The lovely Mrs S and I last ran this race in
2017 in awful conditions. This year was quite different - it was sunny and calm. We arrived in good time, met a bunch of RRR friends and headed to the start line at the edge of the downs.
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| The start |
We started by zig-zagging around the downs, and narrowly managed to avoid crossing paths with a herd of skittish horses. Several folk had started way too fast, and I cruised past them over the first 15 mins. There were some interesting cross-country sections and a few stiles, but nothing too technical at this stage.
Then out onto the coastal path, where the inclines and terrain started to get a lot more juicy. There were a few sections where I had debate whether it was more efficient to walk or run, before rounding St Aldhelm's Head and encountering That Valley, where it was all about tentatively jogging down the stone steps and walking hard up the other side. I arrived at the top satisfied that the tough hills were done, and cruised downhill past Chapman's Cove and on to the track that opens in to the road up to Kingston.
But this year's course was different. We were routed off the road and back south to a gnarly hill called Houns-Tout Cliff. Dozens of steep steps left my legs all a-wobble, but I managed to overtake someone near the top.
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| Oh, those steps |
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| Check out the cheeky unexpected Houns-Tout Cliff in km 15 |
It was then a flattish chase to the woods next to Kingston, then downhill through fields and then through a wonderfully technically wooded boardwalk section with crumbling stiles and limbo dancing branches. The final section uphill over the downs was really tough, but I was rewarded by a final overtake in the final downhill hurtle to the finish field. I heaved over the line in 6th place in
1:35:36, which was, rather bizarrely, identical to my time in 2017 on a shorter route but in worse conditions. I was very chuffed to get the M50 award in a competitive field. Here are
my stats.
This is a really tough, well-organised and interesting race in a fabulous part of the world. Beastliness has never been such fun.
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| The arrival of Beauty... |
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| ...and The Beast |
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| The Romsey ladies found the whole thing a hoot |
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| I came away with some silverware |
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| ...and so did Abi, Sue and Hannah - the winning ladies' team |
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