The three of us tackled ‘The John’ in mid-April, setting off around 8am from Maidencombe. The steep opening climb sets the tone for the rest of the run: this is a hilly route, especially in the first third. It winds through many villages, skirts the edges of Newton Abbot and Torquay and passes through the centre of Totnes. There’s plenty of tarmac as well as trail, and none of it is technical, so cushioned trail shoes are a good idea. It was rather dry when we ran it, but some parts could get muddy after rain. I brought poles, and found them helpful on the hills.
Navigation is a little tricky, with plenty of twists and turns, though the route is fairly well signed with distinctive yellow and brown arrows. Some sections cut through fields, but there were no cattle in them when we ran through. One field near Sharpham had calm horses in it. Be warned, though: there are lots of gates on this route, and some are genuinely baffling. One was locked outright; we had to climb over it.
I’d recommend this route in spring, while the nettles are still small. We were lucky with the weather: a brief shower aside, it was dry, sunny, and perfectly cool.
One of our group (me – Miriam) was suffering with the tail end of a cold, meaning we didn’t run this as fast as we might have. We walked most of the hills and stopped quite a few times to eat and fill up with water – so we were delighted to chip more than 15 minutes off the previous female FKT.
The route includes a ferry crossing from Dittisham to Greenway. We’re very grateful to the ferryman. He’d just pushed off when we arrived at the jetty, waving. Clocking us, he reversed the boat and came back, so we didn’t have to wait at all. This saved us quite a few minutes – thank you!
We ran mostly self-supported: we used pub toilets, bought drinks from a shop in Totnes, and filled up our water bottles from a kind stranger’s outside tap. We did stop at my friends’ house to use their loo and eat tiny chocolate Easter eggs, though, so we’re submitting this as a supported attempt. Food-wise, we brought sandwiches, jelly babies, muesli bars, gels and – best of all – Morrisons gluten free chocolate cake bars. There’s also a great ice cream place near the finish at Brixham. A sorbet is very soothing after 36 miles.
Along the way we set the world to rights: ranking life’s great pleasures, identifying key geopolitical risks, discussing the Hungarian election happening that same day, and exchanging tips to prevent chafing on long runs (spoiler: kinesiology tape and lube).