Trail running in Madeira: the Madeira Ultra X multi-stage 110km

I had been wanting to go to Madeira for a while so when I saw the Madeira Ultra X multi-stage race I was in straight away. What better way to see this beautiful island? This was my first multi-stage race – I had already done this distance doing Rat Race, so I knew it was something I could complete and do well at with the right mindset and good training block.

With Rat Race being my most successful race this year, I had to look back and remember the things that put me in a good place mentally to do well in this race. I gave up drinking again for a full month before this race, which really does make a huge difference to how I perform as my mental game is much better when getting on that start line. I always aim for a top 10 finish for the females; I am competitive, but with these ultras you really don’t know the level of the other runners, so a guage of top 10 feels achievable. This does change for me during the race – I can then add more pressure if I know I can aim for top 5 or even top 3, but it’s something that’s better managed during the race for me personally.

We flew to Funchal on the Friday as race registration was the evening before the race. Kit checks were mandatory. Luckily, we had found a super lightweight survival bag which helped keep the weight down in our packs as my older one was far too big and bulky. This race was different from my others as you had to carry all your own supplies on both race days to get you through each day, so we had to include a minimum of 2,000 calories in our packs. On all my other races you get food at checkpoints, which helps to keep you topped up on your fuelling, but with this race brief you only had water being offered. It did mean you were fully self-sufficient, but also meant you had no room for error when planning your fuelling.

My go-to for fuelling is Tailwind and South African fruit roll – they do different flavours, so I go for mango and guava. I also have the fruit and nut mix tubes and sweet and salty trail bars. I did include some mountain jellies (alternative to gels) – I never usually use them, but I wanted them in case my energy really did drop. I base my fuelling off what I need every 50 minutes, which my Garmin prompt is set at. Whilst out on these trails you really do forget to eat, so having the prompt is a game-changer as it makes you stick to the plan. 

I’ve previously done races where my mental game was off, so I was ignoring the prompt or leaving it longer before I ate, and it’s just a disaster for later on in the race. My advice to anybody is never miss a prompt no matter how much you don’t feel like eating it, which gets very frequent towards the end of a big race. You have to keep fuelling the body to the very end to give you your best possible outcome.

This race had over 6,000 metres of elevation in the race brief, which was split over two days: 60km on day one with 3,500 metres, then another 50km on day two with 2,800 metres to tackle. How do you work out how long you’ll be out there for fuelling? This is the tricky part, as the terrain is also unknown and the heat can play a big factor in your performance. For day one, I made a plan and decided I wanted to finish in 10 hours so my food was split out. We had to carry an emergency 800 calories of food as well, so I felt confident I wouldn’t run out.

The race started at 5am, so we were up at 3.30am getting our camp bags ready and trying to get some breakfast down. We were allowed a drop bag for the camp of no more than 9kg –  this was very stressful as we had nothing to weigh our rucksacks on, so I ended up making a last minute decision of removing my second pair of trail shoes which I had planned on wearing for day two plus some other bits to keep the size and weight of the bag down.

We dropped our bags and I just felt really stressed on the race line. I was unorganised trying to sort out things last-minute, which is just not what you need right before you head out on the trails. My head torch wasn’t fitting correctly, and I just felt overwhelmed. We didn’t give ourselves enough time with it being such an early start – lesson learnt, this won’t happen again. 

The countdown began and we were off. I stayed with the front runners, and they did go out quickly. We instantly came up to a massive climb in the dark with some exposed drops. Not ideal when you’ve only got your head torch for light. I did enjoy this bit though, I had a little fall as I was still getting used to the terrain so had a few grazes and scratches but nothing to worry about. It’s all part of the fun of being out on the trails. 

I knew I was leading for the females as the crew were out there filming and taking some shots for their social media. I didn’t feel pressured as it was so early on and just found myself in my own little world enjoying running in the dark. I’m usually a solo runner, so very rarely run and talk with others, however this race was different. It had a much more relaxed feel, so when I came across other runners with a similar pace I listened to their stories and experiences and really enjoyed hearing all about them. This passes so much time without you even knowing.

After a few hours of running in the dark, you start to split out so you spend a lot of time on your own. There were a lot of dogs outside in people’s gardens, so the dark morning was filled with the sounds of dogs barking – some of them barking right at you with quite a menacing look. It did feel a bit scary, but once the light started to come up I was feeling so much better. You can really start to see the island more then. 

I must admit the first section of this race wasn’t what I was expecting. We were running along these drains for a long time, which wasn’t really the beauty I’d hoped for, however as the day went on, the views came with it. It is such a green island, with a very tropical feel to it. I was dreading the midday sun as it was starting to get hot, but luckily we had cloud cover. I struggle in the heat as I’m a very heavy sweater, so keeping on top of your salts is super important. I was drinking 500ml of water and 500ml of Tailwind between each check point. They put the check points 10km apart, and I carried an extra 500ml soft bottle in case I needed more fluids.

The climbs were never-ending and super steep, it really was testing me, but this is actually my preferred type of race. I am good with elevation as I just love being in the mountains – so when you’re enjoying it, it doesn’t feel as bad. I find flat races too much for my body as it aggravates my neck and back, so having the ups and downs makes you use different muscles which stops my body from causing me problems.

I was going up a really steep grassy section when the first female passed me, she was unbelievable at the ups and had legs of steel. I was slightly disappointed in myself, but when I saw her calf muscles, I just thought “go on, girl!”. She was smashing that uphill section in the heat. If anything, I was just in awe of her.

I kept on top of my fuelling, and just kept pushing on for the next checkpoint. We went through sections which felt like jungle, and crossed rivers. It really was such varied terrain; Madeira has so much to offer. Certain sections reminded me of Costa Rica, then other bits of Vietnam. I was completely soaked through in sweat which was starting to get on top of me. I was constantly dipping my cap in the water to cool me down.

When I reached the final checkpoint, we still had a lot of climbing to do and I was feeling tired. My energy was dropping so I actually had the mountain jelly to push me through the final section which helped. I dropped down to the road, and I can honestly say the final 5km back to the camp was like torture. The route by this point was longer than the race brief – we hit a road and it just felt never-ending. We went through a tunnel and still no sign of camp. I got very frustrated, but this was down to my energy levels. I came through the finish at the 65km point on my Garmin with a time of 10 hours and 20 minutes, which wasn’t far off my plan, so I was super happy. We all had our own individual tents to relax in, so I showered and got myself clean. I did some light stretching and elevated my legs for a while to help aid recovery for day two.

I had got some really bad blisters from day one so I did my best to clean them up and deal with them. I knew it could have meant day two was game over. Blisters are no joke, and I was struggling with both feet. It was at this point that I knew I had made an error: I really shouldn’t have left my other trail shoes back where I was staying. Not only that, but I had left my spare pair of socks inside the other trail shoes, so I had no fresh socks. Luckily, my partner had a spare pair, but I had never worn them before and the material wasn’t great for long runs – but it was better than wearing a dirty pair from the previous day.

After a bad sleep in camp, my Garmin had registered just three hours of sleep, so to get up and think you have to do that all over again is quite daunting. We had severe weather warnings on the island for heavy rain, which makes it very dangerous in the mountains as they have sheer drops in certain sections.

The race was postponed by two hours, the camp was starting to flood, and we were unsure if they were going to cancel it completely. But the rain passed, and we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow to lift our spirits. They set us off at 9am with the 50km runners, so we had many more people around us for day two.

Right from the start, my feet were painful from the blisters which didn’t give me much confidence. I went out fairly quick again so I wouldn’t get funnelled in the crowd later on, but I was finding the 50km runners passing me which does frustrate you. You have to remind yourself that these are fresh runners so just try and focus on your own race. I already knew the first female from day one had a 35-minute gap from me, so I just wanted to keep my second female place.

With us starting two hours later than planned, it was already hot and humid, so I was sweating loads straight away. The climbs felt unbearable in the heat and my energy levels were so low. I made it to the first checkpoint, 10km gone. It actually went pretty quickly considering. The views on day two were out of this world. We were seeing Madeira for what it was, and it really did help my mood as it was just stunning. My mind kept on wandering back to the pain in my feet, so I had to take painkillers throughout day two to help manage it. I was hitting some big lows. 

I found a bar in the village which sold cans of Coke. It’s not something I’ve really bothered with before on races, but my partner swears by it. I drank the whole can which gave me some much-needed energy. 20km into day two, I got chatting to another runner, who was also on day two. We had the same pace and he had great stories, so we stuck together. It really did take my mind off my feet. 

We kept hitting the checkpoints and I knew after reaching the 30km mark that I had it in the bag. Nothing was going to stop me from finishing – I had come so far managing the pain there was no way I was going home without a medal. We were on the final 10km skirting the side of a mountain with massive drops. I was slowing down at this point, so I told him to go ahead as I was losing energy fast. I used another mountain jelly and kept plodding on. I caught back up to him, and we came to the finish line together. 

I managed day two in 8 hours and 36 minutes. When I crossed the line, the crew told me I had a podium finish and I was given the medal with the white ultra X ribbon, which was such an amazing moment. I was confused and unsure if I was 3rd female, but they confirmed I was 2nd female overall, and I was just over the moon. All my hard work had paid off again.

It really is unbelievable how much your body can tolerate with the right mindset. If I wasn’t in the right place mentally, there’s just no way my mind would have pushed me through day two. It really was just a mental game from the start. It has given me such a boost again. 

This was my final race of 2024. I have even bigger distances next year to challenge me further, and I have signed up for my first 100-miler, so training will continue without the pressure of a race for the next few months. Then come the new year, I will be fully focused on getting good results in 2025 and pushing my limits even further.