Beachy Head Marathon
It was a cold dark Friday night when the Simisters and I arrived in Eastbourne. John and I went to collect our numbers for what was billed as one of the toughest marathons in England on the following day. As we came out of the tent firmly clutching the numbers (it was quite windy) we looked up to the first hill only a couple hundred metres from the start. As it was dark I had no idea what it looked like so it was easy enough for me to stay relaxed and enjoy the evening with John's family who live in Eastbourne.
Two other Stubbies - Alan and Eric, unfortunately did not run due to a serious health problem for Alan. Best wishes to Alan and his family and I hope he carries on recovering well. Best wishes to Eric as well who looked after Alan when he needed it. They were both missed on the day.
The morning of the race started off relaxed and calm, except for the weather which was very blustery. John and I headed to the start with Sue, Katie and a big green frog called Lacey to support us. There was quite a large turnout of excited but nervous people. The wind was beginning to drop a bit and the sun was trying to come out so conditions were looking quite good, that is all except the first hill. Seeing it in daylight made me think this was really going to be as tough as it was made out.
One minute John and I were on the start line together the next we were separated as I sought out some space on the left hand edge to make my ascent. It was tough but the incline soon decreased to something more manageable and I settled into a nice rhythm. I kept this going up to mile 3 where I met a guy called Matt with whom I ran a large part of the race. It was an easy pace, the company was good, the weather was constantly improving and the views were excellent and about mile 15 2h15 after starting, I asked what time Matt was hoping for. The answer was sub 4 and at that point I wondered "could I do this?" and then promptly said that at some point I would tire and he should just go on.
Matt was impressed with the support crew I had (Sue, Katie, Lacey, John's mum and sister) and I found their support great. The support throughout was also tremendous as there were loads of people everywhere!
I began to tire soon after mile 19 (This is where my training began to tell or at least not doing enough of it!) and despite Matt hanging on for me for a mile and dragging me round he set off on his own and I hope he achieved his sub 4. What a great running partner he was.
As foretold by Chris Hall mile 20 onwards was hard. I worked a bit too hard in the first 20 but hell I enjoyed them, it just meant I had to work harder in the last 6. The wind had picked up a bit now and there were times where I walked - the uphill bits, but I ran the downs and the flat (umm I missed the flat bit if it actually existed...). As I approached the end I caught sight of Sue, Katie and Lacey the frog and felt that I was about to complete my toughest challenge yet and realised that I had enjoyed every mile of it including the hard painful bits.
Credit to John S who was running his maiden marathon - what a one to do. He looked very tired when he finished but was pleased to have done it and swore blind he would never do a marathon again. Lets just see, I said that after London!
I finished in a time of 4 hours 26 mins in 290th
John Simister finished in 5 hours 34 mins in 782nd
Fastest man was Steve Nimmo in 3 hours 2 mins
Fastest lady was Susie Casebourne in 3 hours 37 mins
There were 1,700 runners and walkers with 851 completing it in under 6 hours.
John B
When I first heard that Alan and Eric had signed up for the Beachy Head marathon and were going to do training runs on the Southdown’s I thought it would a great off road training opportunity to join in with them which it was. As I come from Eastbourne and my family live there I decided that if I was going to do the training I might as well sign up and give it a go and have a weekend away.
As well as the runs on the South Downs, John and I did distance training locally and with John’s encouragement I managed to get up to around 20 miles. In hindsight I should have done some other types of training in between the weekly long runs, but I was worried about getting injured and missing out.
I was amazed how many runners there were and how little some seemed to be wearing and taking with them seeing as it was quite nippy. We did look for Alan and Eric totally unaware what was going on.
Within a few hundred metres of the start is the first hill and John B disappeared from view at this point. For the next 10 miles it is mainly running on the top of the downs then down into Friston Forest then back up above Alfriston (amazing views all round) then down again on some very bumpy tracks. Sue, Katie and my Mum and Sister were at Alfriston. Sue told me John was quite a long way ahead of me and he was going really well (Thanks Sue!!).
The next 6 miles or so was quite undulating. Sue and Katie (& Lacey the frog) were at High and Over to cheer me on then they dashed off to see John cross the line back in Eastbourne. Their support was very welcome at this point as I was feeling quite tired. By now John B was about an hour ahead of me.
From here it did start to get quite tough and there were 2 sets of steep steps as you went back into Friston Forest and onto Exceat. Everyone kept saying the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head were going to be hard and for me this was definitely true, but the final mile downhill to the finish was a bonus.
Although I was completely exhausted I was really pleased I had got round ok and have the medal and sweatshirt to prove it. John B did really well and had a great run and time.
It is a really well organised run and the checkpoints, especially the one in the middle of nowhere on the Seven Sisters was very welcome. Will I do it again??? (maybe!!)
John S
Photos here