Since the Covid-19 pandemic first began to gather pace in the UK the running scene has become something of an enigma, shrouded in uncertainty and disillusionment at every juncture.

With races being cancelled left, right and centre, athletes have been put in an untenable position, not knowing whether or not the races they are training for are actually going to be on.

Over recent weeks though we have seen the return of some competitive action, albeit sparingly and cautiously as event organizers look for new ways to preserve the safety of participants when bringing them together for a race.

Amidst all the uncertainty and trepidation though, one thing we can be sure of is – if it’s a long, hilly race on tough, off-road terrain, and if he’s in starting line up – Jacek Cieluszecki is going to be the man to beat.

Notching numerous race wins prior to the Covid-19 pandemic at a varied range of distances and terrain, Jacek has put together a magnificent back catalogue of successes over past seven or so years.

That includes a win at the Maverick inov-8 X Series Exmoor as well as a marvelous victory in the CTS Dorset Ultra, where he shattered the course record by over 30 minutes.

With his repertories in events of this type, there was every reason for JC to be optimistic going into his first race since the pandemic took hold which was the Endurancelife CTS Exmoor Ultra Marathon.

The distance was billed at 32.4 miles, incorporating 11,463ft of ascent. It was certainly going to be a stern test for all of those brave enough to take it on, but for JC, he was in his element.

With so much of his training being carried out on the unscrupulous slopes of the Purbeck, which is like a second home to him, Jacek knew his prospects of performing well were extremely high.

He couldn’t of course account for who would turn up on the day to challenge him, but it would take a very special runner to put JC to the sword in this type of domain.

It was the first time Jacek had laced up his racing trainers since the Bath Half Marathon towards the end of March so it was exciting to see him back out there doing what he does best.

The CTS Exmoor is staged in the western area of Exmoor National Park where a trail runner’s mecca lay in wait. The course took the participants to dizzying heights with hugely steep climbs and long descents dominating the proceedings throughout.

The route also features open moorland, thick wooded valleys, historical ruins, sharp cliffs and rivers and the race organizers are confident there is no course in Britain that offers so much variation in terrain in such a compact area.

In the interests of maintaining social distancing for the competitors, they were set off individually, with one heading out onto the course every 15 seconds.

The route started on a sharp downhill curve which went on for majority of the first mile, giving Jacek the opportunity to get off to a fast start.

The real climbing started at the 2.3 mile point and that was where the sheer brutality of the cliffs around Exmoor started to become evident.

To begin with it was a guy who was doing the Marathon distance, Dan Murdoch, who was leading the way, with Jacek just behind him in second place. Then it was Eddie Rolls who was also doing the Marathon distance.

JC’s closest rival in the Ultra distance stakes was David Atkinson and he wasn’t far behind, managing to run at a very similar pace in the early going.

That remained the situation until around about the 11th mile when David caught Jacek. Now the race was really hotting up.

The pair ran together up until the top of the climb on the 13th mile. Then David began to pull ahead on the descent. This was the point in the race where Jacek began to struggle.

Feeling a drop in energy levels and suffering a slight lapse in motivation, he needed to dig deep and find the grit to keep battling on.

Fortunately he had the strength of character to do so and after reaching the 20th mile he was feeling back to his old self again and was ready to give it his all for the remainder of the race.

Over the next few miles, both David and Jacek caught and overtook Dan Murdoch before he reached the end of his marathon.

David was still going well and managed to maintain his advantage over JC until they reached the bottom of the climb when they were just coming up to the 24 mile point.

It wasn’t one of the steepest climbs but it was long, and it was at a point in the race where the fatigue was really starting to set in. It was on this climb that Jacek made the decisive move.

About two thirds of the way up the ascent, he assumed pole position – and from that point on, it was all academic. Jacek began to pull away and the distance between the two of them began to grow substantially as they hit the descent on the 26th mile.

The last steep climb of the race came at the 28 mile point and Jacek was well clear and home and dry by that point. Even though he knew he had the win in the bag though, there was still the course record to go for and that was enough of a carrot to keep him driving on.

The time he had to beat was 4 hours 52 minutes and 46 seconds. It did look like he was going to comfortably do that until he missed the last turning toward the finish line.

Luckily he soon realized he’d gone wrong and was able to get back on track. Although the incident did cost him a few minutes, it didn’t matter too much in the end as he made it to finish line in an incredible time of 4 hours 44 minutes and 7 seconds.

Despite that little mishap at the end he’d managed to better the previous course record by well over 8 minutes which was a remarkable achievement.

Clocking a total of 33.3 miles in the end, Jacek managed an average pace of 8:31 minutes per mile on a route that featured over 6,600ft of elevation.

It was a fantastic return to racing for JC and showed that, pandemic or no pandemic, he is still top dog when it comes to testing endurance courses with big and brutal ascents.

There was yet more drama at the end as well when David, who had been contesting the race win with Jacek up until the last 8 miles or so, took a wrong turn adding an extra 4 kilometers onto his activity.

That resulted in him losing second place as well and the person who took advantage of his woes was actually his wife Freya. She came across line in exactly 5 hours 26 minutes, with David arriving seven seconds later.

That meant Jacek’s winning margin stood at almost 42 minutes in the end, so it was a pretty comprehensive victory, even though he’d had to work very hard for it.

In the Marathon race, Eddie Rolls caught Dan Murdoch in the end on the same climb  that Jacek overtook David on, so with only about a mile left to go. The winning time for Eddie was 3:50:52, with Dan having to settle for the runner up spot with his time of 3:54:23.

Jacek’s wife Ela was also taking on the Marathon distance but she wound up following the Half Marathon route and after covering 33km, she realized she was lost and was forced to abandon.

The Exmoor course is regarded as the toughest in CTS series, which is quite a statement in itself. It’s definitely a true test of endurance  for even the hardiest of trail and fell runners, as Jacek can now vouch for. It was a test that he passed with flying colours though.

Next up for JC, he’ll be returning to the region for the Exmoor Coast 55km Ultra on 3rd October, which will be another grueling one to get his teeth into.

What better way to announce the return of the running race scene than with a testing, turbulent trail marathon in the throws of deepest darkest Dorset, complete with hills aplenty, masses of mud and wonderous woodland tracks that never seem to end.

The was the offering from Badger Trail Events when they bravely stepped up to host the Dorset Ooser Marathon and Half Marathon and in the current climate of Covid-19 related restrictions, that was no mean feat.

The event had originally been scheduled for March but was postponed after the pandemic forced all forms of mass gatherings off the agenda.

Of course, the pandemic has since brought about a fundamental change the way we live our lives which has in turn led to the vast majority of event organisers being compelled to cancel their rescheduled race dates as well.

Where there’s a will there’s a way though and Kevin and Denise Day who run the Badger Trail Events company were determined the Dorset Ooser races should go ahead and worked tirelessly to make it happen.

That meant introducing staggered start times and ensuring social distancing rules were observed wherever possible. Runners were sent off in groups of six and had to wear face masks right up the moment they went on their way.

It was certainly a little different to the crowded, claustrophobic, scrambling starts we’re used to seeing in races but ensuring sporting events operate in as safe an environment as they possibly can is paramount at the present time.

Last year’s Dorset Ooser Marathon was won by Bournemouth AC‘s very own Jacek Cieluszecki. He stormed to an emphatic victory, being the only man to complete the course in under three hours. In fact, no one else got anywhere near three hours.

In this year’s edition it was Pete Thompson who threw his hat into the ring. Well, actually he kept his hat on, but that’s another story! Pete had originally expected to do the race back in March but of course, that didn’t happen. He was destined to get his chance in the end though.

Back in March Pete was already hitting some very good form which saw him finish 5th in the Wimborne 20 and take the trophy for 1st MV35. Little did he know then that that would turn out to be his last race for such a long time.

Over the lockdown period he’d faced the same challenges as everyone else, trying to stay motivated and maintain that high level of fitness without any clear and obvious goal to aim for.

He’d managed it well though and had been registering some very impressive long runs over the past few months and was looking in good shape. The Dorset Ooser Marathon would certainly put that to the test though.

Famed for his amazing fund raising challenges, which, in some cases, captured the attention of the national media, Pete has collected vast sums of money for the mental health charity Mind.

There was of course, the 44 marathons in 44 days, where he travelled around Europe completing a marathon in each different country. Then following on from that there was the one where he ran the ran the entire route of the Tour de France in 68 days, averaging 30 miles a day.

On the day that he would have been running the London Marathon had it not been called off, Pete again demonstrated his fund raising idea creativity by attempting to run 2.6 miles backwards in under 26 minutes. Like with his other challenges, he was indeed successful, but it was a very close call and he really had to dig deep.

At the Dorset Ooser Marathon, he now had the chance to see what he had in his locker in a very tough, off-road environment. It was certainly going to different to the fast, flat roads he’d been used to from his previous racing days.

Also being a high acclaimed running coach, Pete is usually a master when it comes to race plan and strategy. He tends to start off at a steady, comfortable pace and then gradually pick it up as the race progresses. That’s exactly what he did at the Wimborne 20, gradually working his way towards the front of the field.

Having not raced for so many months though, even Pete found himself getting a touch over exuberant at the start of the race, but that was almost unavoidable under the circumstances.

The hills start immediately on the Dorset Ooser course and they do not relent until the end so it’s definitely one where a supplement of energy needs to be conserved.

Pete was going for it though and taking no prisoners. By the time the third mile had elapsed he was in lead and continued to press on from there.

Despite the hills, Pete had completed most of the miles up to mile seven at around 6:20 to 6:30 pace. Had he burnt himself out too early though, that was the question?

Some tough hills over the next forced him to slow the pace a bit but a couple of nice downhill stretches on the 11th and 12th miles saw him get back up to speed.

At the half way stage it was so far so good for Pete and his lead at the front of the field was growing progressively. He didn’t relent though and continued to attack the hills with vigour and gusto.

Not prepared to just settle for the race win, Pete wanted to continue giving it all he’s got and see how quickly he could go. Managing to stay remarkably strong over the second half of the race, it was only at mile 24 where he really started to find it tough.

The hill on that mile took a lot out of him but he was hoping he’d be able to cruise home after that. That was not so though and he was cursing his luck as he turned the corner to be greeted with one more big hill before the finish.

Being forced to swap running for walking over the last bit of the climb, he made it up nonetheless, crossing the finish line in a remarkable time of 2:59:40.

It was a quite magnificent victory for Pete, and a fairly comprehensive one at that. Almost eight minutes went by before the runner up emerged on the horizon.

That was Robert Eaton of South Derbyshire Road Runners. He got over the line in a time of 3:07:37. Then it was Philip Macgregor who took third place in a time of 3:11:37.

Kieron Mumford of Lonely Goat was the only other man to come in in under three-and-a-half hours. He posted a time of 3:27:08, giving him the Male 45-49 crown.

Over the course of the race, Pete wracked up 2,454ft of elevation which gives some indication of just how tough the Dorset Ooser Marathon is. With its 13 testing climbs to overcome, seven stiles to clamber over and two fords to cross, it isn’t one for the faint hearted.

Meanwhile, in the Half Marathon race it was Robert Doubleday of Poole AC who showed he hasn’t lost any form over the lockdown period, picking up the win in 1:24:16. Sam Davis took second place in a still very good time of 1:26:29.

For Pete though, it was not all about the winning. He classes the enjoyment of running as the most important thing, along with the massive mental health benefits that it brings.

After the race he was full of gratitude towards Kevin and Denise and all the team at Badger Trail Events for overcoming so many hurdles and putting on such a hugely successful race under very difficult circumstances.

It had been around four-and-a-half months since lockdown restrictions came into play, forcing all forms of competitive racing off the agenda.

Over the course of that time event organisers and race planners had been searching for ways and means to get races back up and running in a safe and socially distanced environment.

It had proved a very difficult proposition and the inevitable cancellation of many high profile events ensued, including all big city marathons, some of which had initially been rescheduled for October.

It came as a welcome relief to many athletes when the go-ahead was finally given for racing to return in some shape or form. In the Dorset area it turned out to be Maverick who were the first to get an event scheduled in with an appropriate strategy in place and a Covid-19 considered plan approved.

Maverick events tend to consist of three different distances for runners to choose from, namely a Short, Middle and Long race. The challenge was of course to come up with an innovative way in which they could reduce interaction between participants wherever possible and ensure gatherings were kept to a minimum.

They did this by introducing a starting system where runners could set off in waves, dictated by their chosen timeslot. They could then start their races any time during the allocated duration for that particular wave.

The lockdown period had certainly brought about its own set of challenges to runners, with the initial restrictions forcing most to train on their own.

With the absence of group club sessions and hands-on coaching guidance, runners had to find their own motivations to keep training and maintain fitness levels.

Even when coached club sessions returned, there was then still the lack of any target races to aim for to provide the incentive to train hard and commit to the cause.

Despite all those challenges, Rob McTaggart and Rich Brawn had both managed to remain focused and stay motivated in training. As a consequence, they were quite pleased with where their fitness levels were at. The only frustration for them had been that they had no races in which to showcase that form.

Hence when they discovered that the Maverick Adidas Terrex Dorset Original event was actually taking place, they jumped at the chance to compete again.

With the race being staged along the rugged Jurassic coastline from Swanage, Tag knew it wouldn’t be a course the played to his strengths. He usually excels more in a fast, flat, road race environment. But beggars can’t be choosers and it was a competitive race, nonetheless, so it was worth a go.

Having already signed up to a 10k race the following weekend, Rich felt it would be a good way to get back into race mode and given the tough terrain, it would provide some good strength benefits for following race he had penciled in.

The location of the race village was Wilkswood Farm in Swanage. The three different distances participants could choose from were 8km, 16km and 24km. Both Tag and Rich had opted for the Middle distance, which was 16km.

Arriving with some of his mates from Twemlow Track Club, Tag started off in the second wave. Rich was scheduled to go in the third wave of the four.

The starting procedure was very straight forward indeed. The runners simply just had to go to the start area at some point during the time span of their wave, pick up their number, pin it on and then head to the start line where they could set off individually or in pairs.

It wasn’t long before the climbing began, with the presence of a testing hill in the first mile that gave the athletes an early taste of what was to come.

The next couple of miles were fairly smooth sailing, or at least they should have been. There were a few undulations but nothing too excessive. The third mile contained a downhill stretch and that was where a harrowing moment for Rich occurred.

He was enjoying picking his way through the field and going past others who had started ahead of him and back-markers from previous waves.

Getting a bit over exuberant, he was tearing down the field on full throttle. The decline in the field seemed to gradually get more steep though and Rich soon found himself picking up velocity as his momentum carried him forward.

Suddenly realising he was travelling too fast he thought he’d better try and slow down. But he had no breaks!! Rather worryingly, he was completely out of control at this point and was hurtling towards the end of the field and knew if he kept going he’d have no way of stopping.

As the ground began to get blurry with the speed he was going at, the only way Rich could think of to stop was to throw himself to the ground, so that’s what he did.

Crashing to the deck on his left leg, it was a painful landing but he was grateful to have stopped without serious injury. He immediately bounced back and carried on, relieved to find that the only damage he had done was surface wounds.

On the fifth mile there were some very steep steps leading down to a valley. Remembering his fall from earlier, Rich decided to take these very cautiously, just gently walking down. Any attempt to go faster could have easily resulted in calamity and he wasn’t prepared to risk that.

Then there was a very steep climb up the other side which most people were walking up. After losing so much time going down the stairs, Rich wasn’t prepared to be delayed any further and worked hard to get up as quickly as he could.

It was the first off-road race he’d ever done on the Purbeck though and after beginning to struggle a bit, he wondered if perhaps he hadn’t quite given it the respect it deserves and would pay for setting off so quick.

Then, on the sixth mile he came to another extremely steep downhill section with steps. Again, the only viable option was to walk down gingerly which took a fair while as it was a very long hill. Once he eventually reached the bottom, there was another massive hill with steps back up the other side.

Clambering up the steps as fast as he could, he could tell that the mile split for that one would be very slow. After that though, he managed to find some rhythm and thankfully, once he was on route back to the start/finish area, the remainder of the race wasn’t too taxing.

Some nice downhill stretches over the last couple of miles allowed him to claw some time back and after one final short climb through a wooded area, he saw the inflatable finish arch.

Going over the line in a time of 1:14:40, even though it was perhaps Rich‘s slowest time ever over a 10-mile distance, he was pleased with the performance given the toughness of the terrain.

Over the course of the race he’d wracked up almost 1,200ft of elevation and if you add all the lengthy descents with steps as well, it’s easy to see why it wasn’t one for a fast time.

As for Tag, given he had started in a previous wave, he had completed his ordeal quite some time ago. Suffice to say, it wasn’t a race he will look back on overly fondly.

He didn’t even have any trail shoes so that meant he was also restricted to walking down each set of steep steps and it turned out to be more a steady run than an all-out blast from him.

Crossing the line in a time of 1:11:23, Tag still ran it over three minutes faster than Rich and it would be enough to see him finish fairly high up the leaderboard. He didn’t enjoy his foray into trail running though and probably won’t overly keen to enter another race like that any time soon.

It was the Twemlow Track Club guys who dominated the race over the Middle distance though, with Brian Underwood posting the fastest time of anyone on the day, somehow getting round in 1:06:18. That was a mightily impressive feat, producing a time like that over such a difficult course.

Jack Galloway took the runners up spot, completing the route in a time of 1:07:23. Harry Lauste took third place, finishing in 1:08:15, with Steven Rigby getting fourth in 1:10:25. Tag was fifth in the overall standings and Rich was sixth.

The quickest lady over the Middle distance was Jenny Marshall, who finished 7th overall with a magnificent time of 1:14:53. A total of 146 people successfully completed the 16km race.

In the other distances, Daniel Eyre won the Short race in a time of 32:50, followed by Georgie Lambert who was second in 34:49 and Louise Fox was came third in a time of 35:21.

Over the Long distance, it was Toby Lambert who came out on top, putting in a brilliant performance to complete the 24km route in 1:42:51.

James Phillips took second place in a still very impressive time of 1:45:57, with Dasos Gonnella registering a time of just two seconds slower to take third place in 1:45:59.

Although it won’t be one that Rich and Tag will remember for their spectacular performances, the race will be remembered by all those who took part as one of huge significance.

That significance is of course, that real racing is finally back. And, after such a lengthy hiatus without it, that will be a godsend for most competitive club runners.