I’ve done a few races by the Freedom Racing team. All have been fairly local and I’ve enjoyed each one. A few years ago they set up another race in Sussex – the five trails ultra. It connects a loop using five different walking trails – the Serpent Trail, New Lipchis Way, The West Sussex Literary Trail, the Monarch’s Way and some of the South Downs Way. I’ve run on parts of each of these and wanted to do more of them. The location of the start and finish is a bit of a pain to reach on public transport so it was never convenient to do. But now I have access to a car I signed up along with Natalia and Nick.
We planned to arrive early and take advantage of the rolling start rather than wait till 10am to begin. We weren’t quite as efficient in our logistics though and only ended up starting about 20 minutes earlier than the masses. Either way, it was nice to begin on peaceful trails. I do like a rolling start. No fuss. No waiting. No crowded trails nor annoying noises or smells from other runners. There was the odd one or two runners who ran passed us as we first navigated the, familiar to me, Serpent trail path. Somewhere in the first 10 km we also caught up and passed a few who started before us too.
We reached the first aid station pretty quickly as it was fairly flat until this point. Stuffed our faces with the goods available and set off knowing we’d soon be on the first and biggest climb of the day. As we started ascending the front runners from the mass start came speeding passed us. Effortlessly they made their way up the climb. Nick and I recognised the climb from a similar race we did before – the Maverick Race South Downs ultra. We struggled up the climb that day much to the enjoyment of the photographer lurking in the trees. It felt a little better today.
We left the Serpent trail and did some kms on the New Lipchis Way. There were long wide descents and beautiful woodland trails as we made our way to the second aid station for more sandwiches and snacks. Here I handed in some headphones I found a long the way and we chatted to the race director’s parents who were very friendly as they always are out on Freedom Races volunteering and supporting runners.
Leaving the aid station we had a long but gentle climb and then another lovely descent. We ambled along the South Downs way for a bit and a little on the Literary Trail where we got ever slightly lost as we missed a turn off as we were deep in conversation. Back on track we enjoyed more woodland trails and open fields. The ground was muddier in places but overall dry and compact.
We ran a little bit on the Monarchs Way. Around the third aid station I can’t remember so much. We were battling through our own thoughts and mental processes. The day was drawing out and around late afternoon the temperature started to drop as the sun began to set. Up high on the final aid station at Bignor Hill car park we could feel the chilly air.
For the last 10km we had one big descent and then it was mostly flat again. We passed runners and runners passed us. For the last few kms it was quite a little group and we focused ourselves to hold our position and keep ahead of the others. We managed it. Speeding up in the last km as we came back in to the finish line. We saw some familiar faces and left pretty quickly to get changed and leave for home before we got too cold.
Another great adventure and excellent race by freedom racing. The route is a good one beautiful throughout and we were very lucky with the weather and the dry conditions. With the exposed South Downs, it could have been a miserable autumnal afternoon if it was damp and wet!
After a long week of travelling ‘up North’ with work, I dropped by Nick’s on the way back through London, borrowed his car and drove to Carl’s and then back to mine. A quick pizza, unpacking the week’s bag and hastily packing a bag for the run (including ripping the zip off my Salomon pack) and it was straight to bed ready for an early wake up.
We left home just before 6am to get to Queen Elizabeth Country Park for 7am, a whole hour before the race was due to start. To our frustration we were told the car parking was already full and we needed to use the public parking a few hundred metres away. When we got there that too was full and we had to drive further along and park near Gravel Hill. It was a whole 30 mins later by the time we got back to register. I was a little frustrated by the situation. The race organisers did email and mention parking could overflow and that we’d need to use the public parking. But to have both car parks already full an hour before the start wasn’t expected. Clearly they haven’t secured enough for the size of the event.
Carl is there too I promise!
Anyway… moaning aside, onwards. Registration was brief and we now only had to wait a short while in the ice cold morning before the race started. It was a small group of runners in the 50km, as it was the 50mile race that started 30 mins before us. We started right at the back of the group as we ran through the start arch and back down towards where the car was parked. Here in QECP we went up into the forests near the main visitor centre before crossing over to and up Gravel Hill and the first of many many climbs of the day.
As we ran through QECP the trails were mostly gravel and hard packed. As we left the park we had a number of long road sections connecting between short trails. We both started to regret our choice of aggressive footwear expecting more mud and softer ground conditions.
Hard packed trails
It was a nice start though and whilst cold, the short sharp hills helped us warm up quickly as we made our way slowly through the pack. Time moved quite quickly in the cold, grey misty mornings as we talked away and caught up on the months of life changes since we last saw each other. After about 10km we passed the first (last) 50 mile runner who was walking slowly with the sweepers a few paces behind him. We assumed he was injured and pushing on to the next aid station as he was moving so slowly. The course had 4 aid stations and the first was 11 miles or so in. I liked this. It’s always nice to get a good chunk of the race done before the first stop!. We left the trails and out into the village of Rowlands Castle. In a small hall the aid station gave us warmth, albeit little else. The event emails talked fondly of the quality and quantity of food options that would be available at aid stations. This one certainly didn’t reflect that. A solitary portion of cake, small paper cups (think sauce portions at a fast food chain size) of two or three crisps, a few skittles and singular wrapped ‘celebration’ chocolates (why these were separated into paper cups I do not know!). It was a poor show. I assume the 50 mile runners had feasted well before us. Thankfully we didn’t have long, just 4 miles, to the next one. We ate a few snacks, refilled waters and headed off.
Carl setting the pace
The stop cooled us down so the gloves were on and we moved with purpose again to warm up as we traced back through the village. We passed Jamie, who I’d met on several other events too. He was braving the elements for the 50miler. My memory of the course soon becomes as blurry as the race conditions. I recall the route becoming much more trail and less road and our aggressive footwear came in more favourably. We passed many runners who were moving more slowly with the muddy, slippery conditions. The next aid station came so quickly and was much better with many savoury options and was better stocked than the previous. We took a few moments and chatted with the volunteers before moving on as it was outside and cold.
The next section was 7 miles long and we made it longer with a bit of a navigation mishap. We’d been running through a big open space passing many 50 miler runners and were discussing how we hadn’t reached the course split yet. We talked about the extra 30km loop they had to make and whether we were glad we weren’t doing that course. Shortly after the fields, on a single track we came to a trail cross road and the path opened up. We followed runners straight and up the hill ahead. I remember looking at walker with their dogs to our right as we crossed the trails. We were deep in conversation. Further along as the hill levelled out we caught the attention of the runner ahead who missed the turn and helped him back on track. At this point we realised we were ourselves off track. He confirmed that there was a turn a while back for the 50km. Doh. Damnit. We back tracked, passing loads of runners we’d passed before walking up the hill in the opposite direction. And there it was, a little over half a km back, at the damn cross Road in the trails where the dog walker was. We’d missed two very big and clear direction signs for the course split. Back on track we laughed at our mistake and carried on down the trail on a lovely descent. We caught back up with many of the 50k runners we’d passed previously. One even comment how we kept overtaking her. Our explanation made her laugh.
The next aid station at Compton came about and once again we were indoors and had a chance to warm up. Here there were all the promised goods and various sandwiches too which were very much needed. We ate a few then headed back out in the now very wet day. The misty rain had been getting progressively heavier throughout the day and soon we had to make the decision to cover our wet bodies with a waterproof coat. Whilst we wouldn’t be dry, we did start to get warmer finally. Here the course took us up higher onto the South Downs and visibility was piss poor. It was hard to spot the trail markers so we followed our gps instead and were soon running down a very wet, slippery steep hill. There were loads of slid marks from runners who’d clearly slipped their way down. Our great grippy trainers kept us upright though. We were on the last stretch now and the final 10 miles ticked off quickly as we continued chatting non stop all day. The undulating terrain forced us to a run walk approach which I was most grateful for. For hours we hadn’t caught up with any other runners but knew we had a group not far behind us.
Awesome views
We kept a pretty decent pace and passed through the final aid station at South Harting, after winding our way through the village streets, quite quickly, keen to get finished and make our way home. A few km later we passed through the lovely little village of Buriton and began a long climb back into forests and realised we’d made our way back to QECP. Before we knew it we were tracing our steps from earlier in the day.
The last few kms were longer than we’d remembered. We came down near Grave Hill, passed the parked car and onward to the finish where we came into the event space to cheers from a few volunteers, we took our medals and headed straight into the tent to get warm. A warm soup with bread and zero % beer perked us up before we had the cold 10 min walk back to the car. With freezing hands we got changed outside before driving home with the heating on.
It was a great day out with Carl. The conditions and weather made for a tough day and it took longer than I thought. It was a decent event and whilst well organised I thought a few things could have been improved (the parking situation annoyed me and the course markings could have been better for a ‘fully signposted’ course). That was the first race of the year and I’m excited now for the planned adventures that await!
A Maverick Race event is always a guaranteed great day out. There’s no point me repeating the words I’ve used so many time before about how fabulous the team are, the meticulous organisation of the events, the friendly and supportive volunteers, their amazing routes or the abundance of freebies and finishers items. Just sign up and experience it for yourself.
One of the things that attracted me to this particular event was the route. Based in the South Downs, the route took runners onto some of the lesser trodden paths away from the more mainstream South Downs Way. Looking at the map before I signed up I could see it would take me to places I’d not run before. So it was a great opportunity to explore some new areas.
Once more I headed down to the race with Nick after an early start. We rolled up, collected our bibs and casually walked over the start line five minutes after all the other runners had set off. I love the rolling start window the events now have! The cut-offs are very generous and the vibe of these events is very relaxed and friendly.
It wasn’t long before we’d caught the rest of the pack as the trails began with some single track paths and inevitably some bottlenecks formed. We squeezed passed a few larger groups and settled into our own grove as we wound through the forest paths of Slindon and then Houghton forest.
Somewhere along the forest tracks we ran past Jake for the first time that day. He was out in the open, partly camouflaged by some bushes, taking pictures before we soon arrived at the first aid station. From here we turned away from Houghton and began a more common section as we ran up the South Downs with its rolling hills and wide open spaces. The radio masts at Gatting Beacon visible up ahead.
After a while of running along the downs, we descended from Cross Dyke and soon came upon the second aid station at the Cadence cafe. We took a quick stop to refuel and fill our water before we began a climb back up to the hills again. Here we found Jake once more and stopped for a quick chat. We joked about my lack of enthusiasm for jumping shots and he proved the quicker man, capturing me with a teasing jump. 1-0 Jake.
You win this round Jake!
The hills were gentle but long and Nick started to hit some rough patches. He’d been recovering from that mad cold going around as well as a week holidaying through all the whiskey distilleries in Scotland. This was his second run since the Chilterns 50 (the other being a marathon) so he always knew it would be a struggle today. I ran ahead and would wait for him to catch up. I kept repeating this, probably to his annoyance.
“It’s Dangerous”
There were plenty of hills, including a lovely leaf lined downhill. I bundled down whilst Nick moaned behind me. ‘It’s dangerous’ Nick kept repeating. Admittedly the damp leaves made it a slippery descent. The downhill was inevitably followed by a steep incline. This time it was Phil who was hiding in the trees and waiting with his camera to capture the pain in the runners faces. A brilliant spot indeed.
Phil capturing the inclinesurprisingly steep
This section was the longest between aid stations and we knew we still had a long way to go before we could replenish our water. All through this section we played leapfrog with other groups and pairs of runners. We chatted and joked our way along with them. The joke’s weren’t so amusing though as we slowly made our way hiking up a long sealed tarmac road. All the runners were hoping the aid station wouldn’t be far away as we all now needed a top up of fluids. Thankfully we soon came upon it, much to everyone’s relief.
After a little party at the aid station we set off again. From here it was 10k to the next one. We were in better shape now and ran some solid sections again through forest tracks and paths near East Dean. As we looped around Upwaltham we were greeted with a huge down hill into the final aid station which I bombed down with joy. I could tell here that many runners had now had enough and were ready for the finish. Much to their delight we had one more steep climb to get through first as we made our way from the aid station to West Wood. This sapped all the fun out of it for everyone around us and the moans were audible way behind us as more runners started the climb.
Steep climbs = excellent views
From here it was back to the dense forest tracks and for us plenty of stop start running from here until the finish. The rain started to come down and we forced ourselves to power through the open fields to get out of it and back to the shelter of the forests at the other side. At the end of the field Brittany was waiting in the cold, holding the gate open for runners with the great news that it was only 1km to go. We kept going, trotting on towards the finish line. As we rounded the corner back from Slindon Estate back into the college we pushed and shoved each other, wrestling before finally crossing the line a show for the crowd. A fist bump of thanks to Justin, Ben and Paul from the Maverick Team for another awesome race.
Another awesome day was finished and crowned the day off with a pizza for the ‘bearded wonders’ from the awesome chulli pizza team.
It is the 24th October 2020. I’m running the Beachy Head Marathon along England’s South East coast starting and finishing in Eastbourne. As I am running, I’m also reflecting on my trail-running journey as, back on the 30th December 2017, this is the route I ran when I tagged along for my first social/group run. In some ways, this is where my journey began.
It was after the Never Stop London Christmas party when Jana told me that her and some friends would be going for a group run after Christmas and that I should join. So I did. I joined them on the way down to Eastbourne and, little did I know back then, we ran the Beachy Head Marathon route. The intention was to do the whole thing, all 26 miles of it. But, as we reached Exceat, after 20 miles, with it then becoming very dark, we decided to skip the last few miles along the Seven Sisters and jumped on a bus back to Eastbourne and then home.
My first time running with Cool Cats and meeting this lot
That day was a baptism for me on the trails. Whilst I had completed 3 trail runs in 2017, all were at events. This was my first social run, the first time being unsupported without checkpoints and it ended up being the beginning of something special (I didn’t realise this at the time). I remember it was tough. I had the essential kit but I was probably not quite prepared for the day and the elements ahead. I remember early on I slid in the mud and landed side-on in a muddy puddle. I recall the open hillside tracks with the rain and the wind battering our faces – we couldn’t hear each other talking and ran a lot of it in apparent silence. It was the first time I’d met many of those I ran with that day and it was the first of many, many, runs with them and the mighty Gwyn (Susana’s dog). On the bus back to Eastbourne Susana gave us all a medal she’d made. I’m fortunate to call many of them friends now. I loved it all. Now, almost 3 years later, I was back on the Beachy Head route, for the Beachy Head Marathon in its 40th year. My trail running journey continues!
I knew a few people running the route that day. I didn’t expect to see any of them with the social distancing restrictions put in place. To my surprise though, just a few minutes in I ran into Megan who I travelled Borneo with. We caught up as we ran probably about half of the route together. It was great to see here again and especially nice after seeing some of the others from Borneo a few weeks earlier.
Rather than the usual ramblings of how the run went, instead I’ve summarised what the Beachy Head Marathon is and what you can expect if you decide to take on this fantastic event (which you should!)….
What is the Beachy Head Marathon?
It is a trail marathon which means it follows a mostly off road route. It has been taking place every year since 1981 and is a very popular event attracting runners from all over the UK.
The marathon is a strange sort of loop shape (kinda looks like an animal of some sort), starting and finishing on the edge of Eastbourne. Mostly it follows the South Downs Way as you first run towards the village of Jevington, and then continue on through and past Alfriston. When you reach the lookout point at Bo Beep Carpark, you begin to track back towards Eastbourne passing through Litlington and down to the coast via Westdean and Exceat. Once you leave Exceat you follow the undulating coastal trails of the Seven Sisters all the way to the Birling Gap and finally up to ‘Beachy Head’ and back to where it all began.
Cuckmere River from Exceat
Seven Sisters, here we go!
What to expect.
Firstly the start. It is uphill. If you’ve ever been to Eastbourne and the end of the South Downs Way, you’ll know. The cliffs drop off and the Downs very quickly become the seafront. This is where Beachy Head starts. Immediately after crossing the line you begin the first of many, many climbs. There is no shame in walking the start!
There are plenty of long and open hillside trails with endless views from the South Downs. With plenty of climbs along the route you’ll reach some spectacular view points of the rolling hills. These are mostly unobstructed and you see the hills fall away and rise again in the distance.
Wind and rain. With little shelter from the elements and an October event date, expect plenty of rain leading up to and during the event. Running along the open hill tops and next to the coast means it is very likely you’ll encounter some high winds. This year we had a slight deviation on the route due to the forecast gale force winds.
The rain inevitably leads to mud. Plenty of mud. The trails will become caked in mud. If getting your trainers dirty isn’t your thing, then don’t sign up. Trail shoes are a wise choice if you want to stand some chance of remaining on your feet throughout.
With a number of road crossings, big participant numbers and the multiple aid stations along the route, you can expect to encounter a lot of volunteers and marshals who are all fantastic and encouraging. It isn’t supported in the way road events are, but you won’t be missing the whoops and cheers as there is plenty of encouragement and support available along the way.
Speaking of aid stations, besides the usual water, sweets and chocolates, the Beachy Head Marathon provides an extra delight along the route with sausage rolls available approximately halfway round. By Lord is it a good one! Vegan options are available if that is your thing.
Steps. Whilst most of the climbing is done along trail paths, at two points you will climb a hill by using the large steps built into the hillside. In particular, the last climb before you reach Exceat, where the steps will torment your tired legs. As you descend back down into Exceat you are rewarded for your efforts with wonderful views of the meandering Cuckmere River as it meets the English Channel.
With legs still aching from the fast downhills and the steps to Exceat, it’s not over quite yet as you reach the Seven Sisters for the last 6 miles of the course. Here you run along the undulating cliff top trails as you make your way to the Birling Gap. If your legs weren’t hurting by now, then the last climb out of the Birling Gap back to Eastbourne might just be runnable!
Remember that big climb the race started with? That is your final challenge as you must now attempt to run down it without falling under the steepness of the path and the momentum you build as you descend. Try not to fall because there will be photographers waiting to capture your stumble in all its glory,
Throughout the course there are photographers doing a wonderful job of capturing the highs and lows of the event. With your head down concentrating on the trails, it’s likely the photographers will see you before you see them!
Once you finish, besides the standard medal and water for all finishers, you also get another local delight with a pasty (meat or vegan) for all the finishers. You won’t be needing a pub meal after this one!
If you can manage it, and your legs still work, you can enjoy a leisurely hobble along the seafront and into Eastbourne. A perfect way to finish the adventure!
In short, it is a good one. Whether you’re a first time marathoner, first time trail runner or seasoned addict, get the Beachy Head Marathon on your to do list and have some fun!
walking along the seafront with Megan after the race
Run With Dai 