Biel / Bienne 100km - Race Preview

So the time has come again. I will be racing another road ultra. I am very excited. The Biel 100km race in Switzerland. After the disappointment of having to drop out of the Barry 40 miler, it is great to have made (or almost made) the start-line with no niggles or injuries. Ready to rock!

The Race


I first heard about this event over 6 years ago, when a Swiss friend recommended I run the event. The seed had been planted all those years ago and at long last I am getting round to running the damn thing.

The event itself brings a few new experiences for me. Firstly the event is a night run. It starts at 10pm on Friday (8th June) and competitors run through the night until they finish (or they finish themselves off!). Secondly I have never participated in an Ultramarathon with such a large field. At present it stands at 1065 competitors. This makes it one of the biggest Ultramarathons in Europe and probably the biggest road event in Europe. The event will also be the Swiss Athletics 100km championships, okay, so I'm not Swiss, but it means the standard of the field will be strong. Below are the winning times for the past 5 years and the number of runners under 8 hours in each of those years for an indication of the race standard.

2011: 7h11m55 - Winning Time :: 4 runners under 8 hours
2010: 7h31m01 - Winning Time :: 6 runners under 8 hours
2009: 6h59m14 - Winning Time :: 6 runners under 8 hours
2008: 6h49m44 - Winning Time :: 15 runners under 8 hours
2007: 7h26m10 - Winning Time :: 14 runners under 8 hours

So what this shows is that I probably will be in the mixer at the sharp end of the race, but I'm not going to win it!

Another great thing about this race is that this year will be the 54th edition. This really is a Grandaddy of a race.

I will be staying in Switzerland with the same Swiss friend who introduced me to the race. He will be pacing me around the course on his bike which is going to be great for nutrition strategy and also receiving abuse (encouragement?) in my weakest hours! One of his friend's will also be running and gunning for sub 8 hours. I really hope for a good night for all of us.

Predicted time and pace strategy


Coming into an event of this magnitude any runner wants to put in their best possible performance. Due to the nature of the event finding that limit of peak performance is a fairly tricky science. Running 1-2% too hard early doors means you can lose a lot of time at the back end of the race. Hitting "the wall" in a marathon might lose you 5-6 minutes, but doing this in 100km might mean 20-30mins...which is massive. No  one wants to be out there for 30 minutes longer than they should be.

It is a funny thing trying to plan the pace strategy for this event. I am now at the stage with the marathon distance that whatever happens I am confident of finishing. Not the case with this event. One day I feel confident with my target time, other days I worry about finishing if I go off at that pace. However, one thing I can draw on is that I have suffered a lot in my races, almost always hit "the wall" and have never DNF'd. Not that DNFing is a bad thing to do, there certainly are times when it is sensible and necessary.

So my only previous attempt at 100km on the road was at the Anglo Celtic Plate in 2011, where I recorded a 7h51m21. I will be aiming for around 7h30 this time around. 

I have spent a bit of time trying to quantify that mere 21 minutes improvement. I think I am just about there. The key reasons why I should be confident about going for the 7h30 target are below:

1) Last year's race nutrition was poor. Too much caffeine and too little calories.

2) Last year's pacing was poor. I ran a 7h20 pace and I wasn't quite there endurance wise. This year I will probably run a 7h25 pace until I start to fade (sorry that should be if I start to fade. I need to remember I am supremely confident...)

3) I have another year of training in the legs. I'm getting older and I have more wrinkles. A sure sign I am a stronger ultra runner.

4) Although the mileage in the 6 months leading up to Biel have been lower than the previous attempt, I have run a higher number of long and super long-runs. The lead up to the Anglo Celtic Plate had only 2 x 50km. This time round I have an 80km, 60km, 2 x 50km and a few marathons too.

Overall I don't think I'm in greatly better shape than last year, but I think I've got a 10 minute improvement through race experience and another 10 minute improvement from improved fitness and endurance.

The rest of the week


Well, tomorrow I travel out to Switzerland. I will be mainly eating, sleeping and relaxing. Life will be good. One of the main things I need to get sorted is my nutrition plan for Friday. The event starts at 10pm, which poses a new challenge for me. I will have a chat with a few friends and get some advice from them on this, unless anyone else has some ideas? Currently thinking a large late breakfast and a large early dinner.

Anyway, best get off to pack my bags. I'm almost certain I will be taking too much kit!