I’d been eyeing this up for a few weeks and when I saw that there was a cooler day available, I decided to go for it. The forecast was for cool, but mainly dry conditions. That went out of the window pretty quickly. I was thoroughly drenched by downpours several times.
Plan was to start a bit faster than the current record and try and cling on. I figured that if I could get to the top of the drainpipe under pace I had a good shout. Things were going really well until I took an inevitable wrong turn in the Hascombe woods and added an extra little hill I really didn’t need. But the long slightly downhill road to Hobbs’s curse put me back on track. At the top of the drainpipe I was at least 4-5 mins ahead and feeling better than I thought I would. I really pushed on at that point and although I took a wrong turn coming off Pewley Downs I don’t think that affected things too much. As I hit the Mount, I started to feel pretty confident but my brain was getting scrambled and I inexplicably took a wrong turn at the top of Binscombe fields and literally went round in a circle for a bit. That’s the section closest to my house and which I run all the time. 🤦♂️
Fuming, I pelted it down Charterhouse Hill and back to the pot. At one point I was hoping for 3:4x but I’m happy with 3:50.
I absolutely love the course (credit to Dave and Mark, and to Sam for logging it on here). It really does have a bit of everything. I’ve no doubt others will go faster. I think there’s a route to all the peaks that’s at least three-quarters of a mile shorter without all the wrong turns. Plus it was boggy and very overgrown in places. My legs are scratched and stung to pieces. But that’s the point really, eh. You have to suffer a bit.