I’m chilling out with an ultramarathon

Alittle bit of stress in life is good – it makes me efficient and decisive. A lot of stress, not so good.

Cat Brandwood of Toscanaccio in Winchester has had her nerves frazzled by some issues that her local council doesn’t seem able to help her with. So now she’s decided to do something Scilly

Starting a business is the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. Not long after opening I realised that I had to find a way to cope with stress: it was paralysing. I took up running, and it became my meditation. It’s seen me through a lot, a global pandemic seeming like an easy ride compared to some of the other shit over the years.

Running keeps me sane, for the most part. My running shoes are a part of me, going everywhere I do. Those early morning miles, whatever the weather, clear my mind. Unfortunately, a spell of Covid last year, combined with what was probably a bit of burnout, knocked me sideways and recovery has been slow, so perhaps I haven’t been as resilient against stress as I might usually be.

Annoyingly, there’s been a lot of stress here recently. A bit more than the usual. I’ve spent the last year arguing with the local council about something that really is very obviously wrong. No need for chapter and verse here but suffice to say it involves a neighbouring extractor fan. Every single person who has visited the site has agreed that “no, that isn’t right” – but almost a year into reporting the problem it still it persists. No department wants to do anything; the path of least resistance (not doing any work, it seems) is the path they choose. It’s not been fun.

My usually resilient self has perhaps not dealt with this as well as it could have. My good friend wine has been involved. And this time it’s got me in trouble. Big trouble. I’ve done something very stupid. My mother-in-law thinks I need to stop drinking and getting into these scrapes, and for once I agree with her.

What started out as a bit of a joke among friends became the rash decision, after a few drinks, to sign up for an ultramarathon. It was sold out, you see, and it seemed like a good time to commit to something I had no chance of getting into.

Unfortunately, the race in question had so many applications that they increased the number of places. And, stupidly, I paid for mine instead of politely declining. So in June next year I’m going to the Scilly Isles to run round all the inhabited ones. Fool.

I am no novice – with 10 years of running under my belt there is no way I can claim that – but I’ve always run despite my bacchanalian lifestyle. I run most Sunday mornings with the dehydration that comes with the memory of last night’s wine. My well-worn logic being that if I train in adversity then a week of sobriety before a race will give me that push to smash my time.

A few years ago, I asked a former wine shop-owning friend turned ultramarathoner whether I could train for an ultra, alongside running the business. His answer? An emphatic no. In fact, knowing the speed of my shuffle, he’s also not confident that I will make the checkpoints to finish the race. Because obviously I have signed up for a race with strict time cut-offs. Not fast enough? The boat leaves for the next island without you.

Naturally, I am full of good intentions with no real concept of how I’m going to achieve this. I guess I’m going to need to put down the Dominos and embrace a new, sober me. Chances that it lasts the month?

Meet these producers in London on September 6

• Pedro Branco – Quinta do Portal, Douro, Portugal

• Chuck Cramer – Rutherford Hills, Napa Valley, USA

• Amandine Marchive – Domaine des Malandes, Chablis, France

• Gary & Kathy Jordan – Jordan Wines, South Africa

• Léon Femfert – Nittardi, Tuscany, Italy

• Will Coren – House Coren, UK

• Daniel Shaw – Philip Shaw Wines, Australia

• Karl Lambour – Tokara, South Africa