Last weekend was the Greensand Way Marathon organised by Trionium . Information on it can be found here http://www.trionium.com/greensand/

If you have read our previous blog you’ll know we met Trionium on Leith Hill Tower during one of our Greensand Way Training runs. He made a big impression on us with his enthusiasm for the Greensand Way…..and his super tight union jack running shorts.  

You can read about it here http://www.greensandway2012.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/our-first-foursome.html

  He wished us luck on our training run and invited us to run on the marathon run he organises.

Claire…and Claire…and er Claire at the start of the Greensand Way Marathon

Having completed running the entire Greensand Way back in June this year it felt good to be entered for an offical race on our ‘home turf’. Claire and I were excited about doing it (it was Claire first official marathon and only my third ever offical running race).

We knew we could complete it, we could easily run the distance…..But there was a catch….and the catch was to do with speed. 

Singing ‘Jerusalem’ at the start of the Greensand Way Marathon

Claire and Lee at the start of the Greensand Way Marathon (pic courtesy of www.trionium.com)

Lee and Claire at the start of the Greensand Way Marathon (pic courtesy of www.trionium.com/greensand

The first quarter is almost completely uphill. It was very muddy as well. We had done a trial run the weekend before on this part of the marathon to see if we could make Leith Hill Tower in 73 minutes.  I’m an idiot and so we went the wrong way slightly on the training run  (the route doesnt entirely follow the Greensand Way) so we weren’t entirely sure whether we made it in time or not. 

Claire had a pair of Walsh trainers to contend with that had fallen apart so badly they were like comedy flip flops and this made running even more difficult for her. 

As we neared Coldharbour I was concerned about our pace. I had been mentally working out the last moment I could break for it and leave Claire and still make the cut off.  I felt terrible and very very reluctantly handed Claire the keys to the car and ran off at full pelt to get to Leith Hill Tower on time . If Claire didn’t make it in time she would be turned back and only allowed to do a half marathon.

It got very lonely very quickly and I realised how many people run these things on their own without a running partner. I ran flat out keeping the pace on and listening out for ‘science’ (my GPS app on my mobile phone)  telling me my current pace. I also managed to mess up the first water stop by grabbing a cup as I ran past to save time….an empty cup. ……. Idiot. 

The last steep part up to Leith Hill was hard work and as I got to the top the stewards told me I had made it with 7 minutes spare! I had agreed with Claire I would wait at the tower until the cut off so that if/when she made it we could carry on running together. The idea of running the rest of the marathon as a lone runner was not a happy one.

Then…. like in a John Woo movie……She appeared through the mist…..still smiling and with 4 MINUTES to spare! I was so pleased to see Claire it completely lifted my spirits again and I felt terrible for running off without her. 

Claire on Leith Hill on the Greensand Way Marathon

As is usually the case with Leith Hill Tower we weren’t  awarded with views as we were very much ‘in the clouds’  It was cold and damp but we were in high spirits running as a team again and with an average pace still in the 11 min mile range which frankly surprised us both. Having missed the first water stop I really could have done with a water stop at Leith Hill and was surprised there wasn’t one there. We set off to ‘get off this godforsaken hill’ which is something we say a lot on the Greensand Way. 

Claire running the Greensand Way Marathon near Holmbury Hill

 We ran on down into Holmbury St Mary and back up the next hill to get to Holmbury Hill. There was a water and jelly babies stop on the road at the junction which was very welcome as was the smiles and encouragement from the stewards there. I shovelled a few jelly babies in and took a few small cups of water. We usually run long distance unsupported and carry everything on our backs in our rucksacks so I had become too dependant on drinking whenever I wanted to from my camelback (which I didnt have with me). I made a mental note to drink A LOT more water at all of the next stops. 

Lee and Claire at Holmbury Hill on the Greensand Way Marathon

When we got to Holmbury hill one of the friendly stewards took my phone off me and took some pictures of us. 

Lee and Claire running past Holmbury Hill Peak on the Greensand Way Marathon

 After Holmbury Hill comes the descent past The Duke of Kent School and luckily for us another water, jelly babies and crisps stop. We still felt good about our pace and energy levels and were very surprised to see the race winner pass us going in the other direction before we even started ascending Pitch Hill. He was going FAST.

On the steep ascent up Pitch hill we shouted words of encouragement to the top 20 people in the marathon as they passed us in the other direction at breakneck speed. The atmosphere was really friendly and the run was really enjoyable. There was a lot of ‘shiggy’ (mud) and a lot of ‘terrain’. 

As we reached the summit of Pitch Hill we ran towards the ‘famous Greensand Way bench’  (it is featured in the Greensand Way Guide Book with a topless man on it) Usually we take the opportunity to ‘Smack’ here but today with a race in full flow and the need to keep our number on show we opted for the ‘Top on Smack’. 

Lee doing a ‘Smack’ on the Pitch Hill Bench on the Greensand Way

Claire doing a ‘smack’ on the Pitch Hill Bench on the Greensand Way

The stewards were quite amused to see two of the runners stop to take pictures of each other sitting on a bench. We explained we had to do a Trig Point Plank on the way back too. They had no idea what we were talking about. 

On past a Ewhurst Windmill covered in Scaffolding and we were now being passed by a lot of people running with lucozade bottles coming the other way. This was a good sign and meant we were nearing the half way mark.

Claire at the  halfway mark at Winterfold Car Park 5 on the Greensand Way Marathon

 We got to the half way mark at almost exactly 2.5  hours. It was in Car Park 5 on Winterfold heath. remember this fact for later!  Claire was very pleased to see Jaffa Cakes on offer and I was pleased to drink down 2 bottles of lucozade sport drink and stuff my face with various snacks on offer.  I mumbled something about ‘going for an under 5 hour time’ and at the time honestly thought we could do it. Little was I to know how badly my body was about to fail me in a whole new way. 

Lee doing a sideways Trig Point Plank on pitch hill during the greensand  way marathon

Claire doing a sideways Trig Point Plank on the Greensand Way Marathon on Pitch Hill

We ran back through to Pitch Hill where we stopped for a sideways Trig Point Plank photo (the stewards were impressed but still none the wiser why we would waste valuable minutes with wacky photos)

We also found ourselves running for a while on and off with a guy called Dave. This amused us as we were missing our tall running pal Dave Harvey who normally runs the Greensand Way with us. 

We found a new ‘Dave’ on the Greensand Way

 We ran back over Holmbury Hill and noticed that our pace was steadily falling as tiredness crept in. We topped up with a drink and some snacks as we went through Holmbury St Mary and saw the stewards helping one of the runners who had bashed his head and hurt his fingers falling over. This was a reminder of how slippery and tricky this course was, especially when you are tired. The combined ascent and descent for this marathon is one mile!

Leith Hill on the Greensand Way taken during the Greensand Way Marathon

 By the time we got back to Leith HIll Tower I was quite thirsty again and a dull pain in both my knees had been getting steadily worse. 

The ‘view’ from Leith Hill on the return leg of the Greensand Way Marathon

 One of the stewards was kind enough to give us his own bottle of water as we ran past which was great and although we knew that the run from Leith Hill was mainly downhill I was starting to worry about the pain in my knees as we started the steep downhill slope off Leith Hill. Every step was sharp and painful in both knees. 

A misty Leith Hill Tower on the Greensand Way

 The marathon route takes a diversion away from Tillingbourne falls and instead uses Wolvens Lane to get back to Westcott (rejoining the Greensand Way near Westcott). 

At the Coldharbour Water stop we got lots of cheers from a group of Duke of Edinburgh awards walkers taking a rest and stocked up on crisps and jelly babies and a few cups of water. It really helped.  We also gave the stewards a big smelly soggy hug. 

Usually at this stage in a long run I might be suffering from sore or stiff leg muscles or low blood sugar but the pain in my knees started to get really bad as we went down Wolvens Lane. It felt like I had no cushioning in my feet and every step round something or over something was painful enough to make me whimper occasionally. I had to pick my way round obstacles such as large puddles and the whole run from Leith Hill Tower back was just pain. All of the markers had been taken down and we hadn’t seen anyone for about 30 minutes. It felt very lonely and quiet and almost like everyone had gone home. On a normal long run we are used to having our rucksacks with us. Heavy though the bags are I could have stopped and fished out 2 knee supports and some KT Tape and carried on. This is the difference between running unsupported and supported. We would also have had ‘walky pills'(painkillers) with us if we had had our rucksacks. 

Without the knowledge that I had run these kinds of distances before (although with different problems) and without the encouragement of Claire who was in similar amounts of pain I think I would have seriously considered giving up somewhere on Wolvens Lane. 

But then….in the distance and towards the end of Wolvens lane we could see signs of hashers. We saw a massive On On! sign written in  flour and then further down we saw an SM and LP in flour on the route. Scrum Muffin and Little Pecker. Our Hashing names. This had the most amazing psychological lift. It made me smile despite the pain. It turned out that a guy had been cycling furiously round the course asking the stewards if they had seen ‘a girl with a piercing’ ..it was our friend and fellow hasher Pete! he had just finished a triathlon event in Cranleigh and came over to support us.

Encouragment in the form of flour on the Greensand Way Marathon

Scrum Muffin and Little Pecker flour signs on the Greensand Way Marathon

We ran on. Westcott involves running through a lot of ‘back alleys’ behind peoples gardens and we were running at a pace of around 15min miles so the going was slow but the end wasn’t far away. We stocked up with some nice slices of cake and a few cups of water before getting our heads down for the last 2.25 miles. The last few miles weren’t as bad (although we were both still in quite a lot of pain). Once we got to the top of the Nower we slowly ran down with smiles on our faces and as we turned into the open field and could see the finish made sure we put our ‘game faces’ on and smiled for the finish.  About 400 m from the end I told Claire ‘ lets never do that again’  in the distance we could hear the encouraging roar of Pete (the hasher who laid the flour) and he got a photo of us crossing the finish line. 

Lee and Claire finish joint 151st on the 4th Greensand Way Marathon (pic courtesy of  www.trionium.com/greensand)

There was an opportunity to have a free swim afterwards at the school (we were too late!) and we also got a cooked breakfast in the canteen (at 4pm!) and we were presented with our medal, branded top and a fantastic little mug. 

enjoying my Greensand Way Marathon Mug in the bath after the run

The Greensand Way marathon is possible because of the sheer number of enthusiastic volunteers who help on the day. It is a brilliantly organised event and rated as one of the best off road marathons in the UK. If I ran it again I would do a few things differently. if I had two wishes from the the organisers I would say it would be great to have a highly visible ‘pace setter’ runner (like they have in the London marathon) for the critical 73 min Leith Hill Tower sprint to ensure if you follow that runner you will get to Leith Hill in Time (who knows i might even offer to do that next year) and also a drink stop at Leith Hill Tower would be ace!

When we ran the entire Greensand Way over the Jubilee weekend we hilariously ended up back on it the day after with the Guildford Hash House Harriers.

So it came as no surprise when we looked on the Guildford Hash House Harriers website for the run the next night and the meeting point was……car park 5 Winterfold Heath on the Greensand Way……………

On On !

Little Pecker (and Scrum Muffin)