It’s flat along he top of the Downs isn’t it?

[SueAppleRun]

Actually no it isn’t, the elevation gain was 92 metres but i’m not sure what that means

It’s a nice calm day no wind to speak of..... until you get to the top then it’s blowing

Walked up the chalky track, stopped to look at the dew pond, jogged gently through the woods, a lot of trees have been taken down due to disease so some nice views through the ones left

Out onto the track, the ruts are actually very narrow and very deep and changeable, so feet were a bit frightened because kept nearly turning on stones or at the edge of the ruts

We’d agreed that I would probably run further than Willow and he’d go back to the car so i looked over my shoulder at one point to see if he’s turned round and there he was right by my shoulder I jumped out of my skin and nearly fell over in surprise, we kept going for a while decided together to turn and jog/ walk back. Went through the woods a different way got a bit lost the track petered out and brambles bit my arms leaving streaks of blood but hey ho we were out and smiling

The last bit downhill across grass and we belted down wondering if we could stop but we did and back in the car to come home 5k done

Positives, plenty of space to go round people, views stunning,

Negatives, we aren’t trail runners and it was very slow, but we were out for nearly an hour and felt great after

Have a great weekend everyone whether you run, rest or sit on the injury couch Spring is here

If you squint a bit you can see the sea through the trees

[Instructor57 Graduate10]

A nice run 👍It's strange going off road when you are not a trail runner isn't it , it certainly slows you down .

However the enjoyment of the run is much more important than the speed .

And yes, I can see the sea through the trees 😂

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Instructor57]

My favourite is along the paths near the sea, Willow is happy to keep to the park but every so often we go to the top of the south downs and marvel at how far we can see

[Instructor57 Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

Sounds like a great place to run 🙂👍

[Hidden]

That all looks and sounds absolutely glorious W&S. I haven't ventured to run along the top of the downs yet, but your post has certainly made me put it on my to-do list. Well done on your 5ks. I loved your description of your run, especialy the last bit - I now have a lovely mental picture of the two of you bombing down the hillside like a couple of kids!

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Hidden]

We had very wide grins, it’s not somewhere to get PB’s speed could cause injuries but it was lovely

[grumpyoldgirl]

One of my discoveries is that nothing is as flat as you think when you're running 😁 lovely view though

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to grumpyoldgirl]

You are right, even flat roads we drive along are a bit hilly when running

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to grumpyoldgirl]

So true grumpyoldgirl ! 😀

What's bothering me now though is that I've started thinking "Hmm, I wonder if I could run up this?" or even "Ooh, this is lovely, I'd like to run up this!" when I'm driving up hills! 😱😂

[grumpyoldgirl in reply to Cmoi]

At the risk of stretching an analogy, I'd say you're on a slippery slope there😁

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10 in reply to grumpyoldgirl]

😆

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to grumpyoldgirl]

So true! Slopes you'd not think twice about when walking turn into a mountain climbing exercise when running.

[Dexy5 Graduate10]

When the running shoes open, you could both get fitted for trail shoes WillowandSola. You deserve a treat and they are much better for running on grass. 👟👟🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Dexy5]

That’s an idea Dexy but it’s not so much running on grass it’s deep narrow ruts that are all along the trails oh and rabbit holes, it’s quiet enough round here that I still love road running

[Dexy5 Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

You can never have too many pairs of shoes 😂😂

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Dexy5]

Well there is that 😉

[dijep Graduate10]

You may not think of yourselves as trail runners but you are runners who ran on a trail 🤣 And how great that Willow didn't feel like he needed to turn back and you did the distance together. Lovely photo and I spy the sea 🌊

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to dijep]

Thanks we were glad we went

[Oldgirlruns Graduate10]

Lovely photo Sola! Sounds like a lovely run!

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Oldgirlruns]

It was thanks

[Jools2020 Graduate10]

That sounds like a great run - one you both enjoyed! Love,y photo and I can see the sea! 😊

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Jools2020]

The beach is too busy at the momenta s to go above and look out over the coast is special

[9weeks2Run Graduate10]

Nice run trail runner love birds!! I love reading your posts so lovely how you snd Willow run together how very special that must be.

I can see the sea!!

Take care x

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to 9weeks2Run]

Hey, thanks, we love running together even though Willow really didn’t want to go out the first time but wasn’t going to let me go on my own lol,

[9weeks2Run Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

Aw so sweet x

[LottieMW Ambassador]

Aaaw lovely run you two!

I think the 92m is how high above sea level at the highest point. The gain of 75m is what you actually climbed...

It’s fab how far you can see on a good day. On my walk last Tuesday I was at a height of 300m, and could see The River Severn and England beyond.

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to LottieMW]

Wow, that’s very high and the river Severn is beautiful what I’ve seen of it, Willow used to live in that area for a while, aren’t you clever knowing things like that?

[LottieMW Ambassador in reply to SueAppleRun]

I think my lockdown runs gave me an understanding of what Strava was telling me about all those flipping inclines I was going up!

...just remembered I can add photos! That dark line across the middle is England! The Severn is the paler line below...

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to LottieMW]

Yes lockdown has given us time to look at things in a different way, what a gorgeous photo thanks

[nowster Graduate10]

Elevation gain is how far you went upwards. If you then went down a bit, the next bit of "up" would be counted as a gain.

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to nowster]

We went up and down then up a bit more and down you get the picture? then we turned round and did it all in reverse, the last down across grass was too tempting and we ran almost out of control fast but we managed to stop before we crashed so that was good,

[Couchphoenix Graduate10]

Well done on completing 5k, trail running sounds quite tricky as the grounds so uneven and you have to watch you don’t end up with a twisted ankle. The bonus of course is that the air is sweeter and the views are better....I squinted and could see the sea, it was between the land and sky 😉🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Couchphoenix]

I think because of all the rain we had the ruts are deeper, tractors and the ranger in a small van go along there

[Magellan Graduate10]

Not being a trail runner and having to go slowly is a good thing. Too many people struggle to keep their slow runs slow enough, and a trail run forces you to do that, while being very beautiful too.

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Magellan]

We are slow anyway and slow means we get time to enjoy the view, we’ve decided to go there more often as it will feel easier with practice

[Killerblue Graduate10]

Sounds like an interesting run but I can understand the difficulties of trail running and the fear of twisting an ankle. Well done both of you for staying out there for an hour 🏃‍♀️

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Killerblue]

I was determined to get to 5k so just kept going until 2.5 had been covered then turned round, i was chuffed Willow didn’t turn earlier

[Roxdog Graduate10]

Sounds just perfect. You may not be a trail runner, but you ran on trails! My favourite!

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Roxdog]

The unevenness meant we couldn’t just keep moving legs we had to concentrate but we’ve decided to do that more often, it’s about 8k to the next landmark so aiming for that

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10]

Bwahahaha, it really isn’t 😍👍 sounds like a lovely run.

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Maddee_6333]

It was fun and we love being up high and seeing for miles

[Lifluf Graduate10]

That looks like a lovely location for a run Sola. Reminds me of my time living in Kent. I love the peace of trails and being away from traffic even if the uneven ground slows you down. It gives you more time to look.😊

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Lifluf]

Yes, exactly and we love going there

[Marvellousmaysie]

Hi there. I walked up on the South Downs yesterday and was wondering about running up there because as you say the views are stunning, but it is the hills that put me off, although I could always walk up the hills I suppose😀Do you mind me asking where abouts on the Downs you are running?

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

We run wherever we go, yes there is some walking involved but we now run more than we walk, we have run around the 3 rings although found the walk up to 2 of them to be really steep couldn’t run up it