Beachy Head Marathon Race Report - Struggling for Performance

Hi,

I was all set to write this race report pretty soon after last weekend's race as I thought I knew what to write, just a bit of expansion on my quick update.  However, for various reasons I didn't write it earlier in the week.  So it is now quite a few days later, and now I don't really know how this race report will end up.  All I know is that it will be quite different to what I would have earlier written.  In some ways, it is times like this where I really get the benefit from writing this blog.  The time spent reflecting on my race really helps me in getting it right for future races.  So although at the moment I have had to leave the sub-title of this post blank, don't worry my mind isn't blank, and as usual it could be another marathon post!

To get me into a flow, I will quickly review a bit of background that led to me being on the Beachy Head Marathon start line last Saturday.  Around this time each year, I usually plan my races for the following year. November 2012, the planning was easy, simple, 2013 was about one race, the Montane Lakeland 100 and all about getting it right on that one day.  So races prior to July were about preparation, and after July, I had nothing planned, apart from the Beachy Head Marathon at the end of October.  Why?  Because that's just what I do.  Having run it every year since moving down to East Sussex back in 2012.

Now, I hear you groaning, "Oh no, not another race goals post!".  Well, as I mentioned above, these blog posts are all about learning.  So following the London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra I had five weeks to prepare for the Beachy Head Marathon, and immediately I sorted out my race goals. (For lessons learnt see Race Report).  I wanted to perform come race day.  Having won the race seven times and finished in second place four times from my eleven starts, I did have good memories of my ego being boosted with the victories.  But to be honest, I think the last time I was really satisfied with my performance at the Beachy Head Marathon was way back in 2007 when I finished in second place in my PB for the course of 2:57.  Since then the race has just been tagged on to the end of my racing season without any specific preparation.  This year was to be different. Preparation causes performance!

Although with there being only five weeks until race day, I felt that I had sufficient time to be fully prepared. I reflected back over the previous six years at the Beachy Head marathon: 2007 2nd 2:57, 2008 1st 3:02, 2009 1st 3:03, 2010 1st 3:02, 2011 2nd 3:02, 2012 2nd 3:10.  Yes, last year was slow.  But actually all years since my PB in 2007 have been slow, in comparison to the four times that I went under 3 hours.  What has changed?  Yes I am a few years older, but I can't change that, so I needed to look elsewhere.  What else has changed?  Well 2008 was the year that I moved up and started racing ultra trails, and coinciding with this, it was the end of me doing any form of speed/rep work.  Prior to 2008  I would frequently do mile and half mile reps as part of my training.  Now I'm not planning to start a debate about whether repetition work is necessary for ultra trail racing.  I still believe it isn't, and on the whole I am quite happy with my performances in the 21 ultra trail races I have completed since 2008.

But in five weeks time I wasn't running an ultra race, it was only 26 miles.  Which based on my focus race of the year which was 105 miles duration, it was a bit like a sprint.  And for the last few years, that has exactly how it has felt.  I have found the intensity really high, and struggled to maintain the high levels of race focus that is required to race a marathon.  Every year since 2007, I have been behind at the 18 mile mark, having not been able to stay with the other runners due to the quick pace.  It has only been due to my high levels of endurance that as the other runners fatigued over the last portion of the race that I had been able to move through the field for a win or to finish second.  So lacking endurance wasn't the issue.  It was my top end speed that was my weakness.  My inability to maintain that high level of race focus.  That inability to simply run at sub 6:20 - 6:30 mile pace along a flat trail for a prolonged length of time!

So I decided that heading back to the repetitions would be the answer.  But this time I decided I would do them on my own, rather than with my usual training partners Rob and Jim.  Maybe the fact that Rob beat in in last year's race led me to do the reps on my own.  With it being pretty well six years since I had last done some reps I wasn't really sure about how it would go.  And the last thing I wanted to do was to give Rob some belief that he could beat me again!  Yes, as much as I was pleased for him that he won last year.  It would have been heaps more pleasing for me if I had beaten him for the win!

I ease my way into my 'secret' rep work, and as one would expect after such a long time 'away, running at pace felt awkward, felt a struggle, basically it felt unnatural! No problems, be patient, the smoothness will return.  Rep session two, not much better, then rep session three, no it still feels unnatural, no rhythm!  I dig out my training diaries from a few years back, just to check that my memory wasn't wrong.  Unfortunately, my memory was correct.  Yes back in 2007 I had no problem banging out mile reps in around 5:05 - 5:10.  Now 2013, well I was struggling to run anywhere close to that pace!  It just wasn't happening, and the more I tried, the harder it felt, without any change in pace!!!  So to put it simply, the rep work didn't really provide me with the preparation I was looking for leading into the race.

As race day arrived, I therefore 'knew' that I wasn't going to run a quick time, but I felt that if all went okay I should be able to match my 2010, 2011 times of 3:02, which should be pretty competitive, as during the last eleven years only three people in total have run quicker that 3:02.  So my goal for the race was to let the finish place and finish time 'look after itself' and to ensure that I run a strong race, which would be gauged by my ability to maintain race focus and to run hard the entire 26 miles.  Not 'drift' through the miles, as I had done in previous years.  However, as a result of my less than ideal rep work, I was expecting the race to be pretty tough, for it to be a bit of a struggle to run fast!  The numbers don't lie!

The race starts and not only is it up the usual steep hill straight away, but this year the head wind is particularly strong.  Finding quite prominent in my mind was the conclusion that due to my rep work data, a quick sub 3 hour time wasn't 'on the cards'.  I instantly therefore decide that the focus should be to simply run tactically to maximise my chances of a win.  So much for the pre-race goal of running strong the entire race!  I therefore tuck in behind Jonny Muir, (the guy I had a good battle with, (see race report) before finishing ahead of him at Steyning Stinger Marathon back in March), to shelter from the wind.  At the top of the first climb, it feels like there is a bunch of around eight or so runners.  Then a moment later someone picks up the pace, which is just too quick for me, and I say goodbye to the head of the race.

Battling Up the First Hill - Sheltering behind Jonny Muir (4th), with Jeff Pyrah (1st) and Danny Kendall (3rd)

Was the pace too quick?  I don't really know.  All I know is that I was pretty well expecting it to be tough, expecting to struggle with a quick pace, so there wasn't any surprise when I didn't stay with the leaders.  Although saying goodbye to the lead after less than five minutes of racing was I must say was pretty weak!  I checked my pre-race goals, to run hard, the entire 26 miles.  So I 'gritted my teeth' and dug deep as I battled my way into the head wind, as slowly more runners overtook me, and even dropping back to eleventh place at around the three mile mark!  What was happening?

Well, during the time as I was on my twelve journey of the Beachy Head marathon route, I just focused on  my goal, no slacking, run hard.  Yes as long as you run hard then you can 'hold your head up high'!  And so that is what I did.  I ran hard the entire way.  Running hard, and accepting other runners overtaking me during the first few miles.  Then continuing to run hard, but now holding my own during the middle miles of the race.  Then during the last eight miles, still running hard, but now expecting to overtake other runners, because I am an ultra trail runner, so running 26 miles is 'nothing to me'.

After Around 18 Miles - Searching for Runners Ahead - Not Very Relaxed!

As I cross the finish line and for the next day or two, although I have achieved a personal worst in terms of both finish time, 3 hours 12 minutes, and finish place, fifth; somehow I am happy with my performance.  My goal was to run strong, which I evaluated, if it was achieved, by how hard I ran.  And yes I did run hard, pretty well the entire way except maybe the first tiny bit sheltering behind other runners going up the first hill.  Yes, I gritted my teeth, I struggled, I dug deep, I did all the 'right' things, what one is 'meant' to do.  So yes I can be pleased with how I ran!

But you may have noticed above that I mention that I was happy with my performance for the next day or two.  What changed?  Well I simply 'stood back a bit' and had a look at how I had raced the race from the outside.  In simple terms I had run the race like a novice, no, probably more like an amateur, or like a 'battling' club runner, the one with the 'right' attitude, who fights really hard, but just 'hasn't got it', so finishes in an okayish position, but never anything special!  Yes, all I wanted whilst racing was for the race to feel hard.  I wanted it to be hard.  I wanted it to be tough.  Yes that was all I wanted, and so I searched for discomfort.  Every bit of negativity I could seek, to give me 'evidence' that I was running well, as I was 'toughing' it out, I grasped at it and took it on board.  But yet in a strange way I was finding it a positive, with it being a struggle.  So struggling more become the goal.

Now, this may be getting a bit confusing.  Well it is confusing for me as well.  I often talk about in a race you want to challenge yourself, extend yourself.  But yes, this extending oneself needs to be directly related to performance.  Your aim is to extend yourself beyond what you have previously achieved or what you feel is a worthy performance.  Or as Kilian Jornet states "surpassing yourself".  It is all about achievement.  Yes, it can be challenging doing this, but it is associated with achievement.  Not associated with defeat!  What I was actually doing last week was looking for defeat, looking for a struggle, looking for difficulty.  Is the difference becoming clear?  Rather than looking for success, looking for overcoming the demands of the race, I was seeking being beaten by them.  I'm trying not to continually repeat myself here, but slowly it is getting clearer for me.

Over the last few years on occasions I have looked back at what I have achieved as an ultra trail runner, and I have often been astounded at my results.  From the 21 ultra races I have finished I have won 12 of them! Now I don't want to sound as if I am 'blowing my own trumpet' as my mum used to always say, but often I have been amazed by my results, as really I am just an average reasonably okayish club level runner, except for one thing.  My ability to enjoy races.  My ability to seek out positivity whilst racing and to soak it all up.  My ability to believe in myself, that somehow, for some unknown reason I am able to perform in ultra trail races.  My ability to achieve, and to accept that I will achieve.  My ability to run excited and to not have fear.  My ability to love extending myself and expecting to accomplish the huge challenges I set myself.  So the moment you take all of those abilities that I possess away from me, I just become the okayish club level runner.  You know the one, the one I mentioned earlier.  The 'battler', the one that 'fights' his or her way through races.  The one who always works hard, tries hard, suffers the most!  Yes, that was me last week.  I was the 'battler'!

Now don't get me wrong.  I am not 'having a go' at these runners.  They try harder than pretty well every other runner, so perhaps they should be congratulated for this.  And no doubt they are congratulated by other runners for their 'dogged' approach to racing.  But what I am trying to get across in a rather jumble way tonight, is that it doesn't have to always be that way.  I recall when I was younger, I was known as being this 'battler'.  The one that always 'tried the hardest', but just didn't quite 'have it'.  And when chatting with mates from old, I often comment or it is commented by them that I just don't push myself as hard as I used to.  And that is totally true.  Somehow, I think it was at around the same time that I had decided to give up on competitive sport, when I stumbled across my first trail marathon in 2001, that I changed from being a 'battler', to an 'enjoyer'. I guess what I experienced was similar to what Scott Jurek comments on page 212 in his Eat and Run book: "How in order to win, one had to realize that winning didn't matter".  It is a bit of a pity that Scott Jurek then didn't expand upon this statement within his book.  I guess he decided not to as it could just get a little bit too confusing!

Really Battling in my Younger Days!

Anyway, back to my experiences.  Yes, somehow, I changed from running hard, to running fast.  From suffering to experiencing.  From persevering to achieving.  From seeking the pain, to seeking the joy.  From focusing on the destination, to focusing on the journey.  Yes, a transformation took place, and before I knew it,without realising what I had done, I was achieving more, through 'trying' less.  The word 'try' is key.  I always used to 'try really hard'.  Both words lack positivity, lack achievement, lack accomplishment, lack success.  When you try, do you expect to succeed?  If it is hard, is it enjoyable? If you are suffering are you achieving?  If you are battling, are you accomplishing?

Now how does this positive approach relate to performance?  Well, if we split performance influencing factors into the physical and the mental aspects for ease of explanation.  I guess it is the underlying physiology that determines the overall limits to performance.  As in order to run fast, it does require the necessary biochemical reactions to take place, the required muscular contractions.  But, yes the huge but!  It is the mind that has the 'last say' in how close one actually comes to reaching this limit.  The 'battler' who seeks discomfort, who tries the hardest, due to the negativity will end up being quite some distance away from their peak performance.  The 'enjoyer' who seeks being 'special', who expects the accomplishment, due to the positivity will end up being within touching distance of that 'magical' performance.

Whether you are a 'battler' or an 'enjoyer' isn't 'set in stone'!  And as I have experienced, one is able to switch between the two.  My initial thoughts following last weekend's race was all about acknowledging that one just has to accept declining performances, as one gets older. For the last few years after the Beachy Head marathon race I have chatted with 1994 Beachy Head Marathon winner John Hudspith.  Although he won the race back in the early nineties in a time of 2:56, the last few years his times have been: 2013 3:46, 2012 3:46, 2011 3:31, 2009 3:26, so gradually getting slower.  Chatting to John last Saturday as I was seeking confirmation that my slow time of 3:12 'wasn't my fault', and that I actually did run well, because I 'battled' and 'struggled' the whole way.  John confirmed that yes, as one gets older (he is aged 53, so three years older than me), then one just has to accept that it is now going to be a struggle and one just has to accept it!  He concluded by saying something like the following; "Nowadays, I don't try any less harder!  But I am just a lot slower."

I was happy.  Confirmed.  My performances are now 'out beyond my control'.  However, with a little bit more reflection, I re-analysed John's words "Nowadays, I don't try any less harder!"  The question I then thought was: Did John back in 1994 perhaps try less, but expected more?  Did he in fact run faster, enjoying it a lot more, without the struggling, without fighting his way around the course.  Was he a 'battler' in 1994, when he was a winner?  John if you are reading this please leave a comment, otherwise, I will just have to wait until next years race to ask you in person.  John, like myself, is a regular runner of the Beachy Head marathon and the Seven Sisters marathon (it's previous name), having now run it a total of twenty times, so no doubt he will be back again next year. Note: to find out more about the history of the race visit this website.

So where am I heading?  With this blog post, not much further.  Writing it has definitely helped me to get last week's bizarre conflict in emotions a little bit clearer.  Hopefully it has made just a little bit of sense to you, the reader.  Where am  I heading in terms of racing?  Well a big year is planned for 2014, and I am now confident in letting other people be the 'battler', and for me to return to being 'special', to having that magical feeling where one achieves through focusing on the positives and avoiding the negatives.  Yes, getting the balance right between wanting it and needing it.  By running strong, but not running hard.  By simply enjoying, not enduring.  Where are you at, and where are you heading?

Time to sign off from this rather 'different' blog post:  "Somehow ..... I changed from being a battler, to an enjoyer", Stuart Mills, 2013.

May we all head in the positive direction,

Stuart

PS  Below are a few photos to illustrate different times when I haven't been battling in a race.

But first a really interesting photo from the end of 1992.  It was taken during the last run of a really low key duathlon in Christchurch New Zealand.  I was in full training for the New Zealand Ironman taking place a few months later and I decided to enter this low key duathlon (5 km, 30km, 5km) as a bit of speed work.  It just so happened that Bruce Baxter, one of New Zealand's top Olympic distance triathletes also decided to enter the event for training, as well as the other guy ( I can't remember his name) who was also a high performing triathlete in the pink bikini (Yes that was the fashion back in the early 1990s, courtesy of the iconic duathlete Kenny Souza).  Actually, after digging out this old photo yesterday, whilst driving to work this morning I was listening to the podcast Legends of Triathlon, and just by chance they were interviewing Kenny Souza, and they ended up talking about how he set the fashion, wearing bright pink bikinis!  I actually had the pleasure of racing Kenny Souza at the 1995 Zofingen Powerman Duathlon (12km, 150km, 30km).  It was actually snowing on race day, and yes Ken Souza was still wearing the same bikini outfit.  Yes as you would expect in wearing next to nothing in freezing cold snow, he DNFed that day!)  Just before I get back to trail running, if you haven't heard of the Legends of Triathlon podcast show, check it out.  It is awesome.  They have pretty well interviewed every triathlete legend.  So if you have any interest in triathlon it is fantastic!

Racing Elite Triathletes in a 'Low-Key' Duathlon - Notice the Expressions!

So back to this low key duathlon.  Yes so all of a sudden I get really excited about racing these two top guys, and I decide to turn this bit of speed training into a full on 'take these fancy triathletes down' race!  So it is all go during the first run and the bike ride.  These two elite triathletes actually seem to be a bit offended that some nobody like me was trying to take them on.  I had just moved to Christchurch so they had no idea who I was, not that that would of made any difference as they were in a different 'league' at the time.  So to try to get the point across, that they aren't really impressed with me interrupting their speed work session, they decide to make out that they are amateurs unable to keep up with me.  Take a look at their expressions, pretending to be really 'battling' to keep up with me, as if mimicking my battling style.  If I recall they were making groaning noises as well to maximise the 'piss take', so I turned around to see what was happening.  Being a bit upset with their 'humour' I immediately slowed down and really focused on being relaxed, to try to illustrate to them, that I was actually a quality athlete, and not an amateur battler.  Yes whether it is the correct interpretation or not, but one tends to associate 'battling' with being an amateur, with someone that hasn't quite 'got it', and running relaxed but focused tends to be associated with elite performance.  Anyway, I just thought I would include this photo since I found it yesterday along with my really 'grimacing' photo from above, which was actually taken of me finishing the Taupo 10 mile road race in January 1985.  Opps, forgot to mention, both Bruce and the pink bikini guy beat me that day back in 1992!

Now for some photos illustrating the 'enjoyer'!

On the Way to Winning the 2007 Three Forts Marathon

Finishing the 2008 Downland Challenge 30 Miler

Finishing the 2010 South Downs Marathon

Beachy Head Marathon - Quick Update

Hi,

Just a quick update to let you know how I got on in today's Beachy Head Marathon. 

It was the twelve consecutive time that I have raced the event, and again it was a great day.  The course is superb, but the event is more than this.  It is really the friendly atmosphere that make it stand out, although it does help with it being my home town race, so I seem to know quite a few of the runners and spectators! The weather was largely bright sunshine and pleasantly warm, although with a strong wind it made it pretty tough heading out to the furthest point at Bo Peep, but then the tail wind over the Seven Sisters and up to the top of Beachy Head was 'magical'.  I guess overtaking four runners during this stretch of the race also added to the enjoyment!

Well I actually ended up with a PW, yes a personal worst time, and a personal worst finishing place!  But what maybe a little surprising, I felt that I ran pretty well, although the time and place don't really reflect this.  I'll expand a bit on this in my race report which hopefully I will finish in the next few days.

I finished in a time of 3:12:23, in fifth place.  There were some pretty speedy runners this year, with Jeff Pyrah winning in a super quick time of 2:55:44, from Paul Barnes second (3:03:07) and Danny Kendall (3:04:07) third.  The first woman was Andrea Green in a quick time of 3:30:33.

As highlighted above I finished quite strongly over the last ten miles, but just couldn't quite match it with loads of runners heading out, as I found myself I think outside of the top ten at one stage!  Now that was a massive shock to the system which fortunately got me to really focus, to persevere and to be patient!  Below are two photos that my son Robert took of me during the race.  Unfortunately he has decided to set up a photo business, and his going rate is £4 a photo.  So it cost me £8 for these two shots.  A bit rough especially with it being my fancy camera that he used!

 

At Alfriston after around 9 miles

 

 

 

Running hard right to the finish.  Although I needed that quick pace earlier on!

 

 

And a few extra scenic shots.

 

 

The support from the spectators was great!

 

 

 

Are these your legs?

 

 



 

The first 'Sister' at mile 19!

 

 

 

Not a picture, but a window at a friend's house!  What a view!

 

 

 

The 'Eastbourne Landscape' welcomes you to the finish

 

 

 

Training partner and 2012 Beachy Head Marathon winner Rob Harley nearing the finish

 

 

 

I hope you liked the photos.  Yes, the Beachy Head marathon course doesn't lack for scenery!

 

Lastly, thanks to everyone that made the day such an enjoyable day.

 

Stuart

 

PS My son took a few other photos of the runners around me at Alfriston and those that finished slightly behind me on the final descent down to the finish.  I have attempted to display these photos below, but not that successfully.  If you are one of the following race numbers, send me an e-mail and I'll e-mail you the photo.  Rather than trying to sort out getting any payment to my son. you can have the photo for free.  But maybe if we are both at the same race in the future perhaps you could buy me a beer!  Just a thought to compensate me for being the only person that had to buy their photo! 

 

Race numbers:1548, 113, 1064, 2067, 564, 705, 706, 1022, 392, 1392, 249, 2253, 1576, 964, 932, 1696, 1474, 1657, 2054, 1403, 753, 549, 1093, 2117.  Opps, I might find myself getting a wee bit drunk at my next few races!

 

PPS  Don't forget to visit Sussex Sport Photography to view their excellent official photos from the race.

 



 

 

 

 

A Few Bits and Pieces

Hi,

Due to finding myself pretty busy recently, I haven't really had time to put my thoughts together into writing a blog post on the process one can take when structuring a training programme.  The reason I mention this now, is due to the process I have been going through whilst constructing training programmes for a number of the athletes I am coaching.  You may recall a few blog posts back I mentioned that I had started doing on-line coaching.  Well it has been going really well.  I am now coaching ten athletes towards various goals, mostly ultra trail running goals, although a few of the runners have as their target race the London or Brighton road marathon.  So I'm finding it a good challenge, personalising each of their training programmes to accommodate their race goals, as well as addressing those aspects that appear to be currently holding them back.

I have also been pretty busy assisting with the setting up of the Weald Challenge Trail Races.  Yes, the Weald Challenge Trail Races are a new addition to the Sussex trail running calendar, that take place at the end of May 2014.  There are three race distances: The Weald Challenge Ultra Trail 50km, the Weald Challenge Trail Marathon, and the Weald Challenge Trail Half Marathon.

 

All races start and finish at Chiddingly, East Sussex, and are 85% - 90% off-road, traveling along two long distance footpaths, the Wealdway and the Vanguard Way. The terrain is varied, and quite undulating, with the Ultra Trail and Marathon races taking in the spectacular Ashdown Forest. Visit the race website http://www.trailrunningsussex.co.uk/trailraces.html to enter online, and to find further information on these exciting new trail races. Entries opened only a few days ago, and it looks like the races could be popular with entries coming in already.

I also have some exciting news regarding my racing next year.  Yes, next year I will be racing as part of the newly formed TORQ Performance Trail Running Team.  I am joining British trail runner Tracey Dean, in addition to a few other trail runners on the team, but I don't think they have been officially announced yet.  I understand that there will be an official launch of the team at the start of 2014.  But here is the news item on the TORQ website announcing my 'signing' to the team.  Sounds a bit like a Premier League club making a new signing.  Pity I don't get a huge weekly salary like the overpaid football superstars. Actually a pity I don't get paid anything!  Just the 'glory', friendship and support of being part of the team.

Although it is exciting to look to next year's races, I haven't quite finished my 2013 racing season.  Yes, this Saturday I am racing the Beachy Head Trail Marathon for the 12th consecutive year.  I have mentioned many times on my blog, just how good this race is, hence why I have already raced it eleven times previously.  Last year's race didn't quite result in the performance I was hoping for, so I have increased the level of non-physical training this year, to ensure my mind is in the right place come race day.

Although the extent at which 'getting the mind right' influences ones race performance isn't as great in a trail marathon as it is in say a 100 mile ultra trail race, the mind still plays a huge part in determining trail marathon performance.  I often receive comments to my blog highlighting that I perhaps place too much emphasis on the non-physical, i.e. the mental training.  It was therefore nice to hear Scott Jurek's comments in an excellent brief interview that was conducted by Ben Abdelnoor.  Here is a link to the interview.

Time to sign off with the words from ultra trail legend Scott Jurek:

"In ultras it's really more about the mental component than anything else"  Scott Jurek, 2013,speaking in the Lake District

All the best with your physical and non-physical training, and yes with your racing,

Stuart

London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra Race Report - The Importance of Race Goals

Hi

As mentioned in my quick update the other day, racing wise, not really much happened for me during the London to Brighton race, so this could well be a rather brief report.  But knowing me, it's bound to be a wee bit longer than anticipated!

It was around November last year when I decided upon my races for 2013, although due to the huge demand on Montane Lakeland 100 entries I had already entered this event, so my number one focus race for 2013 was already set.  Having not performed to the level I felt I was capable of during the 2012 Montane Lakeland 100 I decided I needed to up my TOTAL training.  Part of the non-physical training for 2013 was increasing the importance of the Lakeland 100.  So rather than planning races for the entire year, I only planned up to the Lakeland 100 with the rationale for this being, no other race matters.  Without having any races following the Lakeland 100 planned (apart from my local Beachy Head Marathon at the end of October), there would then be no distractions.

So following the Lakeland 100, I found myself in a dilemma.  There were 13 weeks until the Beachy Head Marathon, I was in pretty good shape, I had really enjoyed the Lakeland 100 race, but here I was, with no immediate races!  So after a quick search of the race calendar, I decided to enter the London to Brighton 60 mile Off-Road Ultra Race.  With it being 8 weeks after the Lakeland 100, it was perfect, allowing me to be fully recovered.

I had raced the inaugural London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra Race back in 2008, when it was my number one focus race for that year.  This year, it was just a race, not my focus race, however, for every race when I am on the start line, I am usually fully prepared, all set to race hard.  So it was still important to perform to a level which I am happy with, i.e. not simply as a training race.  I know many runners run training races, but for me the two words "training race" don't go together.  A race is a race, it isn't training.  A race is about challenging oneself, about extending oneself, about a special event, performing to ones best on the day.

Anyway, lets move on.  So much for a brief race report!

The route from London to Brighton

The race book arrived in the post around four weeks before race day, and the route is significantly different to the 2008 course.  I therefore had three really enjoyable recce runs, simply cruising along the route at a nice relaxed training pace, making sure come race day I knew exactly where to go.  Although I was making sure of the race route, without realising it I wasn't really carrying out any other form of non-physical training.  It wasn't actually until the very day before the race, the Saturday afternoon shortly before catching the train to London, that my lack of non-physical training became apparent.  Just an aside, there is something quite special about buying a one way train ticket to London, knowing that you will be running back the next day (I live in East Sussex).

So on the Saturday afternoon I had been reading a friend's blog post about his previous week's race and his race goals gained my attention  As I was thinking to myself about the wording of his race goals "... my main aim was to enjoy it. Yes I wanted to go as fast as I could but it was more important to me to be able to finish strongly" which I was questioning in terms of how these goal's could influence and impact on race performance, it suddenly 'jumped out at me' that I had not given any thought at all to my race goals for my race the very next day!  I had simply entered the race pretty well for something to do.  To fill the 13 week gap between the Lakeland 100 and the Beachy Head Marathon.  So I had to quickly decide what my race goal should be.  So I started the process by answering the three questions I always ask myself, usually at the start of my non-physical training.  What do I want?  Why do I want it?  How much do I want it?  Yes, a bit late for the answers to be deeply ingrained into my subconscious, but I thought better late than never!

However, I found that I was really struggling to answer the three questions.  For the Montane Lakeland 100, the race goal I set was clear and proved to be effective.  I simply wanted to cross the finish line knowing that there wasn't one more tiny bit of energy/focus I could have given.  Apart from a few 'blips' during legs 11 and 12, I felt I nearly achieved that goal.  But for this low key race, there wasn't the same 'desire' to put absolutely everything I had into the race to achieve my best possible performance.  So by the time I got to the start line the next morning, I had set myself a rather vague race goal of something like "running strongly, performing to a 'respectable' level".  Whatever that level is?

Race morning, after staying the night at a pleasant, but cheap hostel in Greenwich (St Christopher's Inns), I arrived to a quiet registration within the Territorial Army Sports Hall on Blackheath common.  There had been around 90 entries, but only 55 runners actually turning up on the morning.  Hence the quietness of the morning.  We assembled on the start line just prior to the 6:00am start time, with it already feeling reasonably warm.  I therefore decided not to carry my ultra-lightweight Montane Slipstream GL jacket.  Which although only weighing 70 grammes, I decided there was no need to carry that extra load.  So my UltrAspire Synapse Bottle Waist Pack in addition to the water bottle, contained 14 TORQ gels, some 'safety blanket' chocolate covered coffee beans, for just in case, a mobile phone, and a £10 note, also for just in case!

The race starts, and with the first half mile or so being a gentle downhill I start at a reasonable pace, probably around 6:10 minute mile pace.  Once again I forget to pack my Garmin GPS watch so I don't have the actual race data!  As I cross the road using a 'chicane' traffic island I have an opportunity to see what my lead is after only around three quarters of a mile.  Already I have over a lead of over 150 metres.  Right then, the win is 'already in the bag', but I remind myself that I can't slacken off, I have a goal to run strong and put in a respectable performance.  As I run along the cycle paths, making my way south out of London, I am amazed at how quickly the miles seem to be flying by.  I am reaching the various points of the course that I remember from my recce run so much quicker, so I take on board this positive feedback.

I reach the first checkpoint at around 10.8 miles (based on my recce run) in 75 minutes.  Pretty close to my race schedule!  Yes, although my non-physical training had been lacking, I did still put together a planned race schedule.  Although rather than my usual thorough approach, taking into account the actual underfoot conditions, the amount of elevation gain, the closeness of the contour lines, the duration point of the race, etc to calculate my minute mile rates.  For this race I simply decided to calculate my scheduled checkpoint times, based on running 7 minutes per mile for the first two legs, 8 minute miles for the next tow legs, and then 9 minute miles for the last two legs.  Yes, very amateurish, but as mentioned above, I just didn't do the necessary non-physical preparation for this race!

Leg two similarly seems to fly by, but whereas during the first leg it was easy to stay within a rhythm due to mainly running along cycle paths and roads.  During leg two, now that the route was on trails, I was finding it hard to pick up the pace to the required 7 minute mile pace after each stile, gate, twisty narrow path, etc.  I had to repeatedly remind myself that I shouldn't slacken off!  Even during leg two, so only between one and a half and two and a half hours into the race, I was already getting an argument within my head, suggesting I should slow down.  Something like: "What's the purpose of pushing yourself, you will win this race no matter what speed you run, so why bother.  You only have something to lose, e.g. increased chance of injuring yourself, and nothing to gain!"  And to be honest I was struggling to find a response to combat the slowdown argument!

Then luckily I recalled the conversation I had had with my wife Frances prior to getting dropped of at the train station the day before.  She and our two boys were planning to watch me at around the 37 mile mark.  She asked me what time I was likely to arrive at that point.  I showed her my planned race schedule and stated that I would be there after 4 hours and 41 minutes.  She then questioned me "Is this time realistic, or is it one of those 'pie in the sky' race schedules that you do as part of your weird mind games"?  I confidently replied that the planned time was a legitimate time, and even told her that it could even be quicker, as I would expect to start out running faster than 7 minute miles.  So I now had an argument, a reason, a purpose not to slacken off.  I had to get to the 37 mile mark on time in 4:41.

Although I plan a race schedule, I try not to memorise the actual times in detail.  I prefer to have just a vague recollection of the time, so I therefore don't 'stress out' if I am a few minutes quicker or slower, as I am not totally certain of the exact scheduled time.  At the end of leg 2, I know I am down on the schedule, somewhere in the region of five minutes.  I therefore run leg 3 strongly and enjoy running along the great off road paths, reaching checkpoint three still around five minutes down on schedule.

Leg 4 is another leg of around ten miles, but a bit more undulating than the gentler leg 3.  My meeting point with my family is around seven miles into the leg.  As I start probably around a steady two mile climb which eventually comes out of the woods at the planned meeting point, pretty well the highest point of the route on the edge of Ashdown Forest.  I realise that I am not going to make the 4:41 time.  Immediately the argument appears in my head, well if you are going to be late, it doesn't matter whether you are five minutes late or ten minutes late, you are going to be late.  But now I have no response.  No counter argument.  I search for my race goals, in the hope that they will provide the counter argument "Run strongly.  Put in a respectable performance." Well I have been doing that for four and a half hours now.  Yes, I have been running strongly up to now.  And no matter what time I finish in, nobody will know apart from me whether my performance is respectable.  Then the argument to slow down gets even stronger.  "Look you forgot your GPS heart rate monitor, so nobody will be able to see your mile splits or your heart rate, so nobody will actual see that you have slackened off."  And so as a consequence of this poor goal setting, at the start of the steady climb, after around four and a half hours, my racing stopped!  My pace slowed significantly and I just jogged up the hill.

As I jogged up the hill, I had no buzz, no excitement.  In fact I was pretty disappointed with myself for slackening off the pace.  But yet, I had no reason, no purpose, no desire to get back into race mode.  It was quite a strange feeling.  Yes, I was beginning to feel a bit tired.  Yes, it was beginning to get a bit more difficult to maintain my race focus.  But putting it in perspective in relation to my other races I have run, especially in comparison to my most recent race the Lakeland 100, I was only just scratching the surface of needing to 'dig deep'!

Meeting my family after 37 miles

Seeing my family and a few friends as I emerge out of the woods boosts my enjoyment levels, and then for I think the first time ever in a race, I simply stop running and start chatting to them!  As the day had warmed up, with it now being 10:52 am, so eleven minutes late, I am needing to refill my bottle.  I ask if they have any water (outside assistance is allowed).  They don't have any water on them, but there is some n the car parked in the car park along the road a wee bit.  After I guess a couple of minutes chatting, I take the car keys and head of to the car to get the water.  I soon realise that the car is around 150 metres off route.  Oh well, what's an extra 300 metres, after all I haven't been racing for the last twenty / twenty five minutes.  So I head off route to our car, which seems to put the 'final nail in the coffin' in terms of racing for the remainder of the day!

Even though I am now just running at a gentle training pace, as I reach checkpoint four at the village of Horsted Keynes, I am not actually finding the running that easy.  My mind is finding it difficult to stay on task, to maintain my running.  I feel like I want to walk, and this is at only the 40 mile mark.  I reflect back to the Lakeland 100, on how I pretty well ran strongly the entire 100 miles.  But today, after only 40 miles, I find myself nearly needing to walk.  Amazing what the effect of the excitement, the challenge, the desire, the purpose can have on making running just so much easier.

At each of the checkpoints, although there is water and various other snacks, there isn't any cola.  With my poorly performing mind, I decide that a cola boost is required.  Fortunately the village shop at Horsted Keynes is open, so out comes my emergency £10 and I go into the shop and buy some coca cola.  I ask the women shop assistant where I would find some coca cola.  She points to a two litre bottle.  I ask for a smaller size and am directed to the back of the shop.  I am all set to open the bottle for a drink, and I am stopped as she needs to scan the bar-code.  She notices my race number and this interrupts her from scanning the bottle.  She is now in full conversation asking what the race is all about.  I try to politely speed her up, but then don't really bother as I find myself laughing inside on just how bizarre the experience is.  Here I was meant to be racing hard to Brighton, but instead I am having a chat in a village shop.  Which for me, in which in most races I barely even acknowledge my family as I am totally into race focus mode, the occasion in the shop was an absolute opposite!

I eventually leave the shop, followed by another rather lengthy (for me) chat with the race volunteers at the checkpoint and finally continue on my journey to Brighton.  The final two legs take me nearly three and a half hours.  Amazingly nearly half an hour slower than my casual relaxing recce run of two weeks earlier.  And even though my pace was slow, I find that due to my lack of buzz, combined with the negativity I was feeling in the fact that I had simply 'thrown in the towel' and effectively DNFed the race back at around the four and a half hour mark, getting to Brighton was quite a struggle.

I am therefore quite relieved as I near the waterfront.  I guess with around a mile to go, I decide to just check that this difficulty I am experiencing is all in my mind.  To rule out that somehow I had lost all of my great form from two months earlier.  So I make a big effort to raise the intensity and get back into race mode for the last mile.  Without that much focus, the pace quickens and so I therefore make a 'good impression' to illustrate the most likely perceived 'respectable performance' and cross the finish line in a time of 8:54:58. Although the interpretation from my comments above probably over exaggerate the extent to which I slowed down, my finish time is actually only forty minutes slower than my planned "Strong Run" finish time.

I then spend an enjoyable three or four hours, firstly chatting to the race volunteers and then as the other runners finish, chatting to them, before being picked up by my family for the short journey home.

Well. as I thought, my race report has ended up much longer than I had envisaged.  My main reason for having this blog is for my benefit.  As it provides an excellent opportunity for quality time reflecting on each race, in order to learn and improve for the future.  So please excuse me for going on quite a bit within this post.  However, I felt it was necessary to get the complete picture down of what occurred last weekend, to help ensure that I don't neglect my non-physical training leading up to a race again in the future.  Hopefully from reading about my race experience and my mistakes within my preparation, that some aspects you can translate and apply to your specific situation.

Time to sign off:  "The importance of race goals can not be underestimated.  A well constructed race goal can support you in your hour of need, whilst in the midst of a race, when you need that ammunition to fight back the slowing down arguments within your head.  Yes, a poorly formulated race goal, can play a major role in constructing a poor race performance.  Get the race goal right, and the performance you desire will more likely eventuate".  Stuart Mills, 2013.

May you spend the necessary time to get your race goals right!

Stuart

PS  I found out last night that a young 20 year old lad from Sunday's race, Matt Rimmington who finished in a time of 14:21:47 has spent the last few nights in hospital due to problems with his kidneys after the race.  Fortunately he is on the mend and is already talking about coming back and going faster next year.  So to Matt if you are reading this, well done for your amazing determination to get to the finish line, no matter what.  Great to hear that your recovery is going well, and especially good to hear that you are still really positive towards ultra trail running.  All the best, and I'll look out for you running strongly at your future races, having learnt from last weekend/s apparently nutrition and hydration mistakes.  Yes, every race is a learning experience, which fortunately only ends up in hospital on the very rare occasion.

PPS Below is a photo taken by my son Rob at the 37 mile mark.  Matt if you would like a high resolution copy of the photo to remind you of your enjoyable? (well maybe not) race experience, simply zap me an e-mail.  (I'll let you off the £4 price that my son was charging for the photos, as part of his fund raising to buy his own ipad).

London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra - Quick Update

Hi,

Just a quick update on yesterday's London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra Race.  The race was a 'low key' event, with there being only 90 entries, resulting in surprisingly only around 55 starters.  So compared to my previous race, the Montane Lakeland 100, where there was the amazing busyness with the huge numbers of both runners and spectators, yesterday morning there was a quiet friendly atmosphere as the 55 runners were getting ready for the 6:00 am start.

We started in the dark, with the impressive London high rise landscape visibly close. The first miles were mainly on well lit cycle paths, so there was no issue with the darkness.  I adopted my usual fast start, which was aided by a steady drop down from Blackheath Common, so within the first three-quarters of a mile, I had already established a lead of around 150 metres.   I therefore ran the entire 60 miles on my own, with the friendly checkpoint volunteers being my only company, apart from my family Frances, Rob and Chris, and some friends, who cheered me on at around the 37 mile mark.

I reached the finish on the Brighton foreshore in a time of 8:54:58, a bit slower than my planned race schedule, but still a pretty respectable time.  Second place was Ryan McCrickard in 10:51:22, closely followed by Bogdan Petrutu in 10:52:09.  First woman was Catherine Hayden (12:59:38), in a close finish with Kirsty Williams only 13 seconds behind (12:59:51).

Overall it was an enjoyable run from London to Brighton.  The course the organisers have set, is really a great route.  For such a good event, there really should be hundreds of runners taking part, as there were some pretty spectacular tracks we traveled along, and some pretty impressive views.  I think the very strict cut-off time of 13 hours 30 minutes may have something to do with the low number of entrants.  Which for 60 undulating off-road miles, it is a very demanding cut-off, so excludes many runners.

A full race report should be posted later in the week.  And for a change I think it will be quite a brief report, as really not much happened apart from me simply putting one foot in front of the other!

Stuart

PS  You may have noticed my new logo for 'Stuart Mills Run Coaching' which was designed with the help of my son Chris.  With regards to my coaching, I am finding it an enjoyable challenge, now with eight runners signed up.  I have decided that in order to provide a quality individualised coaching service I will only coach a maximum of eleven runners.  So if you are interested in working with me to improve your running performance, then zap me an e-mail, although you may have to be quick!

London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra Race - Recce Details

Hi

Yes, it's been a wee while since my last post on my Montane Lakeland 100 experiences.  Since then I have been pretty busy setting up my new run coaching service, simply titled "Stuart Mills Run Coaching".  After announcing the new coaching service (which I will most likely limit to around ten runners) at the end of my last blog post, I have had SIX new runners sign up, which has been really exciting.  The six runners have a range of experiences, and a range of immediate goals from achieving a PB in next April's Virgin London Marathon, to completing the Montane Spine Race that covers 268 miles in the cold and snow of the Pennines next January.  It is really great getting to know these runners over the phone and via e-mail, which does take some time in order to be able to personalise their specific needs.  However, the time I spend considering what is needed for them to improve their running performances, I think will also be beneficial to my running, as I get a greater understanding of the many, many factors that influence endurance running.  So, things are really good at the moment, as I am not only looking forward to my upcoming races, but also the upcoming races of my six athletes.

So now feeling that I have fully recovered from the Montane Lakeland 100, I have my next race which is the Extreme Running London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra.  The race is a bit over 60 miles, which starts at Blackheath and finishes on the coast at Brighton.  I raced the inaugural event, back in 2008, winning in a time of 7 hours 59 minutes.  Click HERE to access my GPS data on GarminConnect.  Note the 5:57 first mile!!!  Definitely a good example of "Run as fast as you can, while you can!" Back then the race distance was 56 miles.  Below are some photos from the 2008 London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra race.

Race Start - At the Front Checking my GPS Watch Has Started

Running along the Scenic Trails in Torrential Rain

At the Finish in Brighton - Still Raining!

However, when I received the race Map Book around two weeks ago I was surprised to see that the course had significantly changed since 2008, with around two thirds of the route being different, and now totalling around 61 miles.  So over the last two weeks I have completed a recce of the entire route, during three long runs. The changes the race organisers have made are excellent, with the course being even more enjoyable, and now passes through even more great countryside. 

This post is therefore slightly different to my usual blog posts, in that the post's aim is specifically to provide information to those runners racing the event in two weeks time, on the 22nd September, who may have not had the opportunity to recce the route.  So for those readers who are not running the London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra I will sign off now, but without a signing off quote as one hasn't come to mind, as it usually does during the process of typing my post.

Enjoy your running,

Stuart

PS  A massive thanks for all of the positive feedback I received following my win in the Montane Lakeland 100, and the positive comments on my two race reports on UltraStu and the Montane website, and also on the extensive interview with Ian Corless on the Talk Ultra podcast show.  Well, if you are keen to hear a little bit more about my ideas on trail running, I expand upon a number of aspects within the one hour interview with Tim Bateson from the latest episode of the British Trail Running Podcast show.  Click this link to listen to just my interview, or click this link to listen to the entire episode eight.  .


London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra Recce Details

Yes, as mentioned above, during the last two weeks I have had three fantastic runs along the London to Brighton Off-Road Ultra route.  I did the recce runs in race order.  So I first ran legs 1 and 2, then legs 3 and 4, and finished the course, running legs 5 and 6 yesterday on Saturday.  Those of you running the event on the 22nd September should hopefully have the 2013 Map Book.  Within the following Recce Details I will frequently refer to this Map Book, so probably best you have this at hand as you read my details.

For each of my three recce runs I was running the course at a relaxed training pace,  really focussing on my surroundings, to hopefully enable me to remember the route come race day.  Having run the race back in 2008, I was amazed at how much of the course that was the same (probably only around a third) immediately came back to me.  Therefore within the following notes I make below, where I highlight parts of the course that I found a bit tricky in terms of navigation, there may in fact be some more demanding navigational bits to newcomers on the previous old route sections, which because it was familiar to me I had no problems.  I will try to mention below which parts of the course are on the old 2008 route.

I wore a Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS watch.  All six legs are available on Garmin Connect.  It is therefore possible for you to export the file for each leg and view the route on Google Earth.  On a number of occasions I went off course.  There were also two sections where it was not possible to follow the exact route as it goes over private property, so access is only available on race day.  For these detours, I have attempted to estimate how much extra distance I covered.  The distances for each leg, and the total overall distance have these extra detours removed, so hopefully the distances I state are pretty close to the exact race distance!

TOTAL RACE DISTANCE = 60.9 MILES

Leg 1 Blackheath to Keston Common – 10.9 miles - GPS Trace on GarminConnect

From the start the route is clear as it descends downhill before crossing the road at the lights and then crossing a second busy road (although at 6:00am I doubt it will be busy!) before going under the railway bridge as stated on page 3.  The immediate left turn onto pavement is reasonably obvious.  The cycle paths signs/arrows assist in indicating the route. 

The route passes through road/pavement works just before the sharp left turn to cross over the railway line.  The gap in the fence needs to be located after crossing the road, to enter the park.  THE FIRST POSSIBLE PLACE TO GO OFF COURSE, which I did, is just after immediately seeing the athletics track.  NOTE:  The arrow on page 3 locating the athletics track is NOT pointing to the athletics track.  ALSO DO NOT keep the athletics track to your left as stated on page 3.  On seeing the track, immediately look for the cycle path sign and run up the spiral ramp to cross the railway line on the overpass.  DO NOT RUN STRAIGHT AHEAD WITH ATHLETICS TRACK ON LEFT.  Entering the park there are a number of possible paths, best to stick to the main path.  If you look at my GPS trace, I kept to the left path which came to an end at a big fence, so slower!

As the route leaves the park, again there are a number of possible options which don’t make much difference.  I don’t think the actual route is correctly indicated in the map book, although not totally clear.  The key thing is to look out for the cycle path by the river, as stated on page 4.

The next possible tricky bit is near the end of page 4 as you run through the woods to the east of the golf club.  There are a number of possible paths to follow, so easy to head on the wrong path.  Be cautious here.  Then on page 5 after running through the Recn Gd on my recce I got lost and ended up doing a complete loop of a small lake.  The key point is to run along the quiet road to the right of the lake, and then look for the path down between fences, rather than continue running along the next road.  The reason I went astray here was due to not appreciating the scale of the map, and I had gone to far before I had realised.  This is probably the most difficult aspect in navigating to Brighton, calculating how far it is until you need to look for the next turn, woods, lake, etc.  The rest of leg 1 is pretty straight forward, simply follow the correct road, which at some road junctions, do take a moment to check which direction/road is correct.

Getting Lost During Leg 1 After the Recn Gd

Note:  From the different starting point, the course is different to 2008 until the road junction on page 5 near the Traffic warning at 47 metres elevation.  The course then follows the 2008 route until just after the start of leg 2.

Leg 2 Keston Common to Guildable Lane – 10.7 miles - GPS Trace on GarminConnect

Upon leaving the checkpoint, the route is new to me after it turns right at the first road junction.  The route is reasonably easy to follow.  The key thing is to make sure you are aware of where you are on the map so you don’t miss the sharp left turn to leave the tree covered bridleway and head across grass fields to head up a steady climb.  Near the top of the climb, turn right and head in a straight line, with the trees/bushes on the left over styles, through gates.  As you run through the woods, ANOTHER POTENTIAL ERROR POINT.  Look for a big board with a map of the woods, and turn left here, off the main track and run though the gap around the wooden fence.  Turn right on reaching the road and another right then run past a Spitfire?

As you cross the B road as it meets the A road, look for the path labelled “This hill is a bit Stony” near the bottom of page 7.  It is rather rough, but the key thing to focus on is the footpath that goes straight ahead after the steep rough descent.  It is confusing here, as there are two footpaths.  I missed the straight ahead and ended up gently turning right and following the main track down to the road.  IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF WHETHER YOU STAYED ON THE MAIN PATH OR TOOK THE FOOTPATH ACROSS THE GRASS FIELD.  This is because it would be very easy to head up the wrong track (a Byway) directly opposite where you meet the road if you missed the correct route like I did.  Luckily I realised I had, so turned left and ran along the road for 100 – 150 metres before locating the much less obvious correct footpath.

Getting Lost on Leg 2 - Stayed on the Main Path!

For the next mile or so the exact route isn’t totally obvious, and gets a bit tricky as you near the back of the houses.  It is also reasonably easy to head up the wrong path near the tiny lake visible on page 8 directly beneath the words Biggin Hill, which I did for around 30 metres before realising!  For the next bit, it is important that you keep track of where you are on the map so you don’t miss the sharp left turn to shortly enter Round Wood.  The next 300 metres is tricky as the exact path isn’t obvious as it is very overgrown with stingy nettles.  That is assuming I took the correct path.  Have a look at my GPS trace, a bit of running around in circles and back tracking.  After being stung a wee bit, the route became obvious again as I run past the edge of Tatsfield across the small park and past the friendly looking pub and shop.

Look for the footpath sign near the school and stay alert as there are many footpath junctions, before reaching the B road near the top of page 9 where it states “Private property Cross on race day only”.  The next section across the private property I have been informed will be clearly marked on race day.

The route then crosses over the top of the M25, crosses a busy A road, before reaching a possible tricky bit as you first need to locate the correct footpath as you enter the woods at the very bottom of page 9 at Watts Hill.  Running up the hill simply stick to the main path within the woods and you will reach the road which you go straight across.  Shortly after running pass the village hall, crossing a busy B road, which road is the actual lane and not a private drive isn’t totally clear, so careful here.  Then keep an eye out for the footpath off to the right, and as you drop downhill with a bit of care to navigate, you should reach checkpoint 2 okay.

Note:  After the private property section, the end of leg 2 was the same as 2008 so for me it was familiar, so easy to follow.  It may be a bit more difficult to others.

Leg 3 Guildables Lane to Blockfield Wood/Farm – 8.8 miles - GPS Trace on GarminConnect

The route is easy to follow for the next mile or so.  The first tricky bit is as you enter Edenbridge Golf Club on page 11, where it states “Look for signs and use your compass.  It starts of reasonable easy as there are footpath arrows on posts, but then they disappear and you really need a good sense of direction.  If you look at my GPS trace you will see I went slightly off course up a driveway, before realising my mistake and finding the narrow track to leave the golf course.  Then again, after turning sharp right across the fields of Crouch House Green, I headed in the wrong direction and actually went to the left of the two lakes instead of to the right of the east lake.  I realised that I had gone wrong so I kept my eye out for the footpath/bridleway to re-join, at the very bottom of page 11.

The next section after crossing the B road labelled Traffic also requires a good sense of direction as the path isn’t totally clear, but look out for the Eden Valley Walk arrows and then the Vanguard Way arrows, to reassure you that you are on the right path.  Eventually you should reach the bottom of page 12 at the crossroads.

Follow the obvious bridleway to Home Farm, then keep to the main track, then turn left along a sealed road/drive way before turning right at Old Lodge Farm to head downhill to reach another narrow road/driveway.  Go over the stile, but don’t go straight up the hill which seems the obvious path, but veer more to the right around the edge of the trees and you will then see the sharp left turn you need to take at the footpath finger post.  Again look at my GPS trace to see where I went wrong.  It is then pretty straight forward down to checkpoint three.

Leg 4 Blockfield Wood/Farm to Horsted Keynes – 10.2 miles - GPS Trace on GarminConnect

The route is again at first easy to follow.  You need to ensure that you do not follow the bridleway turnoff near Larches Farm as this takes you to a dangerous crossing of the busy A road.  Reach the safer road crossing by turning slightly to the right at the bridleway fingerpost and then shortly later look for the footpath fingerpost and turn sharp left to head up to the A road.

The next section, as long as you keep aware of where you are on the map, you should reach the busy A road crossing fine.  If you go directly across the road you will see the path to take, not very obvious as I didn’t first see it so I wandered along the road for a while before returning to find it.  On page 15 it states “Use your compass” at various points.  I didn’t find the route that difficult to follow here as there was a pretty obvious track to follow, however, any slight loss of concentration and one would easily go off route.  Probably the most tricky section is when you enter the woods towards the bottom of page 15. I also found that I didn’t come out of the woods directly at the cross roads, but around 100 metres to the west, so I then had to turn left and run along the quiet lane to reach the cross roads.

The route then heads down a newly sealed driveway through a woods, before joining a quiet road near Suttons Farm.  Head along the road, and then just as the road begins to very slightly veer to the left and go downhill, look for the slightly hidden fingerpost and path to the right of the trees/bushes and head down this clear track.  From this possible error point, it is pretty straight forward to checkpoint four in the centre of the pleasant village of Horsted Keynes.  An excellent place to meet your supporters, with there being a pub, although I think the village shop will be closed on Sunday afternoon.  Please note;: Leg 4 was new to me, i.e. different to the 2008 route until it re-joined the old route at the middle of page 15 at the third arrow, after Weir Wood.  It then was the same as 2008 through checkpoint four until midway into leg 5.

Leg 5 Horsted Keynes to Chiltington – 10.0 miles - GPS Trace on GarminConnect

Leave the village across the field to the opposite corner, then careful as you follow the route as there are a few turns.  I actually missed one of them, however, I re-joined the route around 200 metres later so no problems.  Check out my GPS trace.  Shortly after I left the quiet country lane near Stoaches Farm (page 17), you will see on my GPS trace, that I went off route for around 200 metres before realising my mistake.  It wasn’t a tricky bit, for some reason I had in my head to turn left, not right, at the next junction.  One simple moment of lacking concentration, or a simple bit of incorrect map reading like this, can so easily get you off route.

The route is reasonably clear as you approach, and then a tiny bit of searching to find the path, to go over the Bluebell Railway.  After you pass The Sloop Pub (middle of page 18) the route turns a sharp left and from there on as it enters Hanmer Wood it is totally different from 2008 until the end at Brighton at a different finish point.  It is pretty easy to stick to the route though the woods, and then upon coming out into the open you can see the footpath fingerpost where a sharp right turn is required.  After turning you pass through the campsite and then at the road, turn right to run along the quiet lane, keeping an eye out for the footpath on the left.

There should be no problems until you meet a farm track, on page 19 where it states “Route goes over the black gates”.  On the map it looks like the route goes straight ahead, but you need to turn left along the farm track for about 30 metres, before you see the two black metal gates.  It gets a bit tricky for the next three quarters of a mile before you reach the busy A road.

Upon reaching the A road, on the map it looks like you go directly across the road and head down an unmarked track.  Straight across the road, next to a fence line it does look like that could be the route, however, turn right and run carefully along the road for about 20 metres and if you look carefully you will see a more obvious, but still difficult to find unmarked path.  Turn left and here down this clear path, once you have found it. 

Go directly across the road into Pound Common to another potentially tricky bit.  I followed the obvious path, which without realising, I think was slightly different to the route marked on the map.  This then caused me to go off route shortly after, when I turned left, thinking I was at the left turn, instead of actually veering slightly to the right, to  correctly run down the track to the right hand side of the house.  Check out my GPS trace, as this is a VERY LIKELY PLACE TO GO OFF ROUTE.  The next mile is also very tricky and hard to follow.  There are faint tracks visible within the grass as you cross the fields, however, these don’t always seem to match the route marked on the map.  It is really important that you keep your sense of direction here, and constantly be aware where you are on the map.  Which isn’t that easy, as there are no really clearly obvious landmarks.

After you head south from Bineham Wood (middle of page 19), staying on the route GETS EVEN HARDER.  Out of the entire 61 mile course, this next half mile or so is PROBABLY THE MOST DIFFICULT, as I found it really hard to locate my exact position on the map.  Somehow I managed to find the barely visible footpath fingerpost at the bottom left of Cottage Wood, where there is a 45 degree kink to the right.  The following sharp left turn is more obvious, and from here I was able to relax as the route was clear again off the bottom of page19, which is also the top of page 20.  Where it states on page 20 “Use your compass”, I actually found the route pretty obvious, simply following the path / four wheel drive track.  There is then a good relaxing stretch that takes you all the way to checkpoint five.

Leg 6 Chiltington to Brighton Beach – 10.3 miles - GPS Trace on GarminConnect

Leave checkpoint five and head across the field to the opposite corner and the route follows the quiet country lane.  The turn off the road to the right doesn’t have a fingerpost indicating the bridleway, but it is reasonably obvious as the bridge over the railway is visible.  The route is straight forward to the arrow on the map (page 21) indicating “Private – race day only”.  This next section should be clearly marked on race day.

The path from the B road, gently, (well actually not that gently, and at the fifty plus mile mark it will mostly likely feel really steep), is easy to follow.  At the top, the route joins the South Downs Way, at the top of page 22, for around half a mile.  The route is clear all the way down to Falmer village and then after the village along the newly laid cycle path, adjacent to the busy B road.

The route then crosses the road and is clear until just before you reach the next road, where a sharp turn to the left is required.  Run along next to the busy B road before crossing at the traffic island next to the car park and through the gap in the fence to cross the horse racing track.  The route turns left and there are a number of possible tracks, which pretty well run parallel to each other so it doesn’t really matter which one you take, as long as you head south and stay up high over the crest of the next hill.

You will then eventually run through the golf course car park and join the side of the road.  On the day of my recce run, without realising, I ran the wrong way.  I have since spoken to the race organisers and they have highlighted where I went wrong, which I will clarify now.  So DO NOT do what I did, where upon joining the side of the road after the golf course car park, I ran down to the traffic lights!  On the photo below the red line is the GPS trace of where I run.  I have marked on a yellow dashed line, where the actual course goes.  So shortly after reaching the road, carefully cross the quiet road and head down a no exit road.  At the end of this short road, look for the narrow track which passes down to the left side of a big tower block.  This track then meets the main A road that runs along the coast.  Turn right and then cross the road at the traffic island. Continue along the pavement on the left of the road.  Then around 150 - 200 metres later look for the cycle path tunnel on the left.  Run though the tunnel and you should then see the finish!  So do not run where I ran on my recce run, (red line), where I ended up running though the car tunnel, which was a bit dodgy, especially likely to be even more dangerous on race day, if a wee bit tired after running 61 miles!    

The Final 500 Metres - Time for a Sprint!

I hope the above recce notes have been useful to those runners racing in two week's time.  It definitely has been beneficial to me, so hopefully come race day I won't go off course, which can be so frustrating and can be the start of the dreaded 'downward spiral', with the RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion) to RFE (Race Focus Energy)arrow rotating upwards!  Refer to my Race Focus Energy Fatigue Model Article for explanation, and my 2011 Ultra Trail Mont Blanc race report to see the 'devastating' effects of a downward spiral!

Here's hoping for a hot, sunny and dry day, not like the persistent torrential rain of 2008!

See you on the start line.

Stuart