September catchup

Work and prep for the Atlantic Coast Challenge have robbed me of blogging time the last few weeks. For instance I did the Good Shepperd classic fell race the Saturday before last. A challenging race with some big climbs and difficult underfoot, but also enough runnable bits and scenery to keep you enjoying it and looking forward. Its a bit distant now for me to report, but from a personal point of view I had a good run after burning up a bit too much energy at the start. Try this one, runs from Mytholmroyd, about 13.5m and 2450' up and down.

This last - long - weekend was my big challenge of the year. Started with a 9 hour train journey down to Hayle in Cornwall (near St Ives). Amongst other distractions I read a good chunk of Feet in the Clouds for a second time. Great book and worth reading for any who haven't yet. Some amazing feats of endurance described in there, but also some brilliant descriptions of the hardship of personal challenges in hilly and ill-weathered parts of the country. Anyway I was down there for the Atlantic Coast Challenge, organised by votwo (VO2). Big report to come, but to summarise...

This event follows the South west Coast path from Padstow to Lands End in three daily sections which roughly equal 78.6 - 3 marathons - mostly off-road, sometimes on very difficult trails.

Day 1 - Padstow to Perranporth - ~26m - 2700'
Day 2 - Perranporth to Hayle - ~24.5m - 2750'
Day 3 - Lelant to Lands End - ~28.5m - 4100'

Took me roughly 16:37 for the three days running, all challenging runs and day 3 would challenge the hardiest runner. Not just the increased distance, climbs and descents but also much rougher paths as challenging as nearly anything we have in the hills up north due to vegetation and stones/boulders being strewn everywhere for long stretches.