FKT: Paul Grundy - Northumberland Coastal Path (United Kingdom) - 2022-12-31

Athletes
Route variation
One way
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Male
Style
Self-supported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
9h 30m 37s
Report

Self-supported stopping only for water at village convenience stores en-route - I used 8 x Maurten 320 hydro gel drink mix sachets over the duration of the attempt. Enjoyed the route, but a little perplexed why the 'coastal' route travels so far inland between Bambrough & Holy Island Causway crossing. This ~15 mile section was very muddy and made for hard going due to the little footfall the paths had seen - I also lost a lot of time in the forest due to fallen trees and having to navigate around them. I may come back and do this again in the summer as think I could run it much quicker when conditions underfoot are more favourable. Also noticed the previous fastest (supported) time didn't take the official route between Seahouses and Bambrough which shortened that attempt by almost 3 miles compared to the office track.

Comments

Please check your facts before posting rubbish like this. My supported route followed the correct official coastal path and did not cut a single metre off the route, never mind 3 miles. I know this area very well and have also ran this route several times before in both directions. Perhaps check your own route again before making stupid comments about routes that you are unfamiliar with. 

And looking at your strava you are quoting further different times and distances on there, again none of these are correct. I can assure you that the official route does not take you from the harbour at Seahouses up the main street, around in circles before returning back down the same road and rejoining the correct path. It certainly doesn't involve climbing over any 10ft fences either. If you do return to do your much faster time then I'd suggest downloading and checking the correct route in advance. 

My comment wasn't intended to cause any upset, so my apologies if it has; it was purely an observation based on having looked at your route as part of my planning. The online resources I reviewed, and equally the costal path signage, very clearly take the route inland between Seahouses and Bamburgh and not across Seahouses beach, as was the route you took - this is the only point I was making. I acknowledge the difference between the two is unlikely to be 3 miles and it was a pure (inaccurate) guess on my part - I was wrong to put a number on it - to be honest I really didn't / don't see it as being a 'big deal'. With regards to my attempt, and your observations : I was just being transparent about what I did at the railway crossing - having retrospectively reviewed the NCP website they had detailed a diversion around the closed railway crossing, which had I known about before time, I would've taken. As for the comment you make about the main street in Seahouses - that was just me buying a bottle of water from the shop, hence the attempt being submitted as 'self-supported'; I can also assure you I did my due diligence before setting out on the attempt and I also know the area and costal path well. Congrats on your run too, I really wasn't aiming to discredit it, that's not the sort of person I am, however I can see why you would've taken it as such so again, apologies for that. 

I appreciate your comments and thank you for taking time to explain. My day was not entirely comfortable in all honesty and I expected the time to be beaten at some point however I did not stray a single metre off the official route, hence why I replied in the manner that I did. I am not sure where my run indicates covering any part of Seahouses beach that you mention as that did not happen. I have ran this course before countless times in both directions as part of races as well as training runs, I live relatively locally and my parents and family live in both Seahouses and Bamburgh respectively. I know the area and the correct route like the back of my hand so there is no margin for error whatsoever as far as I am concerned. Anyway, I'm happy to draw a line under all of this, no need to go back and forth. Good luck with your running going forward.