Sunday, 18th June 2017. Kingsclere, Hampshire.
When I ran this race year, it was my first trail every marathon. I really enjoyed it, and it turned me to the 'dark side' of running, away from my usual road-racing. So, it had to be entered again this year.
Trust me to enter a race that would be held on the very hottest day of the year, in one of the hottest summers on record (since 1976! Which I am just about old enough to remember).
For once I got a 'lie in' as the race wasn't due to start till 10am, and was only around 30 mins drive away. I picked up my running buddy Emma from Farnborough en route. We had run Punchbowl and the Southampton Marathon earlier in the year and it was nice to have some company.
I made the short drive across the picturesque Hampshire countryside and arrived in Kingsclere bright and early. As we arrived you come down a chalky road, clouds of dust everywhere and dodging pedestrians walking over to the start. Although it wasn't even 9 o'clock yet, the car said it was 25C and the heat was really starting to build up. This wasn't helped as for some crazy reason we had decided to go with the 'hoppit' theme and dress up as bunny girls in red tutus and bunny ears, this didn't help with keeping the heat down very much.
A friendly marshal directed us into a large car parking field. We donned our bunny costumes and started the long old walk from the car park. This took you over a couple of fields to the race HQ, which was situated on a hill.
Number pick up was dead easy although there was a bit of mucking around filling in the back of the race number. There was a timing chip to be attached to your shoe too, which meant we were given a chip time as well as a gun time. The field was right in the blazing sunshine with hardly any shade - what little shade there was, had been bagged early! So waiting at the start we were getting really hot, I got through a 500ml bottle of water I'd bought with me, but still felt thirsty which wasn't a great way to start. Perhaps in future years some water could be made available at the start, given the time of year it's likely that hot weather will return.
There was also a half marathon due to start an hour later, so the start area was getting pretty busy, but there was a wonderfully friendly buzz to the whole event. There was a sound system playing some up-beat music and lots of announcements to the runners to take care in the heat and to start making their way to the start.
The organizers had provided plenty of loos, there were no queues to speak of, that made a really pleasant change to most races where the queue can be awful.
At the start area I also bumped into running buddies Rachael and Alec, who had come over from Kent to run this. I had run Brighton with both of them a few months back dressed as a crayon (don't ask). It was a case of 'crayons reunited'!
The time soon whizzed by and it was approaching 10 o'clock. The race director called us over to the start line. The start was delayed for a few mins to make sure the last few folks had registered and finished using the loo etc. but this was only a few minutes of extra waiting. By now it was baking hot. I was standing in the blazing sunshine and already sweating before I had started to run! We both knew we had to take it easy.
The race director gave us a quick briefing, the there was a countdown and we were off! I was pretty much the last person to cross the finish line, with the sweeper right behind me. I know my place! I had to catch Emma up. The start took us in a straight line towards some woods and a rather ominous looking hill with a radio mast on the top. We entered the woods, at last some shade and some respite from the blazing sun. Emerging from the woods - BOOM - there was the 'hill from hell'. Running up this was not an option, in fact walking up this hill was a struggle. We queued patiently to make that climb, not helped by an old wooden style at the top and another queue. This was easily the hardest climb of the whole race. It certainly was a shock to the system and I can imagine would have rattled a few cages of those hoping to get round fast - that mile is not going to be quick.
There was a left turn and a gentle climb up a chalky path. This was much better; this really was good running terrain and we plodded along quite nicely, chatting all the time.
We crossed the road which was really well marshalled, and the very first aid station next to horse racing track ('the gallops') was in front of us. The aid stations were fantastic, loads of water, squash, flat coke and energy drinks. Most of the later stations had crisps, sweets, fruit and other goodies too. Emma had bought her own supply of food with her and I've never seen anyone eat so much on the run before, haha!
Seemed to do the trick though as she easily out ran me!
'The gallops' went on for a good couple of miles, and was dead flat. At the end of this the half marathon and marathon course split. We took a right turn and went down another a chalk path next to a wood, it was good to have some downhill sections in the shade, although really needed to watch where your feet were going. Apparently this section of the course went through the famous Watership Down, although we didn't realise at the time. We didn't see any bunnies, myxomatosis or otherwise.
All the time we kept our pace right down due to the heat. We had agreed to walk up the hill and do a gentle bimble on the flats and downhill. This strategy worked well for us, although we got boiling hot we had plenty to drink in our camelbaks, and took every opportunity at aid stations to tip water over ourselves to cool off. I started off with two litres of energy drink and topped it up half way round with squash, plus all the cups of squash and water I drank, I must have got through almost 5 litres, quite unbelievable.
We crossed the main A34 which was professionally marshalled by an active traffic management company. It was great that the race organisers looked after us properly in crossing such a fast and busy main road.
As we came through the village of Dunley, one of the residents had come out with a big old bucket of water, invited 'do what you want with it'! I was tempted to just stick my head in the bucket but thought better of it. By now we were absolutely boiling, also some kids sprayed us with water pistols which was really good.
We now went through a really nice wooded sections which was lovely and shady (still hot!) There was a swing hooked up to a nearby tree, despite the amount of time we were wasting we just had to stop and have a go on the it! Some other highlights included running past some very old gypsy caravans and the stunning views across the rolling hills of the beautiful Hampshire countryside. It almost took our minds off how boiling hot we were. Almost!
The first half of the course was pretty runnable really, there were a few hills but quite a lot of flat sections including a couple of miles on tarmac on a very quiet road. We did see lots of people suffering in the heat, and lots of folks were retiring at aid stations as they did not feel too well.
We had to keep our pace going and avoid slacking off quite too much, as there was a cut-off point at 16.6 miles which we had to reach by 4 hours and 25 minutes. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but we were getting close to 14-15 min miles what with the heat. There was a bit of a worry but we made it by around 10-15 mins. I think if I run this race again I would run slightly faster in that first half to make the cut-off and just accept a much slower second half, rather than try to run consistent pace throughout. I'm not a fan of cut-offs, I appreciate marshals and traffic management have to be stood down but I think given the heat a longer cut-off would have been preferable. I would have been pretty pee'd off to be timed out after 16.6 miles of slog through the heat!
Anyway cut-offs aside, the marshals on this race were just awesome. One chap saw us coming and ran to re-fill his water bucket and make sure there was plenty for us, as well as hose us down. The organisers had looked after them well, with various gazebos and umbrellas put up to keep the heat down for them, and one chap marshaled from his sun lounger, haha.
Around 21 miles there was a chap with an unofficial water stop and Mark from Basingstoke & Deane running club gave us a top up of water as well as drenching us to cool us down. Thanks Mark!
At around mile 23 we went through the lovely village of Hannington, where a gazebo had been rigged up and some very friendly marshals pretty much forced us to eat a large quantity of jaffa cakes ha!
I remembered from the previous year that the second half was much hillier than the first, and it didn't disappoint. In particular there was a hill around 24 miles which was a total slog, right out in the blazing sun, although it was on tarmac it just felt like it went on forever. By the time I reached the top I felt exhausted and began to feel a bit dizzy and slightly nauseous, I knew that this meant the first signs of heat exhaustion were beginning to show. Emma kindly let me have a drink from her camelbak as I'd got through all the fluid in mine and I felt much better.
Finally, we could see in the far distance the finish line! So close but so far. We went through the woods again and took a right turn, then back down the straight where we had started. I just couldn't run though, I was totally exhausted and dizzy again, so walked as fast as I could.
As we approached the finish line, we got a huge cheer and the chap on the tannoy announced the arrival of 'the bunnies'. Somehow managed to start running again - I've yet to cross a finish line walking! I crossed the timing mat and immediately had to lie down. Sarah from Blackwater Valley Runners, who is a friend from parkrun, was helping out at the finish and she managed to get my timing chip off my shoe!
I was given my finishers medal and pint glass - and picture taken with a giant rabbit. Poor chap must have been absolutely sweltering. The glass was a really nice engraved pint glass. I was invited to help myself to as much as water as I could drink and got through a pint of cold water pretty quickly!
I could have had a free pint of Hoppit ale if I wanted, although I don't drink so passed.
Eventually I cooled down - slightly, but still felt knackered. I said goodbye to Emma, her husband and kids had come to meet her at the finish.
There was a really horrible long walk back to the car, which I found a total slog. It took me another 10 mins to cool down again. The car was parked in the shade but the temperature sensor still said it was 35C outside. I had just ran a marathon in over 30C!
Given the heat of the day I hope they reconsider the start time for next year. Had we started at 8am we could have avoided the worst of the heat. All in all though, I really enjoyed this race very much, it's a brilliant route through some gorgeous countryside along with some cheeky hills. Apart from that first hill and the one at 25, quite runnable too! I hope to be back next year.
When I ran this race year, it was my first trail every marathon. I really enjoyed it, and it turned me to the 'dark side' of running, away from my usual road-racing. So, it had to be entered again this year.
Trust me to enter a race that would be held on the very hottest day of the year, in one of the hottest summers on record (since 1976! Which I am just about old enough to remember).
For once I got a 'lie in' as the race wasn't due to start till 10am, and was only around 30 mins drive away. I picked up my running buddy Emma from Farnborough en route. We had run Punchbowl and the Southampton Marathon earlier in the year and it was nice to have some company.
I made the short drive across the picturesque Hampshire countryside and arrived in Kingsclere bright and early. As we arrived you come down a chalky road, clouds of dust everywhere and dodging pedestrians walking over to the start. Although it wasn't even 9 o'clock yet, the car said it was 25C and the heat was really starting to build up. This wasn't helped as for some crazy reason we had decided to go with the 'hoppit' theme and dress up as bunny girls in red tutus and bunny ears, this didn't help with keeping the heat down very much.
Number pick up was dead easy although there was a bit of mucking around filling in the back of the race number. There was a timing chip to be attached to your shoe too, which meant we were given a chip time as well as a gun time. The field was right in the blazing sunshine with hardly any shade - what little shade there was, had been bagged early! So waiting at the start we were getting really hot, I got through a 500ml bottle of water I'd bought with me, but still felt thirsty which wasn't a great way to start. Perhaps in future years some water could be made available at the start, given the time of year it's likely that hot weather will return.
There was also a half marathon due to start an hour later, so the start area was getting pretty busy, but there was a wonderfully friendly buzz to the whole event. There was a sound system playing some up-beat music and lots of announcements to the runners to take care in the heat and to start making their way to the start.
The organizers had provided plenty of loos, there were no queues to speak of, that made a really pleasant change to most races where the queue can be awful.
At the start area I also bumped into running buddies Rachael and Alec, who had come over from Kent to run this. I had run Brighton with both of them a few months back dressed as a crayon (don't ask). It was a case of 'crayons reunited'!
The time soon whizzed by and it was approaching 10 o'clock. The race director called us over to the start line. The start was delayed for a few mins to make sure the last few folks had registered and finished using the loo etc. but this was only a few minutes of extra waiting. By now it was baking hot. I was standing in the blazing sunshine and already sweating before I had started to run! We both knew we had to take it easy.
We crossed the road which was really well marshalled, and the very first aid station next to horse racing track ('the gallops') was in front of us. The aid stations were fantastic, loads of water, squash, flat coke and energy drinks. Most of the later stations had crisps, sweets, fruit and other goodies too. Emma had bought her own supply of food with her and I've never seen anyone eat so much on the run before, haha!
Seemed to do the trick though as she easily out ran me!
All the time we kept our pace right down due to the heat. We had agreed to walk up the hill and do a gentle bimble on the flats and downhill. This strategy worked well for us, although we got boiling hot we had plenty to drink in our camelbaks, and took every opportunity at aid stations to tip water over ourselves to cool off. I started off with two litres of energy drink and topped it up half way round with squash, plus all the cups of squash and water I drank, I must have got through almost 5 litres, quite unbelievable.
We crossed the main A34 which was professionally marshalled by an active traffic management company. It was great that the race organisers looked after us properly in crossing such a fast and busy main road.
As we came through the village of Dunley, one of the residents had come out with a big old bucket of water, invited 'do what you want with it'! I was tempted to just stick my head in the bucket but thought better of it. By now we were absolutely boiling, also some kids sprayed us with water pistols which was really good.
The first half of the course was pretty runnable really, there were a few hills but quite a lot of flat sections including a couple of miles on tarmac on a very quiet road. We did see lots of people suffering in the heat, and lots of folks were retiring at aid stations as they did not feel too well.
We had to keep our pace going and avoid slacking off quite too much, as there was a cut-off point at 16.6 miles which we had to reach by 4 hours and 25 minutes. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but we were getting close to 14-15 min miles what with the heat. There was a bit of a worry but we made it by around 10-15 mins. I think if I run this race again I would run slightly faster in that first half to make the cut-off and just accept a much slower second half, rather than try to run consistent pace throughout. I'm not a fan of cut-offs, I appreciate marshals and traffic management have to be stood down but I think given the heat a longer cut-off would have been preferable. I would have been pretty pee'd off to be timed out after 16.6 miles of slog through the heat!
Anyway cut-offs aside, the marshals on this race were just awesome. One chap saw us coming and ran to re-fill his water bucket and make sure there was plenty for us, as well as hose us down. The organisers had looked after them well, with various gazebos and umbrellas put up to keep the heat down for them, and one chap marshaled from his sun lounger, haha.
Around 21 miles there was a chap with an unofficial water stop and Mark from Basingstoke & Deane running club gave us a top up of water as well as drenching us to cool us down. Thanks Mark!
At around mile 23 we went through the lovely village of Hannington, where a gazebo had been rigged up and some very friendly marshals pretty much forced us to eat a large quantity of jaffa cakes ha!
I remembered from the previous year that the second half was much hillier than the first, and it didn't disappoint. In particular there was a hill around 24 miles which was a total slog, right out in the blazing sun, although it was on tarmac it just felt like it went on forever. By the time I reached the top I felt exhausted and began to feel a bit dizzy and slightly nauseous, I knew that this meant the first signs of heat exhaustion were beginning to show. Emma kindly let me have a drink from her camelbak as I'd got through all the fluid in mine and I felt much better.
Finally, we could see in the far distance the finish line! So close but so far. We went through the woods again and took a right turn, then back down the straight where we had started. I just couldn't run though, I was totally exhausted and dizzy again, so walked as fast as I could.
I was given my finishers medal and pint glass - and picture taken with a giant rabbit. Poor chap must have been absolutely sweltering. The glass was a really nice engraved pint glass. I was invited to help myself to as much as water as I could drink and got through a pint of cold water pretty quickly!
I could have had a free pint of Hoppit ale if I wanted, although I don't drink so passed.
Eventually I cooled down - slightly, but still felt knackered. I said goodbye to Emma, her husband and kids had come to meet her at the finish.
There was a really horrible long walk back to the car, which I found a total slog. It took me another 10 mins to cool down again. The car was parked in the shade but the temperature sensor still said it was 35C outside. I had just ran a marathon in over 30C!
Given the heat of the day I hope they reconsider the start time for next year. Had we started at 8am we could have avoided the worst of the heat. All in all though, I really enjoyed this race very much, it's a brilliant route through some gorgeous countryside along with some cheeky hills. Apart from that first hill and the one at 25, quite runnable too! I hope to be back next year.
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