Saturday was the Endurancelife Coastal Trail series South Devon ultra. The race was from Beesands in South Devon.
As race days go this didn’t start with great promise. A strong wind had been blowing since the previous night and it looked ready to rain. The usual briefing was giveNdola the assembled 30-40 runners and the ultra began at 0815. There was a short run along the road and then it was straight onto the coastal path and up the first of many hills. The pack quickly spread out with a small group of about 4 runners leading the way and the remainder spread out behind.
For the first 2-3 miles the track was quit wide through fields but shortly after a small stretch of shingle it gradually changed to a narrow track with on either steep slopes or rocks. It carried on in this way all the way to Salcombe where it changed to woodland. Throughout this section of the run there were strong gusts of wind, but nothing sustained, and by the time we reached Salcombe it was sunny and quite warm so I stripped off the hat and gloves. After the first checkpoint the run carried on through the woods before heading onto a road. The road was a surprise because it was largely flat for 3 miles or so and allowed me to maintain a good pace.
For the next 5-6 miles the run continued away from the coast, continuously hilly, but mixing short section of road with fields and muddy tracks. Heading down onto the coast near Slapton Sands heading back towards Beesands. This was another flat section but it was at this point that it started to rain, initially light rain but increasing although intermittently.
Passing through Beesands and the race HQ was tough, at the 28 mile point, before heading back onto the coast path and up the hill again to run the 10k course. This was tough because the trail had been churned up by the other races and the rain and wind started to pick up. As we moved further along the coast the wind picked up more and it became hard work pushing into the gale. This section of the trail wasn’t that exciting really with another 2 miles of road. It was a relief to come back into Beesands.
A good and tough run but slightly spoilt by the weather.