Runner overcomes injury to complete Stones race

A MAN from Watlington has completed his first 50km ultra-marathon after recovering from a serious injury.

Jon Pile completed Race to the Stones last month, the UK’s largest ultra-marathon, less than a year after injuring his right knee.

Race to the Stones covers 100km of land and is held along the Ridgeway Trail from Lewknor to the 5,000-year-old Avebury Standing Stones, a UNESCO world heritage site in Wiltshire.

Mr Pile, 44, of Shirburn Road, ran 50km of the route from Lewknor to Wantage in a time of six hours and 36 minutes on July 12.

It marked the triathlete’s first race after he fell during a run on holiday last August.

He was left in a significant amount of pain and struggled to walk, play football in the garden with his children, or complete basic household tasks.

Mr Pile said: “The fall was strangely marked by the fact that I had just achieved a very big goal in racing a half Ironman [triathlon] and achieving a five-hour time.

“I went from being in the best shape I’ve ever been in to then, a few weeks later, having a fall and not being able to train properly for six to eight months.”

Mr Pile, who works in marketing, said he had exhausted all non-surgical treatment options without success when he decided to try Arthosamid, an injectable hydrogel implant not yet available on the NHS that delivers pain relief for osteoarthritis.

After starting treatment in February, Mr Pile gradually built up his training routine.

Starting with swimming, he then progressed to running, increasing the distance he ran incrementally.

Mr Pile said: “We’re blessed with some wonderful trails around Watlington, it’s five minutes on to the Ridgeway.

“Each weekend I would slowly build the volume up, the first run was towards the end of March and I ran every day for about 20 minutes but stopped every two minutes for a walk.

“By the end of April, I was up to 10km and it progressed
relatively quickly from there because I was getting no negative feedback from the knee.”

Mr Pile was able to run a distance of 30km one month before completing Race for the Stones, which fell on his birthday — part of his motivation for signing up.

He raced alongside some friends, while others met him at the finishing line.

Mr Pile said: “The thing I wasn’t really prepared for, and couldn’t train for, was the heat — it was 35C on the day of the race itself, which was pretty brutal.”

But despite this he said completing the race had left him with a feeling of “exaltation” and relief, even though he also picked up a touch of heatstroke.

Mr Pile said: “It was a really good day and a really nice way to celebrate a birthday. The event’s brilliant, it’s so friendly, all the other competitors are chatting along as you’re running.

“There are brilliant aid stations, all the volunteers and marshals are lovely and it’s beautiful — we live in a very beautiful part of the world. It was a stunning day out.”

Mr Pile celebrated by hosting a barbecue at his house, where he lives with wife Hannah and children Xander, 10, and Emmie, seven.

He added: “To get back to running, something I love doing, with no negative impact, was massive.”

His next race will be the Oxfordshire Triathlon on Sunday, which will take place at Queenford Water Park, followed by the Maverick Original Oxfordshire trail half-marathon at Stonor Park in November.

Mr Pile said: “Then we’ll see what next year brings. One of my friends, whom I did Race to the Stones with, has pointed out that there’s also a 50km on his birthday next year so he’s very much trying to get me to repay the favour by going along to take part in the one.

“The way I always think about it is to try and have one main race that takes the focus and that the training plan builds to.

“Race to the Stones was that for this year, the big thing to compete in — the big focus. So a lot of the year now is just racing for fun without the pressure.”