Sussex Beacons Half Marathon, Brighton

A leisurely drive up on Saturday took us to our favourite unofficial Brighton campsite which was almost unrecognisable because, since our last trip, they cut down the handy hedge screening us from view. We set 3 alarms to make really certain we didn't oversleep, woke up an hour early because my phone was still on French time. Then drove to the seafront in Brighton for the closest parking spot we could find which was still over a mile from the start.

So we were in position for a breakfast of instant porridge before stretching out for the next 2 hours to await the time to leave the comfort of the van for our warm-up jog to the start.

Watched increasing numbers of runners streaming past as the weather deteriorated until at 9 it was time to feed the meter with a handful of coins and jog to the start.

We thought we had plenty of time, but 15 of the 30 minutes before the start was consumed waiting in a 100yd long line to check baggage in. We barely had time to insinuate ourselves to somewhere near the correct starting position before the race started, bang on time, just as well, we were freezing in the blustery wind and steady rain.

A fast first mile up the London road, dodging puddles, past the famous Pavillion, next mile doubling back wending our way through the North and Old Lanes, then back on the sea-front, past the pier again, up a rise to Marine drive for a mile, still on schedule. A couple of hairpin bends and were back on the sea-front, heading east, then a sharp turn back to the West. Met Lin coming the other way, a minute or so behind.

Along the "Ovett Mile", past the finish line and a further 3 miles were into the wind along the seafront to Hove. It was really hard to maintain anything like target pace, but I just about did, and after the leader passed us going the opposite direction at 7.5 miles, already over a mile ahead, I was very glad to finally, turn away from the wind and head back towards Brighton.

I knew I had to make up the time lost into the wind, although feeling increasingly tired, I was able to resist any temptations to slack off because this is probably my best chance to do a good half-marathon time this year. The final 3 miles were the same as miles 3 to 5, but I was really struggling to maintain speed, and was passed by several runners. The finish was a really welcome sight, as was the finishing time of 1:25:56 - well under my target time, and my second fastest ever, in quite difficult running conditions.

Lin finished exactly 8 minutes back in a respectable time, only just outside her previous post-broken-hip best of last year, although nearly 11 minutes outside her lifetime PB.

We didn't hang around, although if we had we'd have spotted Richard Rider finishing a few minutes later, chip time 1:45ish. But the warmth of the van beckoned, and we hastened back towards Hove, and were on our way to the Hove-Park Cafe, for a Greek Breakfast of toast & marmalade, topped with rocket, halloumi and olives - sounds like a strange combo, but its almost worth driving to Sussex for by itself.

All in all a good race, worth doing at least once. On a nice sunny day, it would be quite special.

That's it for now, next weekend Dalwood 3 hills!

Lin's bit: Only for running would I get out of bed at 6.30am on a Sunday morning for the second week in a row!!!