes from the cycling world. From the Latin word ‘omni’ meaning ‘belonging to all’ the event features 4 different events which are all combined to crown one winner at the end. In cycling, this includes a variety of distances and formats and the same was true for the Relish Race event.

Across the day there were four different events:

1km

Hill Sprint

100m Sprint

Endurance trail race (choice of 6km or 10km).

Whoever crossed the line in first for each event would get one point, with the second getting two points and so on… these points then combined over the four events and whoever had the least points would be crowned the winner. All in all, it sounded like a lot of fun and more importantly it was something different. So we checked the map, decided it was doable for a day trip and signed up 👌🏽.

Race Day

The event kicked off at lunchtime, with the race briefing at 12:30 pm. This was great because we had to get up and drive 3 hours across the country but it was a hottttt day and there was no doubt that with a midday start, we were going to feel the heat!

From our arrival, it was clear the event was going to be run well. We got parked easily and there was a great atmosphere in the race village (yes - a real race village!). Race collection was simple and fully socially distanced and the briefing started right on time. They had a great set-up for the event where they had split everyone into two teams so you always had someone cheering you on. Additionally, you were then paired up with a partner who you raced against for each of the four events. I was paired up with a great chap called Harry who was faster than me but fun to chase in the different events!

The Events

The 1km

The event kicked off with a 1km race. The first thing that stood out was that there wasn’t a path or road in sight - we were going to be taking all the races to the fields, really uneven, holey fields. We walked out 1km from the race village and were then set off in our pairs, socially distanced by 30s.
Having walked the route backwards on the way to the start line I realised it was hilly, uneven and full of potholes. It became clear that I wasn’t going to be beating my 1km PB time so I had to do some quick expectation adjustments. I went from hoping I'd beat my best time to knowing all I could do was run as hard as I could for 1km - without breaking an ankle! I went out pretty reserved to get used to the terrain underfoot but my partner Harry shot off into the distance so I tried to hang on to him. 1km for time sucks, always so I just tried to keep pushing but the final uphill to the finish line was a killer.
Results: My 1km split time on Strava was 3.57 but my official race time came in at 4.02 which put me in first female for the Bronze category and 2nd place female for all omnium categories.

Hill Sprint

The second event was a hill sprint. We were not given specifics for this one but the website said ‘a vertical height gain of between 30m and 50m, roughly 500m in length.’ Turning up at Cheddar Gorge, it was clear that hills wouldn’t be hard to find so we were expecting this one to be tough and it didn’t disappoint. It started with a VERY steep climb to the top of the hill then there was a turn, a short flat and a more gradual hill to the finish line - the same finish from the 1km. Needless to say, we had differing opinions on how we felt about this event.

I bloody love a hill and when I saw this would be included my plan was to go full send. Turning up on the day didn’t change my mind and I was looking forward to the suffer-fest that would follow. It was redline from the start and I was pretty chuffed to be able to run the whole of the first hill. Gave the legs a few steps coming off the big hill to shake them out then tried my best to shuffle as fast as I could to the finish line. I thought my legs would be trashed when this one was done but I finished feeling gassed but with strong legs - a good sign. We only had about 45 mins between the different events so it was a case of having some Haribo, drinking lots of water and hiding from the sun till the next event.

Results: My time came in at 1.55 which put me in first female for the bronze category but second again for the overall omnium - coming in a mere 2 seconds behind first place, something that is really frustrating when you’re set off in waves, especially because I do well when I have someone to chase. But at that moment I gave it all I had so that’s really all I could do!

The 100m sprint

No question that I went full send on the 100m.

The set-up of the 100m sprint made the day seem even more like a giant sports day. It took place on the flattest part of the field they could find but still with plenty of potholes and uneven ground. It was as simple as wait your turn then sprint as hard as you can.

I was worried about this race from an injury point of view. We’d been waiting around, had taken on two events already and I knew that a full-on sprint had a risk of an injury. This was then compounded when the first heat went out and at the finish line, one of the guys strained a hamstring. But, I had to give it my best attempt so I made sure to warm up fully before the start. Until we’d signed up to this event I had never run 100ms in my life so coach added in a few practice 100ms the week before so I knew what it felt like and down at the river on the road in the flat I managed to hit 16s as my best time for 100m.

On the day I obviously only had one chance. There’s not much to say about running 100ms, to be honest, my brain basically just screamed “RUNNNNNN” until I hit the finish line.

Results: I managed to hit a time of 17.3, something I was happy with considering the terrain and 2 races in the bag. This put me in first place again for the bronze category and put me 4th in the overall standings due to a two-way tie for second place. I actually quite enjoyed this distance and would like to have another crack at it someday!

6km Trail Race (ish)

The final event of the day was the endurance event. When you signed up you had the choice of 6km or 10km and we both went for the 6km… which turned out to be 6.7km - through Cheddar Gorge.

As soon as we turned up at the race I had no doubt that this was going to be a very pretty route and it did not disappoint. We had about 2 hours between the 100ms and this event so we headed back to the van and managed to eat some jerky and sugar in various forms, change outfits (stinky times!) and do a bit of recovery. Heading back over I felt pretty good, but when I started to warm up I deffo felt lethargic and a day in the heat with no real meals was deffo getting to me.

But, with one event left and a gorgeous route I decided to stick with the front pack and hang on. A few people (including my buddy Harry) went out hot and I stuck with them. Harry took first and got out in front but I fell into the same pace as another runner so ended up running most of the race with him. The views were epic and I made sure I took the time to take them in, something I hadn’t done at my last race and regretted. The kms ticked over and frequent sips of Tailwind kept me going. When I hit the first proper hill I was happy to find myself continuing running and I felt pretty good. Although it became clear that it was not going to be a 6km race, not knowing how long it would be over this I just had to keep pushing until I reached what I knew was the final hill. It was the hill we’d had to face on our hill sprint - so mean! Knowing this time that the finish wasn’t as close I took to power hiking but forced myself to run as soon as the hill levelled out, my legs were screaming but I managed to turn it up. I had gone out as the first female and no one had overtaken me and I could see the first place male in the distance. I tried to kick but had nothing left so I just hung on for dear life. I crossed the finish line, dumped a cup of water on my head and had a quick sit down before switching back to find Sean. The staggered start meant I had no idea where I had placed but I had felt strong throughout and was buzzed about my performance.

Results: This was the event I was most proud of and the push paid off. I placed second overall in the whole 6km event (this included people not doing the omnium who had just signed up to the 6km race), placing just 34 seconds behind the first place male. I had won the event for females overall in a time of 35.42 and I was totally stoked about that. It was a great end to such a fun day out.

Overall it really was a great event and so nice to do something a bit different. It wasn’t an OCR but the element of strategy and preparation for each of the different 4 events kept you on your toes and the positive spirit of the race team, volunteers and attendees made it a great day out. Results and podiums didn’t happen on the day and I have to admit that it’s one of my least favourite COVID changes because the vibes and post-race celebrations are my fave, regardless of if I'm standing up there.
So, it took a while for results to be collated, which is understandable with so much data from the races and they shared the full overall results on the Wednesday. I took the win for the Bronze overall Omnium and the overall 6km race which included people who had signed up for just the 6km race, considering the variety of events I was pretty chuffed with that!

I can’t rate the organisation or fun vibe of the whole event more - I am already looking forward to heading back next year! If you’re in the UK and you think it sounds good, why not come and join us! Full Info on the race event: https://www.relishrunningraces.com/cheddar-gorge-challenge.php