It was bound to happen at some point. The moment I started ‘moaning’ that not a lot happened on our runs now because we were too experienced, and that the constant amazing scenery was getting ‘samey’ I was bound to get a spanking from the South Downs Way.
It happened on Sunday and it left me metaphorically and literally red faced.
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| Checkpoint 4 of trailwalker near Bury and Houghton on the South Downs Way |
Claire and I set off at 9am from Checkpoint 4 on Trailwalker. The plan was to run 2 checkpoints and back . The trailwalker guide placed the distance at 11 miles there and the same back. We would run it at sub 12 min mile pace and be back around 1pm. …..Easy.
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| Lee sprays on suncream on the South Downs Way near Bury |
I was trying out my new lighter and smaller Osprey Talon 20 Rucksack. I wanted to use this run to check I was happy with it and how I wanted to to stock my kit. I’d packed it with a bit of food and enough water for 22 miles.
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| View from Amberley Mount on the South Downs Way |
The sun was shining and it was a perfect day. Claire and I cruised along the downs with more epic views in both directions….everything was fine.
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| Claire running along Springhead Hill on the South Downs Way |
After about 45 minutes of running I estimated we should be about 1.5 miles from checkpoint 5, except when we checked the map we werent. We were much further away. This was the beginning of a fairly industrial strength ‘oopsiwahli’ (oopsiwahli is a term we use when we are unsure of our exact location or which direction is the correct one).
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| Lee at trailwalker Checkpoint 5 on the South Downs Way |
Claire and I were about 15 minutes late to the area where Checkpoint 5 should be….except…we couldnt figure out where that was. The directions on the guide were rubbish and although im sure its dead easy to find a busy field full of 500 support crews on the event day it was impossible on the quiet day we ran it.
We ran up …and down….and along…and back ….and across….and through….and over….and under….and away….and back and we didnt find it. I used ALL OF THE SWEAR WORDS. We just got tired and hot. Eventually as we ran through the grounds of Windlesham House School and friendly runner (who turned out to be the headmaster) showed us the actual route, where the checkpoint was and also which direction to find the bridge over the A24.
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| Claire gets directions from the Headmaster at Windlesham House School on the South Downs Way |
Now that we had found Checkpoint 5 we had another problem. We werent allowed to follow the actual South Downs Way route and cross the A24. We had to use the Trailwalker route and divert to the south and find a road bridge over it.
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| Totem pole for leavers at Windlesham House School |
The directions from the headmaster helped make sense of the cryptic clues on the Trailwalker Guide and we crossed the A24 and then began a long diagonal path which eventually met up with the South Downs Way just before Chanctonbury Hill.
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| The sheer joy of finally finding the legendary hidden bridge over the A24 on the South Downs Way . |
As we ran towards Chanctonbury hill we past a WALKER who we had run past about an hour earlier who had followed the normal South Downs Way route. I also thought I heard a snail sniggering.
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| Chanctonbury Dewpond on the South Downs Way |
Just before we got to Chanctonbury Ring we passed its dewpond. These are created to provide water for livestock but sadly not for us.
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| Chanctonbury Dewpond on the South Downs Way |
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| Horseriding on the South Downs Way near Chanctonbury Ring |
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| Claire running towards Chanctonbury Ring |
Ancient folklore (wikipedia) says if you run 7 times round Chanctonbury Ring the devil will appear and offer you soup for your soul. We chose Heniz tomato soup.
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| Lee and Claire pose with Chanctonbury Ring Heinz Tomato soup from the Devil |
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| Claire running past Chanctonbury Ring on the South Downs Way |
We’ve seen some weird stuff when we’ve been out running. So a ‘casting competion’ on a hill, miles from the coast left us unphased. I stopped to take a quick photo of the inland fishermen.
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| Inland Fishermen on the South Downs Way near Annington Hill |
There was lots going on that day. We could see remote control aeroplanes doing loops nearby and on the opposite side of the ridge we could see gliders riding thermals for lift in peaceful upward spirals.
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| Pigs enjoying each others company on the South Downs Way on Annington Hill |
When we got to the half way mark (and checkpoint 6) at Botolphs we were puzzled that we had run over 15 miles, not the 11 we expected. Even accounting for the ‘oopsiwahli’ we were now looking at a total of 30 miles that day and not the planned 22 miles. This meant we were going to be very low on water as we run fast and light on these runs and bring just enough. This also meant we were going to accidentally be doing an Ultra Marathon.
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| Lee Trig Point planking on Chanctonbury Hill on the South Downs Way |
On the run back we maintained the same pace we ran on the way out. I stopped for a quick obligatory Trig Point Plank and we concentrated on keeping up the pace.
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| Claire running along Annington Hill on the South Downs Way
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By the time we were a few final miles from our start we were both very thirsty and had used up all of our water. We remembered we had passed a drinking water tap on our way out but neither of us remembered where it was correctly.
When we finally found it it had the sweetest tasting cool water I have had in ages, We spent a long time there.
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| The greatest best ever drinking water ever on the South Downs Way |
Having run further than we thought and being out in the midday and afternoon sun much longer than planned we both picked up ‘sports tans’. …………..Red ‘sports tans’.
We both really enjoyed the run and the views. The last 6 miles were tough because we were both tired and hurt. By running just over 30 miles we had actually ran the equivalent distance of half of Trailwalker.
The next blog we do will be about a run we are about to do with an Olympic Runner!
Please dont forget to visit our donations and fundraising page. Its great to see donations coming in and thankyou this week to ‘Glob’ from the Guildford Hash House Harriers who made a generous donation.
