Feeling Hot Hot Hot...

And so we reach the final stage.

The Exmoor race took place in aptly named Heddon Valley. The clue is in the name, because there can't be a valley without hills. To give you a feel for them, Maggie walked up the first mile or so of the course and took these photos - in the one looking up the valley you can just make out a car at the valley bottom near the tree in the foreground - that's more or less the start.


As you will have realised by now, it was HOT. We knew it was going to be, and it was. So coated in layers of sun cream, and carrying more than the normal amount of water, I donned my cap (which unfortunately is a winter spec running cap, so not designed for coolness!) and set out for the final time of the season.



The start is deceptive - in fact slightly downhill for the first few hundred yards, before you reach sea level and realise there is only one way from there - UP! Maggie had gone on ahead, and found a peaceful bench to rest on a couple of hundred feet up the hill side.



A peace which was abruptly shattered as 300 half marathon runners came by! And then was onwards and upwards and onwards and upwards. The first hill climbs to about 800 feet before levelling off - for much of it I was stuck in traffic which meant I went a bit slower than I really felt I wanted to, but maybe that was as well, as at least it kept me from overdoing it at the start. By the top of the climb you really feel you've had enough - but you are also greeted by one of the magic moments of all the Endurancelife courses, as you round the headland and find all the majesty of the Exmoor Coast laid out before you.



From there, along the cliff tops, with a few minor undulations, and then the final climb to the summit of Holdstone Down at 349m (1152 feet). Last year the final climb was through the heather, which neither Lawrence nor I were looking forward to, but this year it had recently been burnt, so was easier going - though still too steep to run up. 4.3 miles in, first check point, 53 and a half minutes - about a minute slower than I'd reached the same point in the 10k last year. Shows the effect of the weather, as I'm a lot fitter than I was a year ago. And then 3 miles more or less continuously downhill. Which is great, except for the knowledge you've got to go back up again.

This course is unique amongst the half marathons in that half way round, you go past the finish. Which gives the opportunity to think about stopping. And I will confess that with the heat and the thought of going up a hill almost as high as that which I had already done, the temptation was there - so thank you to all you sponsors who provided the spur I needed to think "NO - there's too much riding on this!".

So on past the Hunter's Inn (another reason for being tempted to stop) around 3 minutes slower than last year's 10k, and on to the secound loop, this time on the Eastern side of the valley. The hill this time rises only (?) about 800 feet, and more gently - and I am proud to say I ran every step, and overtook quite a lot of people on the way up. Then round into Woody Bay, and double back onto the coast path itself for the final stretch back.

I rounded the final bend and realised with about a mile to go, I had a fighting chance of making 2 hrs 30 which would have been great - so I put my best foot down - but truth be told, by now neither foot was good. A combination of heat and shoes near the end of their life had resulted in what turned out to be decent blisters on the bottom of both (which resulted in a more or less complete inability to walk the following day after I had also driven 275 miles on them), and the final loop around the field proved my undoing - so by the time I reached the finish, that target was gone.


But finish I did, in 2 hrs 30 minutes and 21 seconds, making me 147th out of 308 finishers. A little disappointing, but I was proud just to have made it. And prouder still of you lot - sponsorship is now up to £1,345 in total, so if just a few more of you contribute, we can make it to £1,500 which would be great.

Thank you for your support throughout the challenge, and to Maggie for her tolerance to training and weekends away. It's been good for me, and I hope I've done some good too.

Made it!!!

Boy, that was tough. Not just the monstrous hills, but I now know heat is perhaps even worse than mud! Anyway, Exmoor completed in 2 hours 30 minutes and 21 seconds.

A full report and pictures when the results and official photos are available - probably Wednesday or Thursday.

p.s. Thank you to everyone who has donated in the last few days - now £1,195 total. And to everyone else, it's not too late...

Training Finshed! All set for Exmoor

So - 10 months after I set out on this challenge, I have just got back from my last training run!!! And finished in style, with a personal best by more than a minute on my favourite 8 mile lap round Shirley and Osmaston Park.

In total, by the time I finish the Exmoor race on Saturday, I will have done 76 outings and a total of just over 570 miles.

Thank you very much to everyone who has contributed so far. Sponsorship is past £1,000 across the four charities, but I feel I deserve more than that! If you don't believe me, take a look at the Exmoor elevation data which is to come next weekend! The first hill goes from sea level up to 1,100 feet, then back to sea level and back up to 700 feet - including undulations, over 2,000 feet of height gain!



Come on!! Cough Up!

Three down, one to go

Last Saturday I completed the Pembroke race.

In many ways, the story is much like South Devon. Very wet weather leading up to the race left the course very heavy underfoot, but the day itself was beautiful - a nice temperature, and sunny most of the time.

For the first time this season Lawrence was also there, running the 10k. The challenge was whether with 90 minutes start I could get back before him. But then they moved the start time for the 10k so I only got 70 minutes start, and there was no chance! But it was still good to be running with him.




Maggie and Andrew dropped us off in Little Haven, which really is a most picturesque place, and made off for St Davids, where they saw the sights and found a fine tea room for lunch. While I was running. Ho Hum, I suppose it is self inflicted.

And so we were off. Like South Devon, they used a "dib out" start so the clock didn't start ticking until you crossed the start line - but it does mean you don't know where you are relative to other people if (like me) you start in the middle of the bunch.

And so up the hill, and up the steps (see the picture from last year on the left), and onto the coast path for the first mile or so. Unfortunately the next bit of path was rendered "unrunnable" by the weather, so we had to detour inland and down the road for about 2 miles before rejoining the path, but that did at least give a good chance to get some relatively easy distance covered.



Just at the end of this stretch, I overtook the young lady in pink in the attached picture (Cressida) - who promptly decided I made a good pacemaker, and followed me for the next 5 miles along the coast - which like South Devon was notable for excellent views and thick, slippery mud. This is the flattest of the four races I am doing, but it turned out not by any means to be the easiest.

Gentle undulations and more mud followed, and then we left the coast, and as always happens on these courses, that meant a long drag uphill to the inland path back. At the top of that, Cressida demonstrated that she had always been able to go faster than me by pulling away 50 yards or so - a lead she stretched to 200 yeads by the end. But the last laugh was on me, as we shall see.

Unusually, but in part due to the diversion, we completed a short loop at the end, then back down the same path as on the way out for most of the way back - which of course meant it was even muddier. Then the road, which seemed much longer than it had an hour and a bit earlier, and finally down the hill to Little Haven.

I finished 113 out of 265 finishers, in 2:21:02. The winner was 1:43:53, so I was 1.36 times his time - marginally worse than in South Devon. But if I compare to the guy who won the series last year, I have improved from 1.38 times his time in Gower, to 1.35 times in South Devon, and 1.24 times here.

So why did I get the last laugh?? Well it turned out that although Cressida got back 39 seconds before me, I had started 61 seconds after her, so I beat her by 22 seconds!

All in all, another great day. And then we rounded it off with a fabulous meal at Hurst House. Or at least Maggie, Andrew and I did. Lawrence got a British Rail Sandwich (or the modern equivalent) on a train to Manchester for a week's hiking and camping in the Lakes.

Roll on Exmoor. Bring on those hills.

Training Update - Ready for Pembrokeshire

So, 36 hours before Pembrokeshire.

With only 4 weeks between South Devon and Pembrokeshire, it's been quite hard to get a balance between rest and preparation, especially with weekends away to collect Lawrence from Uni and to visit Andrew at School. But I go to Pembrokeshire in good heart - I did 6.4 miles last weekend in 50:45, which bodes well, especially as Pembrokeshire is the flattest of the four. Total miles since I started this adventure have now passed 450, and two weeks ago I set a personal longest run with nearly 17 miles in training.

Of course, it's been raining again, so it will probably be a bit soft underfoot!

South Devon Race Completed

Sorry it's been too long since I posted anything. The best of intentions, but life has been manic this last few months.

Anyway, I safely completed the South Devon Race back in February. Abiding memories. Mud. Hard work. Mud. Fabulous stretch of coastline between Start Point and Prawle Point. More Mud. Occasional rocky bits to pick your way through and avoid falling off the cliffs. Mud. More Mud. An annoying 7 seconds. Mud.

You've probably got the point by now. It was seriously hard work, not so much due to the hills, as due to the mud. Pity the 10k who came after us, but it had rained a lot, and although (as the pictures above show) it was nice while we were running, it was very soft underfoot.

I finished in 2 hours 30 minutes and 7 seconds (the annoying 7 seconds - I had given up on getting under 2:30, then realised I might, ran hard for the last 1/4 mile or so, and didn't quite make it!). I was 123rd out of 337 finishers, and was 1.35 times slower than the winner, compared to 1.41 times slower in Gower - so an improvement there.

Once again, a fabulous and well organised day - roll on Pembrokeshire!

Winter Training

Just got back from 6 miles in the snow at -1 degC. Surely that's worth a few pounds sponsorship??