The 'entry confirmed' cattle prod

How to do small talk about the Self-Transcendence 3100; and some bonkers results at the Valencia marathon

Me running the South Devon coastal ultra in 2017. Photograph: Marietta d’Erlanger

“Got any races coming up?”

It’s a common small talk opener I get thrown whenever I find myself warming up or cooling down next to someone I don’t know at my running club. It’s a simple question, but I don’t want to freak the person out, or confuse them, or sound like some maniac, by bringing up the Self-Transcendence 3100.

So I’ll say, “not for a while”, or something like that, quickly batting it back with: “What about you?”

This week I signed up for my next intermediate step on the road to that block party in Queen’s: a 27-mile trail race along the coast path here in South Devon. That’s an easier race to get your head around, so I'll now have a less evasive answer next time someone asks me that question.

I’m also on the verge of signing up for a six-day race in France in April. This isn’t a six-day stage race, where you bed down for the night somewhere each day. This is six days of continuous racing. Of course, you can’t run for six days without sleep, but when and how much you sleep is up to you - the race will keep on going throughout the six days.