Three Forts Challenge

Looking towards the Mds. I now have a year to go and if I don’t start training on my endurance soon its going to fly by. With this in mind 3 weeks after the Brighton Marathon and only 2 hours before the gun went off I decided to run the ‘Three Forts Challenge’. 27.1 brutal miles off road with climbs of 3450 feet, all on tired legs. It’s a very picturesque run taking in the South Downs right up to Devils Dyke. You can find it at www.threefortsmarathon.org.uk.

I took the run very steady, hadn’t carbed up, walked some hills, chatted to other runners and finished in 4:05. It was a very different experience from running Brighton, the sun shone and we were given slices of cake and biscuits at the rest stops. The race is more akin to the Beachy Head Marathon.

After there was a little massage and although feeling a little tired I also felt great. Day one of MdS training done. Running on tired legs … check, now to push the distance and see what these ultras are all about 

Brighton Marathon 2013

What to do, how to go out? Sub 3 or just aim for a PB, maybe 3:05. That would still be knocking 7 mins off my PB of 3:12 the year before. Go out to hard and set myself up to fail !!

On April 14^th the weather appeared perfect, a slight drizzle and fairly cool. Then came the wind from the east. Much of the start is amongst buildings and the wind wasn’t too bad, but out on the sea front it was fairly strong, strong enough to always force me to tuck in behind those ahead, the weather kept many spectators away.

I ran behind a pacer until mile 19 when he started pulling away and I couldn’t hold on. To be honest I hadn’t been feeling great throughout the whole run, I passed by the crowds but barely noticed their calls. Overtraining? Overeating? Not enough of a taper? I honestly don’t know.

I pushed hard down to the power station which led to cramp and a few walking breaks, a friendly face encouraged me on and I pushed ahead. For the last 7 miles I looked at my average pace a million times. It dropped from 6:42/m right down to 6:48/m. I thought keep it under 6:50/m and I will crack the 3 hr barrier. I was hurting pretty bad on the sea front, ignored the crowds and gritted my teeth.

Running the last 385 yards I could see the timer. My eyes were full of sweat and I couldn’t see it clearly until 10 feet away, 3:00:05. Dam. An official time of 3:00:09. I was elated and disappointed at the same time. I had passed one goal and come within 10 seconds of my next. For the next few weeks, when I told people how I did they said “well done … but you must be gutted?” All I can do is smile and sigh. #

The hard lesson learned, never reply on your GPS as it still said 6:48/m at the end !!