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Beachy head 2007
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Comments
NickL
Have you ever been to La Rochelle?
Yeah La Rochelle should be ok....and hopefully I will feel ok too.
No not been there before Tracey.....1st overseas race for that matter. Anything I should know?
Yes: There are lots of nice bars and restaurants there
Cool!
I will be staying with French friends who live there....so that will be good....will defo be doing a trip to a supermarket to get lots of nice French fayre.
Good job you remembered me at he last minute Nick;)
I MIGHT have been offended otherwise;)
I did enjoy sitting between Mrs Pig and Beebs though
Results are out...
I won't be on them either. Maybe one year Hippo we will get on the results.
NickL
I went there for the day while I was on holiday in France.
Anyway, when's the next race, folks? I've got nothing in my diary until..... ever. I should rectify that.
Tracey
Just how many assaults are you planning on beachy head;)
Cor,
Just watching Ray Davis & the Kinks on Freeview 301 at mo...
You remember Lola, Waterloo Sunset, Dedicated follower of fashion. etc...
No there are a few runnin' songs...
Fantastic..!
I havent heard anyone say "Cor" in years!
That hippo is coz I'm really old as you well know now ...
But, delighted though all our Lingfield runners came in under 6 hrs including the other Paul Allen who choses to ignore me!
Must be a good club then
As many as it takes to get on the bl@@dy results
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!
are you SERIOUS?
True
))))))
The only thing puting me off the triple is not being able to party on he Staurday
Cas
I bet Hippo starts the thread next year.
I won't ignore you Snowwy
Scandal - she's already been beaten to it for the main race
So I guess she'll have to start the Triple thread instead
errrrrrrrrrrrrrr
someone has already started one
5.05 exactly. Dead chuffed with that.
Will have to be sub 5 next year
Really enjoyed reading all these posts, so thought I'd pop a few words down as well. Busy at work but can't help thinking about Saturday and what a fantastic event it was even though I blew to pieces from the seven Sisters Country Park onwards (as expected - serves me right for not putting the mileage/hills in). Underestimated how hard the last 6 miles or so were going to be. Still can't wipe the smile off my face though, only my 3rd marathon but difficult to see how anything could surpass this event.
Managed to be a bit quicker than FLM in April (when dehydration almost finished me off) but time doesn't seem important......organisation, scenery, fellow runners, marshalls, feeding stations, piper, band, commentator at the finish, photographers (thanks Antbliss for the abuse going up the hill at 24m and accusing me of being a "Seaford Strider" and not a "Burgess Hill Runner" - but walking was all I had left !) and meal all absolutely faultless.
Also special thanks to the spectator who helped me with about a mile to go when I got the most horrendous cramp in both hamstrings and calves at the same time. Having collapsed to the floor, I'd never have got up again without your help kind fellow.
Thanks you everyone - memories (and black toenails) will live with me for ages.
No 89.
Wow Daz, sounds tough! How can anyone run Beachy faster than FLM though??
I said whilst I was doing it that next year I would enter as a walker and WALK the whole event, but now I'm thinking maybe I should try to knock a bit more time off next year. I've got loads to improve on!
Legs are a bit tender today still, thought I may go the club tonight, but have since had second thoughts
Lovely to meet lots of you I hadn't met before and next year I must get myself to the pub afterwards - would be best to go straight there after the race as once I get back to the hotel and have a bath, the urge to walk back seems to disappear!
This is copied from the sub 5 thread that I inhabit a lot so some of it won't make sense but Hippo told me to post it here. It's my little Beachy story:
Morning all, Leggies wouldn't play ball this morning when I had to go downstairs first thing but are not too bad now.
Drove back through Brighton yesterday Lyndy and thought of you, we popped into the marina to check it out but couldn't seem to work out where to park and it was peeing down so we gave it a miss. Hope we find it a bit easier when we are in the boat!
Here is my Beachy report
Arrived the night before and popped out to a nice little Italian and had a big dish of pasta, Mr TS ordered a bottle of wine and I thought maybe not but then I can't resist when there is a bottle and glass in front of me
Saturday dawned lovely and bright, we had room service as they didn't start doing brekkie until 8 which was bit late. Mr TS drove me to the start and dropped me off, I eventually found Diana, Hippo and Tracey and we were joined by Kazzaah for the off. I have never started with the main group before so it was fun to 'dash' off up the very very steep hill. Some people were actually running up it!! The first mile took us 15 mins. We settled in a comfortabe rhythm and were clocking 12.5 min miles for the next 3 and we than eased back to about 14 min miles for the next 4. I can't really remember at what stage various hills were in the course but we must have come across a couple of biggies as we dropped back to 16 for the next one. (just realised it was checkpoint 1)
Mr TS and Bernard were dashing around on bikes, Mr TS was calling saying "I'm at checkpoint 1" - where are you?? You would think he would know better after doing it twice himself! Came into checkpoint 1 whereupon we cam across two injured runners, one of the fast guys who Hippo knew (Mark?) and Debbie a lady from my old running club who is a really committed off road runner and races every weekend somewhere. They had both twisted their ankles on the rough surface I think. Went through Alfriston where we met Diana's husband and then out of Alfriston up a bugger of a big hill!
Next 2 or 3 miles were OK and think somewhere in there we met Fat Buddha and Petal who were marshalling (they are doing Florida IM next week). Diana had a burst of energy at this point and Tracey hit a bit of a rough patch and I got stuck in the middle and had to work out whether to push on and run with Diana or stay with Hippo and Tracey (you know me and being on my own!). I opted for the latter but felt a bit guilty for letting Diana go off and run on her own. Checkpoint 2 added a couple of minutes onto our time again as we stopped for mars bars and 'nana's! The next 3 miles all flew by in 13/14 min miles as it is fairly flat with a good downhill as we arrive at Littlington for more food, hot cross bun and coffee this time! Tracey and Hippo opted to move straight off whilst I had my snack, the hill out of Littlington is horrid (I call it Hippo's Hill as it is where I first met Hippo a couple of years ago!). Anyway I walked up there and it didn't help as I got to the top that some locals were burning wood at the top - there we are gasping for breath and you have to breathe in woodsmoke, which is normaly quite a 'nice' smell, but not this time!! Caught up Hippo and Tracey just before the cardiac steps; 2 set of them within a mile or so, 285 steps in total, this slowed us down to 18 and 19 min miles respectively. At the top of the second set you climb over a wall (yes climb a bloody stone wall!) and experience one of the most fantastic views in the country. I knew Mr TS was waiting for me at the bottom of the hill so I ran down so that I could have a couple of minutes chat before the other two caught up.
Off we go then up another big hill and drop back over the side towards the river through a field of sheep and cattle. Hippo was very brave and ran through them! (In fact that reminds me - she even had here photo taken with Sheepiz earlier!) At this point Mr TS and Bernard were waiting together on their bikes and finally twigged on to who each other was - both said they were waiting for their other halves who running with friends and then saw us all coming down together - they had been cycling around and meeting in various places and not realised who each other was!
Right, this is where the hard work starts; the Seven Sisters (in fact there are eight? - maybe doesn't rhyme as well) It's a logn drag up the first one whereupon you reach the top and get another stunning but frightening view of the race. Tracey, and Hippo to some degree don't like running down steep hills so I said I will stick in front and you can use me as ballast if you feel like you are running out of control! I then managed to run all the way up the first sister, which sounds god but in reality it is quite a short sharp one, the second one is a killer and I got half way up that one and thought forget it, a walk will do! The only last a mile or so in total but they are the mentally tough part of the race because of their rise and fall and by this stage you are getting achey legs. The coastguards provide you with another snack stop of mini mars bars and water which give you a bit of a boost which helps you over the last two. I had run on ahead a little bit and wondered how Diana was getting on as I passed the place where she had taken a tumble last year.
You then arrive at Birling Gap where there is more food, I think I just had coffee at this one! Mr TS was there again so had a quick muscle rub down before Tracey and Hippo arrived. We were off again and Tracey was having a bit of a tough time so Hippo and I had to do the tough love bit! It's always difficult knowing how hard to push someone without them telling you to get stuffed! We knew though that Tracey had it in her and could do it. The next 3 miles were a mixture of longish slopes, none of them to steep but I always think they are tough at this stage of the race, they took us about 16.5 min each mile. We were still laughing at the stage though, one at Bernard falling off his bike and the other at Hippo laying on her back and waving her legs in the air for a picture!
The last mile arrived and Hippo and I moved on a little and did a good pace as it is a gentle downhill, we knew Tracey was just behind and not far to go. The final hill approached, this is a big hill at the start line and appears to be an even bigger hill at the end, Hippo opted for the sensible approach, I didn't - we were at this point trying to get in under 6:35 and there was only seconds left so I had to go for it. It is hard on your legs trying to keep upright going at a pace downhill but I managed it and ran to the line. 10:14 min mile - now why hadn't the rest of the race been like that?