One might be forgiven for thinking that the first full weekend home after a hectic three week “holiday” in the US, including running a marathon and an additional 60 plus recreational miles, hiking approximately 50 miles, cycling at altitude and swimming, would be a good time to kick back and take it easy. Well maybe for sensible people that would be the case but not in our mad world.
We were in Poole at 9am on Saturday morning to race the Park Run (Martin was 5th overall in 18.14 and I was exactly a minute behind him in 13th place overall and first lady) before setting off on a weekend jaunt across the South Downs. First there was the small matter of driving the car to Hinton where Martin’s brother lives, leaving it there and then running 11 miles across the New Forest to Brockenhurst where we took the easy option of a train to Winchester.
What with one thing and another it was 2.30pm by the time we arrived at the station in Winchester and we were then slightly delayed by the distraction of stocking up on food and trying to find the start of the South Downs Way. It was, therefore, already gone 3pm by the time we “started”. After the bustle of shoppers and traffic in Winchester and crossing the busy M3 by means of a footbridge, it was a relief to get out into the countryside and experience some peace and quiet.
Unfortunately the forecast for the weekend had not been particularly favourable and it proved itself to be entirely accurate as we ran beneath overcast skies with a strong south westerly wind making it feel much colder than it actually was. After a couple of hours of steady running we arrived in the village of Exton where it was just late enough to justify a stop at the pub for some liquid refreshment and short break. Tempting though it would have been to remain in the pub with its friendly atmosphere, real ales and excellent menu, we knew we had to get several more miles under our belts if we were to reach our final destination by Monday.
Our next target was the village of Clanfield, just off the South Downs Way, but a necessary diversion in order to obtain food. Even we are only willing to take roughing it so far and there is a limit to how much food I can carry – which falls way short of how much food I can eat! The Rising Sun in Clanfield proved to have a decent menu, huge portions and very reasonable prices, all of which was very welcome as it took us much longer to get there than we had estimated and by the time we left again it was already almost dark.
The next challenge was to find a suitable place to camp and this also proved more difficult than we had hoped. A couple of miles after leaving the pub we crossed the busy A3 and rejoined the South Downs Way as it passed through the Queen Elizabeth Country Park. We knew that we would have to pass through this before we could stop but we had to go a lot further than expected and when we finally found a suitable spot to stop for the night it was about 11.30pm and we had completed 44 miles since setting out.
Shortly after getting the tent up we were dismayed to hear voices approaching and cowered inside not knowing what to expect – only to have a group of night walkers pass us by. Amazing that in the middle of nowhere, somewhere on the South Downs at nearly midnight, the only two groups of mad people with nothing better to do on a Saturday night should cross paths!
For once we had managed to find a relatively comfortable camping site and we managed to get a few hours of sleep. When we emerged on Sunday morning the sky was still overcast and it was a relief to get the tent stowed, repack our bags and get underway. It took a while to warm up and to loosen our stiff legs so we walked the first mile or so before breaking into a reluctant trot. The miles passed by swiftly and our early start was rewarded by sighting of deer and an adder and our peace was only disturbed by the occasional enthusiastic mountain biker whizzing past. Part of the route was familiar to us from various long runs we have previously done on the Downs, and this helped as we counted down the miles until we could replenish our food stocks meanwhile munching our way through various protein bars and bags of dried fruit and nuts. Anyone who knows me also knows that I need a constant supply of coffee, especially in the morning, and Martin got off surprisingly lightly considering that we covered 20 miles to Amberley before there was any chance of me obtaining a caffeine fix!
Typically, after twenty miles of deprivation there were two pubs, a bistro and a cafe in Amberley, all standing shoulder to shoulder! At this point also the sun came out and we enjoyed our lunch in the pub garden, which was probably a blessing for the other more elegantly attired and hygienic customers trying to enjoy their Sunday lunch without having two smelly runners sitting next to them and taking their shoes off to give their odorous feet a break!
A long uphill climb followed and as we reached the high point of the Downs all trace of sun disappeared and the wind became bitterly cold. We were headed for Devil’s Dyke now, the point at which we would leave the South Downs Way and head south for Brighton and the end of our travels. It was becoming increasingly hard to break back into a shuffling run each time we walked up a hill and our walking breaks became longer and longer as we headed further east.
Finally we arrived at Chanctonbury Rings and from there we had already covered the rest of the route to Devil’s Dyke during the Three Forts Marathon in 2009, albeit in reverse of the direction we were now taking. We passed through the village of Botolphs, crossed the busy A283 and started the final lengthy ascent which seemed endless. At this point Martin scented the beer and began the final push for the pub with me floundering along behind. My thoughts were not on beer but on sitting down and not moving for several hours!
On arrival at the pub we found comfortable chairs, took advantage of their facilities to make ourselves vaguely presentable and ordered something to eat....and it was at that point that the idea came to us that we could get the train home tonight instead of roughing it for another night. And once that thought had lodged in our minds we headed for Brighton, caught a train to New Milton and somehow managed to summon up the energy to walk the final 3 miles back to our car, arriving home in Sydling at 1.25am having covered just short of 90 miles.
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