Endurancelife Northumberland 10, 2022

The hill at the South Devon race three weeks ago wrecked my Achilles tendon for for the following week, so for the time being at least I'm avoiding everything to do with hills. So this event, long-planned, was fortuitously timed. The Endurancelife coastal trail series is infamous for its spiky elevation profiles; but this was a flat point-to-point along the shoreline.

Bamburgh looking moody and atmospheric

 

Mr and Mrs S looking slightly gothic

It had been a really long schlep yesterday - 8 hours of driving to cover the 400 miles from home. But after a leisurely start this morning we were feeling refreshed, and it was just a short hop to the lovely village of Bamburgh, where we wandered over the sand dunes before taking the coach southwards to the start at Beadnell. The first of the half marathon runners were just coming through. There was a brisk cool southerly wind blowing on a bright clear day. Bags dropped, we warmed up and headed to the crowded start line.

This time in technicolor

 

I set off at a brisk lick with about 8 people ahead of me, along the beach and then through the village of Beadnell before heading back onto the foreshore where there were some interesting rocky and stony sections. I was passing a stream of half marathon runners which mad it impossible to know where I was in the field, but gave the benefit of (a) having people to overtake and (b) providing further assurance of not getting lost. The brisk wind was behind us, and my hat and neck scarf quickly came off; why hadn't I worn a singlet? I asked myself.

Off the beach at Seahouses and over grass and then roadside before a sharp turn back on to the beach. A young lady (well, girl to be honest) had been just behind me for a while and overtook just as we approached the checkpoint, and slowly opened a wide gap. I was pushing hard in the second half, right on the threshold, but there was no closing this gap. This section of beach went on and on. Eventually Bamburgh Castle loomed in the distance and gradually got closer. Eventually I approached the distinctive Endurancelife banner and came off the beach and pushed up a really tough sand dune.

It was now a game of up-and-down sand dune paths all the way. I took a false turn at one point but was called back by the bloke behind me (thank you!). I could see the flags in the distance and I knew there was no danger of being overtaken and pressed on, loving it. I finished the 11.6km race in 47:34 in fifth place. Here are my stats.

The lovely Mrs S finished, lookimg very strong as 1st V45, a few minutes later. It had been a really tremendous adventure, and well worth the journey.

The lovely Mrs S storms to V45 victory

 

We'll be back!

 

Endurancelife South Devon 10k, 2022

This was my first proper (paid-up entry, number on shirt) race since last July, after which my ongoing grumbly Achilles / Haglunds Deformity nonsense flared into full-on bursitis and a total running reboot. Over the autumn I had carefully, gingerly started upping the distances and the pace, but keeping hills to a minimum.

So here we were, just outside the village of Beesands in South Devon, preparing to run the 10k version of the Endurancelife coastal trail series. I was originally down to do the half marathon (as I’d done in 2019), but in the spirit of one-thing-at-a-time and let’s-be-terribly-sensible, we were both doing the 10k (actually 11k) option.

Rather tight parking at Torcross...

...and a hilly walk to Beesands

At the start line, preparing to remove layers

I found myself in second place after a couple of minutes, with the guy in front edging away. This was handy, as the signs are plentiful, but quite small. The weather was cool, bright and breezy, and the views were wonderful. There was a technical rocky track section just past Start Point, and then a long draggy heading north again. At the top there was a small carpark where our numbers were scanned.

Looking towards Start Point

This is where it went wrong. The lead bloke was out of view, but I could see runners streaming past from left to right ahead of me, so I joined them. But then I realised I was heading back to the lighthouse. Was this right? I had assumed that the other runners were doing a different distance. No, we’re doing the 10k, they assured me. I ploughed on. A few minutes later I was consumed with doubt, and it dawned on me that I had circled round and caught up with the tail enders of my race.

The self-inflicted double loop

 

Maybe it wasn’t the best decision, but I just ploughed on. The tricky rocky coastal section was far more hazardous as I tried to overtake slower runners. As we headed inland I overtook the lovely Mrs S, who was a bit bemused by my idiocy.

I had added about 2.6km by going around this loop twice. Back at the scanning point the marshals said ‘oh it’s you’, and ‘I tried to call after you’. Onwards, now back where I should have been I ploughed on, my heel feeling a bit tight but otherwise strong enough. It’s amazing how getting lost fires the adrenaline.

I made it over the finish line in 1:07:30, having run a total of 13.6km. I was 33^rd finisher. A lovely run on a stunning course, and a proper race… I’m really not complaining at all. I loved it, despite the frustration, and, 24 hours later, a rather unhappy tendon. Mrs S had an absolute ball too. We’ll be back!

Mrs S powers to the finish line