Why the Self-Isolation Shuffle?

Well I’ll tell you. The past couple of weeks have been odd! Coronavirus appears to be bringing the entire world to a standstill. I have never experienced anything like this. It just feels so surreal reading about all the deaths and how entire countries are locking down to try and combat the spread.

My email has been full of race cancellations or postponements. All the way through into May has been cleared. Some of the postponements have worked out ok, but most clash with other marathons later in the year. I can obviously defer until next year, but to be honest, the thought of doing any marathons next year leaves me cold.

I was initially quite down about it, seeing all my plans unraveling, but when I think about what’s going on at the moment, there’s really no point dwelling on it. I’ve considered jacking this challenge in many times, this was just another one of those times. I’ve decided to try and carry on and run solo, at least until we’re told that you can’t leave your house, we’re close to it, but still able to go out for exercise, just not in groups of more than 2.

Lulworth Cove Marathon postponed

I should have been running the Lulworth Cove marathon, I was really looking forward to it, especially as the forecast actually looked good for a change. So this was my first marathon running solo. Motivation is the hardest thing as I generally feel quite fatigued and without a group event it makes it harder to get going. I had a rough idea of a route. Caroline had agreed to pick me up so I didn’t have to figure out a route that would loop back on myself, I could basically keep running until I got to the required distance.

My aim was to run clockwise around the Island into Ventnor. The first few miles were familiar territory, the cycle track down from Cowes into Newport, I’d run that section so many times before. Newport was very quiet, hardly anyone around, a few cars buzzing around, but none of the usual shoppers you would normally see. From Newport it was on to Ryde, this was pretty much all main road.

Eerily quiet everywhere

Going down through Ryde was eerily quiet, even on a Sunday you expect to see a few people milling around. There were more people as I started running along Appley Beach, still quiet though. The wind was right in my face and quite strong from now as I edged myself along the coast. I was able to follow the coastal path for quite a long way, through Seaview and on towards Bembridge, but made a turn up into St Helen’s that basically got me back onto the main road, which wasn’t my intention, but I carried on through Brading, sandown and Shanklin.

By now my legs were very heavy, but the main hindrance were my ankles, the tightness in both Achilles’ tendons is getting quite bad, making it quite uncomfortable to run. The hill out of Shanklin and up over the cliff before Ventnor was an absolute beast. Cowleaze Hill, I’ve only ever done it in a car so never noticed how it goes on forever. I walked up that one. Once at the top, the view is amazing, windy, but worth taking a moment. From here it was literally all downhill into Ventnor.

The perfect finish

I’d arranged to meet Caroline in the car park there but was pleasantly surprised to see some friends there aswell, cheering me in, what a nice surprise.

The icing on the cake was that Caroline gave me a medal that a good friend had given her to pass on to me. Back in 1986 Trevor Macneill had run his one and only marathon, then called the Seven Sisters Marathon, now known as Beachy Head marathon, so I knew how tough it was. This was the medal he got for completing it. I was speechless. I’d often spoken to him about this marathon, I loved the fact that him and the friend he ran with stopped along the way to have a smoke, mainly to get a bit of warmth as it was a cold February. I felt honoured that he wanted to pass it on to me. It will be treasured.

I actually felt ok after finishing, didn’t have the usual nausea. Must have been a combination of the nicer weather and seeing some friendly faces at the end.

Next week is the half way point and should be the Dorset Ooser, but that is now pushed back to a later date that I can’t make. I’m thinking about running anti clockwise around the Island to see the other side. Take a look and see.

Friday the 13th strikes

Friday the 13th came with bad news, due to Corona Virus, mass gatherings are being stopped, so far, London, Brighton, Manchester and Edinburgh are postponed. I have no doubt that more will follow. This puts my little challenge in a bit of a quandary as most of the marathons for the year are booked. Just 10 left to book. But this news throws everything up in the air, and of course there is a financial element that is bothering me too. Generally speaking the no refund policy is standard!!! But I can’t dwell on this, I’ll see how things pan out.

Regardless, today’s marathon did take place, hurrah! This week took me back to Eastbourne and Beachy head territory. The Beachy Head Marathon was one of the tougher of the marathons so far, so I wasn’t relishing the prospect of today’s Endurancelife Sussex Trail Marathon.

The start was in Birling Gap, surrounded by the seven sisters one side and Beachy Head the other. The weather was suitably wet and windy.

The Seven Sisters revisited

At 9 o’clock the marathon set off towards the Seven Sisters and within half a mile we were struggling up one side and trying not to slip up going down the other side. The climbing was an energy sapping start. There was a bit of respite once the sisters were done, but not much. The terrain was pretty much the same as the last few marathons, very muddy and slippery, making it difficult to get a good pace. The hills were constant too, but then I guess that’s just what you get from a trail marathon. The first half was very similar to the Beachy Head Marathon, other than we didn’t start on a ridiculous hill in Eastbourne and we were going the other way.

The route eventually looped back into Birling Gap, leaving the hardest section, up over Beachy Head and onwards towards Eastbourne, where the aforementioned ridiculous hill reared it’s ugly head. I found this section quite demoralising, not least because you pass the start section, but also knowing how hard those hills would be coming back from Eastbourne.

The final sting in the tail came with 2 miles to go and you pass the finish line again, this time close enough to hear cheers as people finish, but then you’re sent away and up a rather harsh hill to do a final loop, but it was only 2 miles, so it wasn’t too long before I was heading back and into the finish.

Endurancelife did an amazing job, the organisation was impeccable, especially with all the precautions they’d taken to avoid ‘touch points’. Their volunteers were brilliant, keeping an up beat atmosphere in difficult times. The course is mapped out and sign posted perfectly, leaving no room for error.

If you’re interested in taking part in this race, or one of their other future events, I couldn’t recommend it enough. Go take a look at Endurancelife.

Next week, the challenging races continue with The Lulworth Cove Trail Marathon, that’s if it isn’t cancelled! Take a look and see.

As I write this, I’m on the 6 am ferry on a wet and windy Sunday morning, headed to take part in the Larmer Tree Marathon. I’m slightly panicked as the boat was late and my travel plans left no contingency for delay. I normally go over the night before, but for some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to get up at 5 am and drive up on the day! The race starts at 8:30 so I’m now keeping everything crossed that there are no more delays. More on that later.

White Star Running

So, this is my first White Star Running event. I’m interested to see if it lives up to the hype. They always appear to be popular events that sell out quickly. That must be a good sign. White Star always comes across as a good time company and the events have an almost festival air to them. That being said, it’s still a marathon and it’s still a wet and windy day in March, so we’ll see. The half marathon was yesterday so I’m expecting the course to be chopped up and slippery. Let’s see…

Made it with a half-hour to spare. There were delays in parking because the field was so boggy. When I got to registration, I found the race had been delayed by a half-hour, so no rush at all.

Quite a popular race this, loads of people for the marathon and also a 20-mile course. The race HQ was in the grounds of the Larmer Tree Gardens, very picturesque. We were eventually let lose at about 9. Then it was straight into a mud-fest. Not just a light coating, this was the type of mud that you saw in old Tarzan films where you run into it and never get out again. Amongst this thick sludge there were intervals of the slippy kind of mud that wants to impale you on a tree, or make you slip down the very high hills to your death! I found the going very slow, 1 step forward, several slips back. My Achilles were killing me.

I had my running app on silent so that I didn’t know how far I’d run. This is a psychological trick that can either be a pleasant surprise, or a total disaster when you do find out where you are. I found out at mile 17 when a jolly man ran past and told me we only had 10 miles to go, I felt sure I was at least in the final 6 miles. I ran behind him, cursing the back of his stupid head!

The route itself is set around the Rushmore Estate, nestled within Cranbourne Chase, an ancient deer forest in Tollard Royal near Salisbury. It really is a stunning area with breathtaking scenery. At one point I saw about 10 dears running like nutters towards us, one of them took a nasty tumble and got its throat caught in a wire fence. I made my way towards it with the intention of trying to release it, but luckily the site of a bloke covered in mud heading towards it caused it to get free on its own.

Worth the hard work

The hills were as brutal as I’d heard, so steep you could barely walk up them. All in all though a great race. The organisation is superb, a very friendly atmosphere and the aid stations have everything you could want to eat. Very hard, but generally enjoyable, well, as much as you can enjoy a marathon that is.

Next week takes me back to Eastbourne for the Endurancelife Sussex Trail Marathon. I believe it’ll be taking in some of the Beachy Head marathon route. Great! That was horrible!

If you’d be interested in doing the Larmer Tree Marathon, go and take a look at White Star Running. They have many races to choose from throughout the year.

This weekend takes me back towards Brighton for the Steyning Stinger marathon. Last week’s Lenham Cross Trail Marathon left me feeling broken. I genuinely wanted to jack this challenge in and spent most of the week dreading the next marathon. One thing I have found whilst running marathons is that some days you feel great, others, not so much. I’m sure there are clever people out there who know the reasons for this other than the fact that some marathons are harder than others.

Last week’s was by far the hardest so far, but this one was no walk in the park either.

One of the nice things about this race is that there is no official start time. You basically turn up to race HQ at Steyning Grammar School, pick up your number and then start when you’re ready, which is great because I hate all the waiting around at the start.

The race takes you up onto the South Downs way, so as you’d expect there is a lot of hill work to do. The terrain was very muddy and slippery, so getting settled into a pace was pretty much impossible. There were a lot of competitors in the race, but that thins out when you get to a point where the half marathon splits from the full.

There is no doubt about it, the South Downs are stunning. It really is quite humbling to be up top and looking around at the scenery. The weather was perfect too, quite blowy, a bit of rain but that didn’t last. It was sunny pretty much the entire way. The only sound to keep you company is the bird song, and the grunts and groans of other runners, but that can be filtered out. Dare I say it, I was actually enjoying it!!!

There are two loops that are part of the marathon course. The first is the Chanctonbury Ring, the second I can’t remember, either way, they’re both hard. After the second loop you’re into the last few miles, by now my running was more of a shuffle, but I still felt ok, boosted by the scenery and the fact that I was heading back to the finish.

The last two miles are pretty much downhill, all the climbing is done, so it’s a good opportunity to stretch your legs a bit, if you’ve got anything left in the tank that is.

When you get back to the finish, you’re given a medal, and a menu!

One of the quirks that makes this such a popular race is that you get a cooked breakfast at the end. I ordered the vegan brekkie, but really couldn’t stomach it. Eating after a marathon is always the last thing on my mind.

As races go I would rate this very high. The organisation and marshals are all great. The route itself is very challenging, but it’s worth the effort. On a rainy day I would bet it’s not so desirable. The open start time is good, and the added extra of the breakfast is a great touch. At £30 entrance fee it’s at the lower end of the price spectrum, so great value for money, I’d definitely recommend it to any other runners looking for a good event.

Next week is the first of the Whitestar running events that I’ve entered, it’s the Larmer Tree Marathon. I’ve heard it’s another hard one, but I’m quite looking forward to it.

If you’d be interested in running the Steyning Stinger in the future, take a look at Steyning A.C.