One brilliant Saturday

EnduranceLife has put together a great set of races called the Coastal Trail Series. This Saturday the Sussex edition of the series was held on and around the chalky white cliffs around Beachy Head and the hilly downs of the Sussex countryside. We had fantastic weather for the event which seemed to put everyone in a wonderfully festive mood. Claire and I ran the marathon along with old friend James Adams and new friends Toby Melville and Kelly Lucas. Gemma Greenwood ran the half and Kris Duffy the ultra, and we felt very welcomed.

The races were not mass starts; instead each runner "dibbed" a transponder into a magic box, and then started off. This made for a great, relaxed start. A couple more dibbings were required at checkpoints and the finish line, and that got all the timing information sorted out very efficiently. Miraculously, Kelly and I managed exactly the same time - dead heats are very rare marathon happenings. The scenery was sublime and the course excellently marked. Some serious hills were found at 10 miles, and along the cliffs. I found the downhills quite tough on my quads, but this was all good conditioning for my upcoming French stage race which starts on April 14, featuring twelve days of similar terrain.

I felt a little queasy immediately after the race, but managed to recover in time to speak at the evening's Live More Lecture, wonderfully organized and hosted by Kate Treleaven. I did my bit, and was followed at the podium by great talks by Mimi Anderson and Danny Bent. It was a wonderful audience of energetic, engaged runners and their families. Truly a memorable evening - I'm not sure if I actually managed to inspire anyone, but I was certainly inspired to pursue new adventures and challenges.