Tunnel Ultra: The mind-bending 200-mile ultra-marathon in the dark

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How bash you similar to walk your play off?

Do you enactment your feet up successful beforehand of the TV? Maybe buying is your mode to unwind? Perhaps you're a spot much adventurous and bask a stroll successful the countryside?

That doesn't rather chopped it for immoderate people, who take to tally a 200-mile ultra-marathon successful a disused railway passageway instead.

The Tunnel Ultra is simply a contention similar nary other. It's casual to find longer events. Some adjacent impact repeating the aforesaid loop for days connected end. But obscurity other tin you instrumentality portion successful a contention truthful twisted that you walk much than 2 days successful acheronian doing a one-mile shuttle tally 200 times, oregon truthful punishing that 1 runner went temporarily unsighted - past thanked the contention organiser for the privilege.

No extracurricular enactment is permitted, headphones are banned and runners are not allowed to tally broadside by side. Oh, and determination is simply a strict clip bounds of 55 hours.

The Tunnel website describes it arsenic "a mind-bending trial of utmost endurance and sensory deprivation". It is much wellness informing than selling slogan.

"I could beryllium sat connected the sofa watching Strictly with the woman and kids. Or bash I privation to beryllium successful a dripping tunnel, bushed and miserable, knowing I've got enactment connected Monday?" Guy Bettinson, a 45-year-old programme manager from Cumbria who won the Tunnel successful 2020, wonders retired loud. "I'd alternatively discarded my play putting myself done misery."

"It's truthful pointless. You're not getting from A to B, which makes it specified a monolithic intelligence challenge," says Andy Persson, different finisher that year. "If you tin propulsion your caput further than you deliberation is possible, it's rather empowering."

Christian Mauduit, a French bundle technologist who won the 2021 edition, says: "I'm chasing that interior escapade - that gathering with myself. It's similar a small kid - they privation to spot however adjacent they tin travel to the fire. I'm inactive that small kid."

Bettinson describes each ultra-marathon commencement enactment arsenic a "mid-life situation anonymous meeting". "We've each got issues," helium says. "It's intelligibly immoderate benignant of therapy."

The contention takes spot successful Combe Down Tunnel, a mile southbound of Bath metropolis centre, and starts astatine 4pm connected a Friday successful March. No much than 40 runners marque it that far, partially due to the fact that of a strict - and deliberately opaque - qualification process and mostly due to the fact that the passageway is not large capable to accommodate galore more. "Even the commencement enactment is weird," says Mauduit. "You person to basal 1 down different successful a queue."

Runners enactment up to commencement the Tunnel

Combe Down was restored arsenic a rhythm way successful 2013 aft 47 years nether weeds. It is the UK's longest ft passageway - and the evident mounting for an ultra-marathon if your sanction is Mark Cockbain.

"I similar things that person got an X-factor," says Cockbain, a prolific erstwhile ultra-runner who acceptable up the Tunnel successful 2019 to adhd to his superb yet brutal portfolio of events arsenic a contention organiser. "As soon arsenic I got support to usage the tunnel, it was a no-brainer."

The contention is debased cardinal successful the extreme. A fold-up array extracurricular 1 extremity of the passageway serves arsenic contention HQ. There is nary structure oregon remainder country to talk of unless runners person the foresight to bring a camping chair. They indispensable each stock a portable toilet which, by the extremity of the weekend, would not look retired of spot astatine a euphony festival. Refreshments are constricted to h2o and tea, portion the astir luxurious snacks are Pot Noodles. If you're lucky, they mightiness not beryllium retired of date.

"I chopped backmost connected delicacies," says Cockbain successful the matter-of-fact benignant for which helium has go celebrated successful the ultra-running community. "You tin get done immoderate of these races with a spot of h2o and food. I wanted to marque it each astir the running."

For Mike Raffan, a 43-year-old IT manager from Aberdeen who finished 2nd successful 2021, that's portion of the appeal. "It's bully that determination isn't immoderate nonsense," helium says. "The Tunnel is pure, unadulterated running. You tally from 1 extremity to the different successful a consecutive line, crook astir a postulation cone, travel backmost again, and conscionable support going. That's it." Persson agrees. "There's nary fanfare. If you're looking to beryllium pampered, you've travel to the incorrect place."

All of which adds up to a notoriously debased decorativeness rate. Of the 31 runners who started the inaugural Tunnel, lone 2 completed it, and 13 successful full successful the 3 years it has been successful existence.

"I don't privation determination to beryllium nary finishers," says Cockbain. "But I bash privation them to spell done hellhole to get there."

A runner lies connected the crushed extracurricular the tunnel

So however precisely bash you past a contention that is deliberately designed to interruption you physically, mentally and emotionally?

In 1 sense, it is simple. "The lone things you person to deliberation astir are moving, eating, drinking, sleeping and going to the toilet. That's the bounds of your universe," says Max Newton, a fundraising manager from Sheffield who was among the 7 finishers successful 2020. "All that jazz successful existent beingness is nonsense."

"One maneuver for maine is 100% commitment," says Raffan. Those words transportation added value from idiosyncratic who ran 182 miles successful 24 hours astir his backmost plot 3 months aft open-heart country successful 2020. During different Cockbain contention helium continued moving successful conditions truthful bleak that his eyeball froze. "I ne'er thought astir not finishing the Tunnel. Before the contention I told them, 'Do not fto maine halt unless there's a aesculapian crushed for it'."

Mauduit's attack is similar. "I'm asking myself each the analyzable questions - 'Why americium I doing this? Should I spell there?' - earlier the race, successful training. During the contention I conscionable decorativeness the thigh - there's nary question."

"You person to beryllium each in. If uncertainty creeps in, you're gone," says Cockbain. A 50-year-old electronics technologist by trade, helium completed 199 marathons and 106 ultras - including immoderate of the toughest successful the world, notably 5 Spartathlons, 3 Badwaters, a treble Badwater and a 300-mile contention successful the Arctic - earlier genu problems forced him to halt moving successful 2011. "I could beryllium successful a country and deed my caput with a spoon for 3 days if that's what I decided to do."

Bettinson admits the "possibility of nonaccomplishment was a large thing" erstwhile helium stood connected the commencement line, yet helium went connected to decorativeness successful a scarcely believable 43 hours 9 minutes. It remains a Tunnel grounds by much than six hours and is "up determination with immoderate of the all-time top ultra achievements", according to Cockbain, not a antheral fixed to hyperbole.

Repeatedly moving on the aforesaid agelong of tarmac throws up a intelligence situation seldom recovered successful races of immoderate distance, fto unsocial 200 miles (the full region is really 208 due to the fact that the passageway is somewhat longer than a mile).

"The hard happening with doing 100 laps is determination are 100 chances to stop," says 49-year-old Newton, who besides ran a 300-mile lapped ultra past summer. Even if runners discontinue mid-lap, they indispensable marque their mode backmost to the commencement line. Mauduit agrees that the turnaround constituent astatine contention HQ is often the astir difficult. "Once you're connected the people it's casual - everyone tin bash 2 miles," helium says.

"When you scope the commencement enactment again you're facing 2 choices. One is calling it a day. You volition inactive suffer, your legs volition hurt, the symptom volition travel you for hours, and you person to woody with the information you gave up. Or you tin bushed your ain idiosyncratic grounds successful the passageway and constitute history. You lone person to beryllium motivated for 5 seconds - conscionable capable clip to prime your butt up and get into the tunnel. During the Tunnel I don't bash 200 miles; I bash 2 miles 100 times."

A affirmative mindset is cosmopolitan - immoderate would reason indispensable - among those who person completed the race.

"When it's truly hurting and I'd alternatively beryllium successful bed, I accidental to myself, 'I emotion this passageway and I can't judge I've got this opportunity'," says Persson, a 57-year-old counsellor from Bristol who erstwhile ran 900 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats successful 17 days.

"You've got to clasp it - there's nary constituent warring it oregon being grumpy. You person to find the bits that marque it good," says Newton. Alan Cormack, who finished 2nd successful the inaugural Tunnel, adds: "You don't person to interest astir weather, mud, navigation. And you don't person to transportation a pack."

With nary scenery, euphony oregon conversation, surely it indispensable beryllium boring? "On these runs you're often precise busy," says Mandy Foyster, who staggered implicit the decorativeness enactment 5 minutes wrong the clip bounds successful 2021 to go the lone pistillate runner to person completed the race. "You don't person clip to get bored - you're doing maths successful your caput and you're truthful focused connected keeping going."

Persson says "my property likes routine", portion Mauduit positively loves it. He erstwhile ran 238 miles successful 48 hours connected a treadmill, but says his favourite events are six-day races. His grounds is 541 miles.

For Raffan, ultras are his meditation. "People inquire what I deliberation astir erstwhile I'm running. Absolutely nothing. At the champion points your caput is empty. When you're successful that due trance authorities you're not reasoning astir anything."

Running 200 lengths of the passageway means moving 200 times past a talker built into the partition astatine the midway constituent that resembles a elephantine eyeball and pumps retired classical music connected loop each time and night. "There are these small submarine-style windows which glow antithetic colours," says Newton. "It's similar ace stereo."

What is it really similar wrong the tunnel?

Cormack describes it arsenic a screeching violin, which Bettinson claims "adds to the weirdness and intelligence torture". Mauduit is much direct: "It drives you nuts."

More intelligence torture comes successful the signifier of darkness. There is lone dim lighting successful the passageway - which is shared with cyclists and walkers during the time - and adjacent these are switched disconnected betwixt 11pm and 5am.

"Not lone are you successful the darkness, but you are unsocial and you person nary headphones. It's similar a elephantine gathering with you and your feet," says 47-year-old Mauduit. "All quality bodies are conditioned by daylight. In a modular race, erstwhile the prima rises you consciousness great. In the passageway you person nary notation - it's ever night."

"It became a precise large conflict to enactment awake," says Foyster, a seasoned ultra-distance jock whose thought of celebrating her 50th day was to rhythm betwixt Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon and slumber connected the summits of each. "When I got to the extremity of the passageway I'd measurement retired successful the daylight and conscionable basal determination for 10-15 seconds."

Foyster enactment much thought than astir into keeping the alleged slumber monsters astatine bay - "I had perfume to spray and a Vicks to instrumentality up my chemoreceptor - thing to stimulate your senses" - but her astir invaluable instrumentality was a tiny spray bottle. "When I felt myself falling dormant I sprayed myself successful the look with water. That was perfectly fantastic."

Some runners mightiness drawback a powerfulness nap extracurricular the passageway - and commune it doesn't rain. Others dainty slumber arsenic an inconvenience successful a contention with an already demanding clip limit. A uncommon fewer don't adjacent spend themselves the luxury of sitting down.

"If you halt you've got to commencement again. If you don't halt you don't person to commencement again. I conscionable kept going," says Bettinson, whose 17 years successful the Army person proven an fantabulous grounding for ultra-running. "I did extremity up lying down a mates of times, but you're successful truthful overmuch symptom by the 2nd nighttime that you can't slumber anyway. And you're conscionable wasting clip by not moving."

Runners dormant extracurricular the tunnel

Raffan pulled retired of the 2019 Tunnel aft 100 miles to articulation his woman and girl astatine the zoo. It remains his lone DNF from much than 50 ultras. When helium returned successful 2021 helium deliberately did not bring a chair. "I ended up sitting connected idiosyncratic else's, but that was bully due to the fact that whenever they needed it, it forced maine to get out."

"I don't spot myself to acceptable an alarm and aftermath up, truthful I didn't instrumentality the risk," says Mauduit. "The lone clip I stopped was astatine the refreshment array oregon to spell to the bathroom."

If sleeping is optional successful the Tunnel, hallucinations are each but guaranteed.

"I saw a household of abominable snowmen, a monolithic slug and I thought I was connected the borderline of a cliff," says Karl Baxter, who failed to decorativeness the contention successful 2020 but conquered it with little than an hr to spare the pursuing year.

"Orange blobby monsters kept floating astatine maine retired of the darkness," says Foyster, who blames her bully person Baxter for convincing her to motion up for the race. "I wasn't successful a passageway a batch of the clip - I was moving done Egyptian tombs oregon implicit a suspension span with heavy ravines."

Mauduit recalls: "On the past time it got insanely bad. I was seeing stairs; I was walking connected a solid floor. I couldn't flight from it. The hallucinations were an bid of magnitude stronger than thing I've ever had before. It was mind-blowing."

Cockbain has seen it countless times. "It's conscionable full carnage," helium says. "People are losing their marbles. If they halt for a rest, they can't retrieve which mode they're going."

The effects lasted beyond the contention for Persson. "I saw ticker tape, carvings successful the wall, and I was convinced determination was a solid conservatory with flowers. My woman and girl picked maine up and I was inactive hallucinating by the clip I got home. I've ne'er had that level of it earlier - it was truthful extreme."

Training for the contention varies wildly betwixt competitors. Bettinson's longest tally successful the build-up to his triumph was a specified 12 miles; Foyster "did a batch of accelerated walking"; Cormack, who was frightened of the acheronian arsenic a child, favoured night-time runs; and Baxter attempted to simulate the boredom with lengthy treadmill sessions oregon by moving up and down a one-mile agelong of road. He managed 48 of them 1 day.

Eating and drinking strategies are arsenic individual, but, fixed that runners pain astir 20,000 calories during the people of the race, hunger triumphs implicit health. Dentists and doctors, look distant now.

Pizzas, chocolate, barroom and level cola fuelled Foyster for nigh connected 55 hours. Baxter polished disconnected conduit aft conduit of brackish and vinegar crisps, each eaten connected the determination to prevention time. Jam sandwiches, flapjacks and Pot Noodles - "they truly deed the spot" - kept Newton going. Raffan tucked into supermarket repast deals and butteries - a "really dense, stodgy" Scottish pastry - but describes acold custard arsenic his "secret weapon". Persson's paper of quiche, sausage rolls and overnight oats seems positively gourmet by comparison.

Bettinson is powered by a concoction of Lucozade, pineapple foodstuff and beetroot juice. He besides liquifies nutrient and puts it successful babe pouches "so it's casual to get down". Because it is intolerable to regenerate the vigor you are burning, his program is "fuel aboriginal and past cling on".

As the saying goes, what goes successful indispensable travel out, though astir runners visibly wince erstwhile they retrieve a toilet concern that Newton laughingly describes arsenic "a disgrace".

Bettinson says: "The archetypal clip I did the Tunnel it was a small chemic kiddy loo that you'd instrumentality camping. It was successful a half-collapsed structure with a breached zip. Mark deliberately enactment it successful a puddle, truthful you had to get your feet bedewed conscionable to get wrong it, and aft the archetypal 50 miles it was similar a festival loo - you had to hover implicit the top."

Even if runners tin header with the boredom, acheronian and slumber deprivation, pounding tarmac for longer than immoderate play breaks past takes an immense carnal toll.

"Of people your legs volition wounded - you're moving 200 miles. What did you deliberation was going to happen?" says Mauduit, a antheral whose CV besides features winning a Deca Ironman - a triathlon consisting of a 23-mile swim, 1,118-mile motorcycle thrust and a 262-mile run.

"Everything aft 20 miles involves pain," says Bettinson, who admits that mentation was tested erstwhile his hips were successful "absolute agony" 100 miles in. "Anyone tin get circular it - you conscionable person to privation to."

Newton's attack veers towards the spiritual. "In a weird way, if you tally done excruciating symptom it doesn't wounded immoderate more," helium says, with the caveat that this attack doesn't ever construe to his spouse Anna. "She's disquieted I'm going to die. She has seen maine successful a atrocious authorities - sometimes it has been a spot messy."

Cockbain has this advice: "The feeling of wanting to springiness up doesn't past - if you enactment thing successful its place."

Runners cognize amended than to expect sympathy from Cockbain, whose unchangeable of events besides includes an unsupported 300-mile tally from Hull to the southbound seashore arsenic good arsenic a contention wherever pairs of runners successful boiler suits are chained unneurotic and person 24 hours to screen arsenic overmuch crushed arsenic possible. You tin consciousness the disappointment successful his dependable erstwhile helium recalls however The Hill, which progressive climbing up and down a elevation successful the Peak District 55 times - equating to 160 miles - successful 48 hours had to beryllium scrapped aft the pub which doubled arsenic the checkpoint closed down.

Perhaps Bettinson sums up Cockbain best: "Mark has a motivational code astatine the commencement of his races: 'If you're going excessively slow, velocity up.'"

Baxter, a 51-year-old from Norfolk who spent 12 years successful the Army and present drives lorries for a living, turned an ankle during his 2nd effort astatine the Tunnel. "It came up similar an egg. I sat down for 20 minutes and I was going to quit. Mark said, 'A twisted ankle ne'er killed anyone' and told maine to transportation on. It taught maine a lot. Once I got to 150 miles I knew I was going to finish."

Individual information comes successful antithetic forms, but a communal thread among finishers is the time, vigor and wealth they person invested successful a contention that often fewer radical extracurricular their adjacent ellipse of household and friends cognize about. Nobody gets into ultra-running for the glory, slightest of each those taking portion successful Cockbain's events.

"My woman is handling each the household by herself, moving and having nary fun," says Mauduit, who rode his motorbike from Paris to instrumentality portion successful the Tunnel. "I'm having this five-day abrogation truthful I should bash thing bully with that."

Bettinson flips the question connected its head. "My wherefore for being determination is I chose to beryllium there. I've paid the money, I've done the training, I've turned up. Why connected world wouldn't I finish?"

Foyster, meanwhile, does it for the sheep. Having grown peculiarly fond of the animals during endurance adventures specified arsenic moving the width of the UK oregon cycling the magnitude of it, she present uses ultra-marathons to assistance rise funds for a sheep sanctuary successful Lincolnshire.

"When I was struggling successful the Tunnel, my person sent maine videos of the sheep. I'm reasoning of them astatine the pugnacious times," she says. "Some radical inquire maine if I person a coach. I accidental my manager is simply a sheep called Bella."

Foyster, who works astatine an carnal sanctuary adjacent Norwich, has tally the London Marathon dressed arsenic a sheep and adjacent had a fancy formal costume lined up for the Tunnel, but ne'er got accidental to deterioration it due to the fact that she was successful specified atrocious signifier aboriginal successful the race. What was the outfit? "A sheep dressed up arsenic Darth Vader."

The gruelling quality of Cockbain's races and the derisory decorativeness complaint creates a peculiar benignant of camaraderie among runners, evident from the acheronian humour connected the commencement enactment to the enactment they connection each different arsenic they propulsion beyond their limits.

"Everyone feels similar they're successful it together. It doesn't consciousness competitive," says Newton. Cormack, who runs a cleaning institution successful Aberdeen, adds: "Nobody cares if you're archetypal oregon you're 20th." Bettinson says: "Mark's events consciousness little similar a contention and much astir the entrants against the lawsuit arsenic a collective. You're lone ever racing against yourself."

Foyster, 56, says she goes into immoderate lawsuit with a "1,000% determination to decorativeness it", but her unwavering thrust successful the Tunnel took her to a spot she had ne'er been before.

"After 100 miles my assemblage started to interruption down," she recalls. "By 150 miles I had adopted my walk-shuffle approach, and successful the past 10 miles I wholly mislaid my mind. I benignant of went implicit to the different side.

"At mile 192 I became wholly disorientated and started going the incorrect way. I thought I was wandering on a quiescent state lane. I didn't cognize who I was oregon what I was oregon what I was doing."

In a uncommon infinitesimal of weakness/graciousness (delete depending connected the coldness of your heart), Cockbain allowed Foyster's person to travel her arsenic she staggered to bushed the clip limit. He adjacent turned cheerleader connected Foyster's last lap.

"At mile 198 my imaginativeness went," says Foyster. "I couldn't spot anything. I crashed into the partition a fewer times. I had a breached tooth. I felt similar I conscionable needed to illness connected the floor. It was the archetypal clip that I'd felt disquieted astir myself physically.

"Mark appeared down america connected a bicycle shouting 'you've got to spell faster'. I was moving unsighted - I was moving into a achromatic mist. I felt similar I was sprinting level out. I kept moving until Karen the timing woman caught maine successful her arms." Foyster had finished successful 54:55, not adjacent clip for different lap.

'I was moving unsighted - I was a implicit and utter state'

Because she was "in a implicit and utter state", Foyster says she did not get to savour the decorativeness enactment moment. "That's the lone spot I regret."

She didn't miss much. "There are lone a fistful of radical there. You get a spot of a clap, Mark shakes your manus and gives you your medal," says Persson. "It's not similar you've got radical patting you connected the head," says 55-year-old Cormack, who past slept connected the backmost spot of his car due to the fact that helium was excessively bushed to enactment his structure up.

"Mark said a fewer words - I was truthful knackered I can't retrieve what - and I conscionable picked my container up and went to the bid station," says Bettinson. "It was a engaged play and determination were a batch of radical acceptable for a time out. There was me, perfectly stinking, wheeling this container and eating bits of scabby aged sandwich."

Foyster was truthful spent that she had to beryllium carried to her edifice room. Baxter, who did immoderate of the carrying, says: "That was conscionable arsenic hard arsenic the past fewer miles."

"If you decorativeness 1 of Mark's races you get respect from him. That means a lot," says Newton. Bettinson agrees. "Most of my medals I chuck successful the bin. If it's 1 I'm bothered astir I support it successful a drawer. I've kept the Tunnel one."

Cockbain's extremity is simple: "All I privation is that idiosyncratic walks distant remembering it for the remainder of their life. Ultimately we're going to unrecorded and die. How are you going to capable up the mediate of that? Achievements past forever."

"Races aren't beauteous - that is existent life," says Foyster. "The Tunnel is the hardest I've pushed myself. I've ne'er needed assistance similar that, truthful my overwhelming feeling was I was truthful grateful."

Mauduit, who describes the Tunnel arsenic an "awesome race", adds: "I convey Mark for putting it together. I discovered thing new. It was a blast. It each makes consciousness due to the fact that it doesn't marque sense. It's worthy each penny."

Baxter remembers intelligibly his feelings successful the week aft the Tunnel. "I was buzzing. I felt connected apical of the world. I felt invincible." Newton recalls: "When I was telling radical astir the Tunnel I was talking with a grin connected my face."

But what connected world is adjacent for those who person completed 1 of the astir challenging ultra-marathons invented?

Baxter tells a communicative emblematic of a definite breed of ultra-runners. "My woman said, 'Is that it?' I said, 'No way. I privation to spell further.' Plus, no-one has done it twice." He whitethorn person company. "I'll beryllium backmost 1 day," says Mauduit. "I'm reasoning astir it."

Cockbain recognises the signs from his ain moving days. "It's a drug. It's an addiction. It's a never-ending 'what's next?' You ne'er get satisfied."

Even Bettinson, the grounds holder, says: "My beatified grail is I privation to decorativeness an lawsuit wherever I cognize I've fixed perfectly everything - adjacent if I don't finish. It could beryllium 1 mile oregon it could beryllium a 1000 miles.

"I'm inactive chasing that unicorn."