Beachy Head Marathon - A roller coaster of fun on the South Downs

I haven't run a marathon for my birthday in a few years. Normally it would be Snowdonia, but with the advent of the ballot system for that event, I hunted around for something scenic and interesting to mark the passing of another year. My search led me to Beachy Head, a trail marathon that has some great reviews and still had spaces left, so I took the plunge and entered. Accommodation booked and a plan to enjoy the day unfolded.

Happily, I was not staying too far from the start line, so the morning was relaxed and I joined the steady flow of runners walking towards St Bede's prep school at the Western end of the seafront in Eastbourne. It was a great feeling to be among so many runners, with quite a large contingent from the Netherlands and some French and Belgians in the mix too. It dawned on me that this event is iconic and draws people back year-after-year and a chat with one participant revealed that the course can change a lot depending on the weather.

For this year, the weather was a little damp and foggy, but not actually raining and there was no wind at all. None. Not even a slight breath of air at the start, which was a little unnerving for the coast. We lined up ready to be set off in waves, as the first feature of the course is a very steep climb onto the South Downs Way over grass and gravel steps. The waves meant we could just about spread out and find our way up the lung-busting climb to take in the first of many views. Well, they would have been views had the fog lifted... as it was, we had spectacular vistas of greyness. 

The course wound its way up and over the Downs, leading us to wend our way inland over public footpaths and through lovely villages. People were out in force to support, from official marshals to people in their cars beeping frantically as we crossed over the roads, the atmosphere was fantastic. Some supporters popped up around the course with pots of sweets and ringing bells, helping to add some fun and colour to the gloom. At Jevington, the runner's delight of toilets presented themselves behind the checkpoint and I took the opportunity to shed some of the unnecessary layers that were causing me to overheat (in late October!).

As the miles unfolded, the fog lifted and we could see a little further than the few people in front, instead able to see the full majesty of the South Downs, glimpses of the sea and rolling hills galore. There were plenty of aid stations along the route, stocked with bananas, sweets, crisps, squash, water etc. Alfriston village was a delight with most of the local population lining the streets to welcome runners as we dog-legged through the pretty cottages. At mile 16 (the village of Litlington), we were greeted outside the village hall by a band, sausage rolls and what felt like a party in full-swing. Difficult to tear away from something so wonderful, but there were still 10 miles to cover.

More hills and the prospect of hitting the coast to tackle the Seven Sisters... which jumped out at us spectacularly. With the sea to our right and ahead the beautiful sight of the white cliffs rolling away into the distance, it was easy to find the motivation to begin the most challenging section of the route. Along the top were small dots, all moving in the same direction - the other runners making their way over the very rolling terrain. And so the roller coaster started: Uphill slog of hands-on-knees and trying to keep consistent momentum, followed by the joy of running down the other side until the ground started to rise up the side of the next cliff. Some were huge, some less so. Some were grassy and springy, some were gravel and hard rocks. As we approached Birling Gap, there were increasing numbers of tourists and day trippers exploring the gorgeous coast path. Happily, our route brought us more inland to avoid the treacherous cliff edges and we swung away from the coast for a while at Birling Gap to visit our final aid station and begin the climb to Beachy Head. According to one person, this was the last climb... hopes soared, as I had exhausted my joy for hills by now. Up to the top of Beachy Head and agonisingly close to the pub, we then circled round inland to meet the trail to the finish. The final challenge was to navigated back down the very steep hill we had climbed up at the start, hitting the tarmac at the bottom and willing legs to run across the line.

At several points throughout the event, despite the pain and the lack of views at the start, I realised that this is my favourite event for a few reasons:  So many different trails and varied scenery, great support from marshals and the public, some lovely fellow runners (have I mentioned that trail runners are the cool kids?), a fantastic medal (doubles as a weapon), option for cooked food at the finish and the end point is about 200m from a pub. The overall elevation is 1318 metres according to the official blurb (showed as around 1200 on my watch), which is more than the 838 metres of the Snowdonia Marathon. The rolling nature of the course means that the effects of this elevation are offset by the recovery on the flat and downhill sections and the legs felt reasonably ok afterwards! 

It was an absolute joy and I will definitely be back to tackle it again in the future... for now, I think I might need to enter something else to keep the motivation running.