Tim's marathon challenge - chapter 3
Coastal Trail Round 6 - St. Just
We set off the week before the race for a week in St Just in readiness for the legend that is Cornwall, at all the previous races the phrase 'It's a hard course BUT it's not as hard as Cornwall' has floated in the air. So the time has come, I've taken it easy for the 3 week lead up to the race but still feel sick at the idea of running the dreaded course.
Steve & Sharon arrive at the cottage on Friday night which keeps our minds off what is in store in the morning. As I have been in St Just for a week I've walked the start of the course so I know it's gonna be a killer so the distraction is very welcome. We wake early Saturday morning and eat several breakfasts. The time has come, we take the drive down to race HQ, listen to the race brief and this time there is no showboating at the line just the feeling that we are about to take on one of the greatest marathons in the UK!
We're off and the first 30 or 40 mins are no worse than any of the other rounds, then the hills come, slightly worse than previous rounds but as we are running in a group of 3 spirits are high and the miles roll by. Soon we realise why this is so highly rated, with the coastguard chopper floating in the sky we hit paths that leave no room for error, a foot to far to the right and you're over the edge and it's a good 100 ft till you hit the ground. After 2 hours of running we drop down to the edge of what you might call the beach and see a runner climbing over 4ft boulders to get back up to the coast path. We take the climb as fast as we can and manage an amazing 20 min mile (I normally train at 6-7 min miles on a fast session). At this point we hit the end of the coastal path session and head back in land, I hold on to Steve & Ian for as long as I can but they slip away over the next 7-10 miles. The rain sets in and I'm plugging away on my own, head down I find my pace and start to pick a few runners off. I hit the final check point and get my bearings and know that I have one last climb (over 3 miles) then it's all over. I power up the hill and at the top I can just pick out St Just, fired up in the knowledge that I will be well under the 6 hour mark I power on. As I power along the final few miles I remember that the final 1/2 mile is up hill, I hit this and the whole world goes in slow motion. I cross the line in 5:37 happy in the knowledge that I've beaten one of the hardest Marathons in the UK!!
Next up London............
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