Running Crazy

The 2nd day began with a run from the race HQ to Portland Bill for checkpoint 1 before continuing around the coast and back to race HQ for checkpoint 2.  None of this was particularly scenic but did manage to fit in a good few steep climbs.

During the race briefing they had warned about the risk of taking a dead end footpath to a juvenile detention centre and I proceeded to take this and added o. About 1.4 miles to the overall distance.  It was also a short while after this that I felt a twang on my right hamstring and was reduced to a hobble.  With some dynamic stretches I managed to get to a reasonable run without too much pain so I decided to push on for checkpoint 3.

The route now proceeded through Weymouth town centre and along the sea front.  This was all very flat but also very busy.  At the end of the sea front the coastal path headed back to the more familiar hilly coastal path.  This frat section was more rolling hills than anything more severe.  This continued until Smugglers Inn where checkpoint 3 was.  Throughout this section I’d passed large numbers of other competitors and although my hamstring still hurt I felt comfortable that I could complete the next section.

From Smugglers we headed straight up the next hill which went gradually upwards.  Then after a fairly flat section we hit the more serious hills.  These included steep uphill climbs followed by very steep downhills.  All hard on the quads.  Through Durdle Door before finally dropping down to Lulworth Cove and the finish.  At this point we also had the opportunity to view the next serious hill that waits for us tomorrow.

Although my hamstring is still very sore I intend to push on tomorrow to complete the course, although I intend to join a slower group.

Througout the day the weather was warm but with a cooling sea breeze.  I think the weather was quite deceptive because quite a few people had gotten a little burnt. 

 Today was the first day of the Jurassic coast challenge.

The morning started with registration and kit check.  It was good to see the kit check was actually being carried out as it often doesn’t happen, but then again I’d have liked to skip a few items to lighten the load.  After that there was nearly a 2hour wait before the briefing and transport to the beginning, again I would have preferred to skip that too.

Starting from Charmouth we hit the first hill almost immediately and the hills carried on until we hit the Golden Cap where it was steeper.  Downhill through Seatown and then back to rolling steep hills along the coast.

The first checkpoint was before West Bay after which there was another steep hill before hitting a pleasant flat section for maybe 3/4 of a mile.  After a little longer it dropped down to run alongside the beginnings of Chesil Beach for a long flat section and checkpoint 2.

After checkpoint 2 we continued along a flat section of coast until Abbotsbury where we turned inland.  The course now turned to fairly gentle rolling hills and continued like this through checkpoint 3 at Langton Herring right until the end at Ferry Bridge.

The weather throughout the run was hot, especially so for March in England, which isn’t, in my opinion good for running long distances.  Unfortunately we can’t control the weather though.

For me the whole day was a hard slog and I only started to feel mor comfortable after 13 miles.  Unfortunately towards the end my right hamstring started to hurt, nothing too bad but a worrying annoyance.

Tomorrow should be flatter, but we shall see.