I'd been thinking about having a go at this route for a while as i live only about a mile from it and know most of the area fairly well but never found a good time until today. Last summer there was often a race to train for and then once autumn and winter arrived the trails were too wet and slippy for an attempt at the FKT. I chose to start from a gate near Mangrove Green simply as the closest point to where I live, I also chose to go anti-clockwise so that I was going up the long set of steps up Sharpenhoe Clappers. I was planning to try a week or so earlier, but decided to delay the run as there was a period of dry weather forecast, though there were still plenty of muddy sections during the run.
What went well: Food, had a Mountain Fuel Gel every 30mins ish which went down well with no stomach issues.
No issues with clothes or shoes either.
What went ok: Navigation only one mistake just after Sharpenhoe, used a gpx file on my watch which worked well with my local knowledge.
Water: I only took 3x500ml bottles with me which ran out with about 5 miles to go, should have taken a 4th as I was getting a bit thirsty towards the end
Pacing: Set off a bit fast based on my finishing time, but that is fairly normal for ultra's. Maybe my fitness wasn't quite as good as I though it was!
What went bad: My windproof jacket fell out of my bag at some point in the first half and I didn't notice :(
The attempt almost had to be aborted within the first mile due to the road in Cockernhoe being closed for roadworks! Luckily the workmen kindly let me go through.