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.
