Race report mid sussex marathon - Fun Beyond 10K & ...

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Race report mid sussex marathon

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon
20 Replies

Okay, so not a traditional marathon this one. It is the marathon distance, just spred over three days in three locations across Sussex.Day 1 East Grinstead. 10 mile run this one. A nice trail run around the weir reservoir and surrounding countryside, taking in a bit if the forest way path.

The weathed was good, the recent ranfall though meant the pathways were extremely muddy in places. When I say muddy, I mean unavoidable mud which was not for the squeamish. A good turnout though and an enjoayable, if challenging fun.

Two points of criticism for other runners. 1. If you're going to overtake, pick a good time. I litedally got barged out by a runner squeezing to get through a narrow gate first. She had been behind for long enough to overtake on a wide path. 2. On an out and back please dont shout words of encouragement for thise going the otherway if you are ahead. It is quite patronising to hear from fasted runners.

Day 2 Hawards heath. Another 10 miler. This time two loops on a miture of road and track. Sunny and ckear with no mud or water to contend with. My favourite run of the three this one and a real challenge after the 10 miles the day before. Although the conditions were better there was some painful chaffing discovered in the shower afterwards.

Day 3 Burgess Hill. A shorter 10km or 6.2 mile run to complete the marathon distance. At this point I had no idea whether I had enough in the tank to complete. I didnt think about this too much as the heavens had opened and this looping run through fields was more wading than running. Once you get over the fact you are soaked through and just go with it, it was actually quite enjoyable.

Would I do these again, probably not. Not as a set. Although you can enter any day as an individual run, which I might do, the commitment required is too much for me to attempt again. Would I recommend? Absolutely!

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Whatsapp profile image
Whatsapp
Half Marathon
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20 Replies
AlMorr profile image
AlMorrHalf Marathon

Well done WhatsApp on running that marathon over the course of three days. , if evenly spread out over 3 days you would run 14 kilometers each day to run a marathon, 14*3=42 and add 200 metres on the third day to make up the full marathon.

Beachcomber66 profile image
Beachcomber66AdministratorHalf Marathon

🙂 sounds like the sort of run you look back on and think “that was good for me!”. Your “in the moment” description sounds challenging. Mud sucks!! But, you coped with it all and finished the course. Surely we are due for some dry weather!!👍

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66

I hope so!

Bluebirdrunner profile image
Bluebirdrunner

Saw these...didn't realise the full extent of the commitment til you had done all three!

Fab effort, especially as they were trail runs with all of the mud!

Huge well done to you!

🏃🏅💪👏👏👏

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon in reply to Bluebirdrunner

Thank you. I realise I havent posted on here for some time, having been quite a regular poster up until 2020. I have wanted to do this event for years.

In fact it was on this forum I was given the consecutive day running plan which got me ready!

Irishprincess profile image
IrishprincessAdministratorHalf Marathon

That sounds hard! Great job 👏 Did you get really nice bling?

I did wince when I read about the chaffing. You don’t normally notice until the water hits 😱

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon in reply to Irishprincess

The medals are great. I you collect all three tgey clip together as a set, which is a nice touch.

Dexy5 profile image
Dexy510 Miles

What an interesting way to do a marathon  Whatsapp and well done you. Not sure my old legs would like running such distances 3 days on the trot - 10 miles in a day is challenge enough. We were in Surrey on Monday and it poured down most of the day.

I do have to differ with you regarding being cheered on by faster runners. I will take encouragement from anyone along the route, but maybe that’s because I’m a regular parkrunner and am used to cheering on and being cheered.

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon in reply to Dexy5

Thank you. I know they did it with the best of intentions, but they were still running themselves. Had they stuck around and cheered the incoming finishers at the end, I would have felt differently. Maybe I am just a grumpy runner 🤣

Kirst13 profile image
Kirst13Half Marathon in reply to Whatsapp

Glad you brought up the 'encouragement', it is so personal, whether we appreciate or feel patronised by it. Before I did couch to 5k, I walked a charity running event and the clapping and words of encouragement were laughable in the end- it wasn't a particularly long walk to do!!! Now I tend to mutter back "well done to you too " which covers both appreciation and feeling patronised! I sometimes make a joke along the lines of "I'll be running twice as ling as you have to!"

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon in reply to Kirst13

I like " well done to you too!" I just have to make sure I can actually say it whilst running before I commit 🤣

Kirst13 profile image
Kirst13Half Marathon in reply to Whatsapp

🤣 it doubles as my "can I speak a full sentence?" pace test 🤣🤣

Nikasa777 profile image
Nikasa777Ultramarathon

Well done Whatsapp I did this event a few years ago, 3 consecutive days are hard work, hats off to all of you who ran this year, Burgess Hill was brutal in that rain - I was in fact a Marshall on Monday, stood in a wet muddy field cheering you all on.

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon in reply to Nikasa777

Then a massive thank you Nikasa777 . The marshalls are the best👍

linda9389 profile image
linda9389AdministratorMarathon

Hellooooo! Good to hear from you 😊I love and hate the sound of that in roughly equal measure! The concept of splitting the marathon distance sounds like an interesting and quite different challenge; the mud and rain sounds awful! I guess current conditions aren't normal for May bank holiday weekend though.

Hope you have chance to rest and recover this week - I bet that took plenty out of you. What a great achievement though 👏👏👏

Whatsapp profile image
WhatsappHalf Marathon in reply to linda9389

Thank you linda9389 . Its good to post again. This forum is one of my favourite places to be when I can.Apparently they had never experienced mud on that run before, so I guess we just got un/lucky!

Sandraj39 profile image
Sandraj39Half Marathon

What a great idea for a weekend of running, although I agree with Dexy - I don’t think I could run so far across 3 consecutive days! Congratulations and enjoy the bling!🙂🏅🏅🏅

over61andstilltrying profile image
over61andstilltrying10 Miles

Wow! What a lot of variety and challenges in three days! Many congratulations! It sounds demanding even without mud and water! 🏅🏁👏💪🏃🏻‍♂️🎉

Lavender1962 profile image
Lavender1962Half Marathon

Well done! Sounds challenging in a few different ways.

Cowladyrunning profile image
CowladyrunningMarathon

Well done they sounded tough conditions while doing a different challenge!

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