Saturday 27th March saw Manu, Trevor and I completing the Endurance Life Coastal Series half marathon in Pembrokeshire. Manu and I travelled down on the Friday afternoon with a beautiful drive, despite the rain, through Bala (location for the Bala Triathlon in September), Machynlleth, Aberystwyth, Cardigan and on to Broad Haven.
We pulled into the race HQ at 8.15pm and headed for the village hall in Little Haven where 50+ people were registering, milling about and ogling some of the running goodies on sale. We were issued with our race numbers, complimentary t-shirt and our race-timing chip which was strapped to our wrists. As it was getting late at this point we stopped at the Castle pub in Little Haven for a bite to eat (spicy crab pasta - very good) and a cheeky pint before heading to our Travelodge in Pembroke Dock for some rest.
We woke early on Saturday and set about our detailed race preperation (sh*t, shower, shave) checked our race info and mandatory kit. It was a requirement that ALL competitors carried a minimum kit on the race to include; a basic first aid kit, hat, waterproof jacket, emergency blanket, energy snacks and at least 750ml of fluid - something the organisers took very seriously in order to ensure any accidents on the cliffs don't turn into fatalities. We were very impressed with the organisation of the Endurance Life team, they organise a range of sporting events but this was part of the 'Coastal Trail Series; seven races around the British coastline of which Pembrokeshire is the fifth leg. It was very slick from the branding, pre-race information and on the day briefing but they also do a lot of work with the various National Parks to offset the environmental impact of their races by recruiting volunteers to help with jobs such as path repairs, hedge laying and shrub clearance.
The race car park was in nearby Broad Haven and
we watched some of the full marathon runners, who'd already started, heading over the cliffs before a bus took us round to Little Haven. It was here we hooked up with my old schoolmate, Trevor Burgess, who I haven't seen for about 22 years. We reconnected on Facebook and it turned out his Mum had Lymphoma a number of years ago and that he's also a keen runner and currently preparing for the London Marathon, so he jumped on the opportunity to have this as a 'training run' . . . oh how we laughed.At our pre-race briefing we were informed that the route had been slightly changed due to the state of the path following the heavy rains and would be " around about 13.8 miles". They also took the opportunity to point and laugh at anyone who was brave enough to be doing this as their first ever half marathon - it was very clear that those who'd done a CTS run before knew something we didn't . . . .
At 1030 we filed out of the starting area 'dibbing' our timing chips as we went to start our personal timers and headed straight up hill before going up hill some more whereupon there was an uphill section before hitting some very slippery up hill terrain. With lungs and legs burning we levelled out onto a road/ bridlepath section, which my recollection told me was flat until the return journey where the road had apparently shifted to point uphill for the final two agonising miles.
O
ff the Bridlepath, we hit the Coastal Path proper which undulated from high cliff tops to sheltered bays and mildly slippery grass and mud to intensely slippery bog - my trail shoes holding up well on the former but crampons may have been a better choice for the latter. The 5 mile checkpoint came and went and i grabbed a handful of jelly beans to send me on my way. Before long Marloes sands was in view with an intense turqoise sea in the sunshine that had poked it's head out from behind the clouds. As we turned away from the sea views to head inland i was struck by how little time i'd spent appreciating the views, choosing instead to focus on staying upright. Sure enough, moments later on a completely flat, frankly dry piece of path i managed to trip over a bramble and flip through 180 degrees in mid air before hitting the deck rather hard, only to be picked up by Trev and set on my way whilst trying to look like i'd intended to execute a TJ Hooker style roll, just to impress the girl in tight lycra in front.As we scaled yet another stile and through the 20 millionth kissing gate, Trev remarked that we must've done about 9 miles by now which our watches told us was probably right - if we were running on the flat - we later realised that the checkpoint we reached about a mile later was, in fact, 8 miles in . . . .
A few miles on and I was surprised to see Manu, who's a far more natural runner than I, looking in pain, he was struggling with blisters and cramp brought on by the horrendous conditions underfoot and so, being the friend I am, I offered him a plaster and carried on.
The final stretch of Coastal path was a steep climb back onto the bridlepath which I staggered up, realising that actually walking is sometimes faster than running. It's amazing at these points how even a half-hearted clap from a passer-by will raise the spirits so i jokingly said to a woman sat on a fence "how am I looking?" . . . "I'm amazed you can talk" came her reply, and so, spurred on by my super-human achievements, i slogged up the incredible tilting road towards the finish and back down the slippery hill from hell whilst chatting to a bloke from Cardiff - I think we were both grateful of the diversion, until the final 200 metres which was all down hill, so i thought i may as well sprint finish and at least beat him . . . .
In the end i was 183rd in the field and came in 2'37:54 - my usual half marathon time being around the 1'55 mark. It was clear talking to others in the field that the Coastal Trail Series is not about getting a personal best, more it is about the experience of running over extreme terrain, with awesome views and a completely different approach to road races, i would do another one of their races in a heartbeat.
Thanks go out again to all those of you who have contributed to the £1180 raised so fair. An amount which currently does not include £125 donated by the Nottingham Jugglers following fund raising at their one day juggling convention. They have agreed that the amount can go towards the costs of entering some of the events.
