Richard Devine keeps those legs running!

Getting Lost and Hitting ‘That’ Hill

Having decided that going x-country was the way forward for my training I set off after work into the unknown of Crowhurst and Filsham marshes in St Leonards. I hadn’t been out there for 20 years and with it being the end of the summer it is all overgrown so trying to remember a route to run was a task in itself. Fortunately I met a friend running on the other side of a river going the other way who gave me some rough directions. With these fresh in the memory I managed to find my way to Crowhurst and then came to a crossroads at the end of a bridleway. I don’t know if you know much about the countryside, but they aren’t big on signposting. Luck came my way again when a cyclist pointed me in the right direction. I managed to get lost coming back also, missing a turning in some woods and ended up doing an extra mile back to the car. Lovely summers evening for a run.

‘That’ hill is the sight, I along with everyone on 27^th October will see at the start of the marathon. I decided to have a go at that start and some of the hills along the seven sisters. After getting lost a few times earlier in the week I made my mind up that I would just out and back in as straight a line as possible.

‘That’ hill is terrible but what I didn’t realise is that there are a few more of those along the way. On the 5 miles out I felt good, going past Belle Tout Lighthouse and through Birling Gap. Then I turned around and came back and realised that I had been pushed along by the wind! Going back up to Belle Tout was too much and I had to walk for 100m. Walking some of the hills is not out of the question on the day.

2 steps forward, 1 step back...

This week has been full of it's ups and downs for my training for the goal of the Beachy Head Marathon.

Every week there are some good stuff that happens and there are the bad bits. This week however seemed to be the exception with a couple of very nasty bits but not equally matched by the highs!

The week got off to a somewhat painful start as some how my two year old niece managed to crack my nose and give me a beautiful black eye. This I could put up with however it is the consequences of the broken nose that cause the most trouble as the surgeon reckons the chipped bone was obstructing the canals in my nose making breathing whilst running just that extra bit harder!

Anyway, I picked myself up after that setback as I knew training must continue at all costs and and well for a crack of dawn run with my friend around Whitbread, Beachy Head and the surrounding areas. This was the high point of the weeks training as we beat our personal best times for the circuit - happy days! :)

Just as I thought I was over the weekend troubles of the nose, a ride out on the horses on Wednesday evening went and threw yet another spanner in the works. It was a beautiful evening with the sun slowly setting and getting a final gallop in before returning home. Just as everything was perfect...the nightmare struck as my friends horse suddenly bolts off and gallops off in the process throwing her from the horse, to which she landed very awkwardly and painfully on her back...This left my friend and I looking after 3 horses, our injured friend and competing with the ever diminishing light.

Cutting a long story short the resulting outcome was myself running about 8miles up and down hills in horse riding boots (blistered like never before and a slightly twisted ankle) and an overall finish with a ride out in the air ambulance for her and the long walk home for us! All the running has now left my feet shot to pieces however, in the words of Queen, the show must go on! But also recovery is vital and premature training would only further exacerbate the injuries, so, rest it is for a couple of days!

Eastbourne's best kept secret's...revealed!

Here's something a little bit different now. Yesterday on our VisitEastbourne facebook page - www.facebook.com/visiteastbourne we asked our fans to share with us some of what they feel are the towns hidden gems.

In no particular order and with some readers thoughts!:

• Holywell Tea Rooms
• The Holy Well, fresh spring water near the sugar loaf. (The Sugar Loaf is a massive piece of chalk at the top of the cliff behind St Bedes. The well is at the foot of the cliffs below and you can drink out of it. It's a lovely walk.)
• The chalk cliffs are spectacular but hardly a secret.
• Neates, Urban Ground & The cafe at Towner are all amazing little gems to eat in!
• Holywell tea chalet, it's a lovely little sun trap and fab food too!
• Sovereign Harbour Beach near the harbour Entrance!!!! Beautiful view up there.
• ''Having gone to a charity BBQ at Lions Farm on Saturday, I would say to people when another event is held there go and enjoy the experience of the animals and lakes, we were amazed.''
• Sevenoaks Park where Langney Area Panel have installed 3 public BBQs
• One of the best kept secret's must be the bunker opposite the Beachy Head pub.

So if you've got some free time, then go and check some of these fantastic places out for yourself! Also if you've got some ideas of your own then share them in the comments below. :)

Richard keeps on pounding the hills.

Here Richard guides us through a return to the fantastic benefits of cross-country running.

After pounding the concrete streets and increasing my mileage for a couple of weeks I have run into a few problems with my IT Band, the dreaded Runners Knee! Having had it before I knew what to do so a few days rest and plenty of stretching and decided to take myself x-country running as that has always helped and seeing as the marathon is off road a good excuse to get out and about the beautiful Sussex countryside. I decided to go on a 10k loop in Ashburnham that I have walked from fellow runner Nick Browns 1066 Country Walks book.

A side note, In Chris McDougals book Born To Run a theory for the ability of Taramuhara Indian runners, along side their diet, technique and need to run, it was suggested that enjoying running was the key. Running with a smile when you are 60 miles into a 100 mile race.

With that theory I went out to run the hills of Ashburnham in Battle whilst listening to comedy. If I could be amused whilst running then I wouldn't be thinking about the pain in my legs whilst pounding up hills.

Thanks to Kevin Bridges, Jim Jefferies and Billy Connolly I flew round a 10k loop in the country side of Battle without thinking how long I was out for (including being chased by some playful cattle). I don't think I looked at my watch once until I finished.

One week closer

Times ticking at the Beachy Head Marathon is drawing ever closer.

It is now becoming ever clearer that every day that goes by, is yet another day closer to those 26 miles of arduous endurance! With the amount of work on the go never getting less, fitting in these longer 15-18mile runs is proving challenging to say the least. I aim to run roughly every other day with a 'rest' day in between however the success rate at this method is less than impressive! 

This aside the runs that I'm going on now do feel a lot more steady and controlled with a really purpose to not stopping and walking up the steep hills. Partly down to Indi my Springer spaniel and her limitless amounts of energy to charge up even the steepest of incline. Generally after spotting a pheasant or some other game strutting elegantly along.

The times also come when I'm asking myself is it time for some new specialist trainers to last the testing terrain. The answer to this is probably very simple...yes! However the choice on the market is lost with me. All these different brands competing for 'The Ultimate' running shoe. I feel I'd have more chance of getting a good shoe if I just did a lucky dip. Also the garble that some salespeople come out with just goes straight over my head and I end up judging the shoe on its aesthetic values! A really good website to help with all things running related I've found is The Running bug.

Anyway back to sorting out some more bits and pieces, more to come tomorrow...

VisitEastbourne's own training blog!

VisitEastbourne's own is running the Beachy Head marathon also, so here's an update with an insider view!

Less than two months to go till 'D-day' and somehow it's crept up quietly and the pressure and nerves are starting to mount! From the moment I accepted the challenge of running the marathon from a colleague back in April, I have been looking forward to my date with destiny and th undulating hills. I can't deny that over the summer with all the busy events and happenings in Eastbourne, my training has, well, been rather remiss. To be honest - non existent would be more of a factually correct statement! Never mind I'm generally quite a fit person and swimming many times a week so hopefully with a little more effort on pounding the hills, I should be in some form of reasonable fitness to tackle those stunning Seven Sisters.

With a large portion of event's successfully finished for now, my attention can start to return to turning over the miles. I have been very fortunate to have an awesome friend who knows exactly how to train for these types of ‘crazy'ness’ and the best way to approach it. This has meant alternate days going for early morning runs around Whitbread or down at Sovereign Harbour. Applied with a lot of flexing and stretching – I’ll admit I’m not the most flexible of people! After these I can definitely feel the burn, but as they say 'No pain, no gain', I keep persevering. Needless to say that progressively each run I do becomes easier and I'm starting to increase the mileage.

All this being juggled with the fun of the office in the day, some pre/post event's work here and there, seven swimming sessions throughout the course of the week and looking after a few horses and dogs just for good measure! I sure do look forward to that moment of pure relaxation when my head touches the soft pillow at the end of the day, however the pleasure and happiness each day brings me is like nothing else and I really do look forward to each and every next day to start it all over again.

Introducing Allan Lambert!

It's time to introduce you to our final Beachy Head Marathon lucky competition winner - Allan Lambert. On the 27th October, Allan, along with Michael, Richard and Allen will set out on the arduous 26 mile course across the South Downs. Here's Allan's first blog entry of his training day 1.

So I've signed up for the Beachy Head Marathon on 27^th October. The countdown to the starting gun has begun and I’ve started to crank up the miles.  

A little about me; I'm nearer forty than thirty, dad to my heroes Hannah and Thomas and work for a well known group of UK holiday companies. In my spare time you can find me ‘running slowly’ with my significant other Sarah and training our 1 year old energetic black Labrador, Griff.  I’m a big fan of holidaying in the UK. From coastline to sunshine (yes, really) we really do have some of best places to visit and explore. 

So am I serious runner?  No. As a former rugby player you could say I’m build for comfort rather than speed!  However, I do give it a good go. What I enjoy most about running is it takes me to parts of the UK I wouldn’t necessary visit. That fact mixed together with an enjoyable run, a finishers’ medal and rewarding post run pint and I couldn’t be happier.

I have completed a handful of marathons. Emphasis on completed... Sub six hours and I've had a good day at the office.  Of course I’d like a stunning personal best to impress friends and family but for now I’m more than happy to get around with a smile on my face.

Allan, Sarah and Griff the Lab.

Still going strong

Richard Devine, one of our Beachy Head Marathon competition winners, has again written a fantastic piece about how his training is progressing.

10 weeks to go and I’m feeling motivated. I had just finished reading Scott Jurek’s book 'Eat and Run' and decided to go out for a run with no watch to tell me how long, how far and at what pace I was running. Running for the fun of it.

I set out once the early evening had cooled and headed out towards the countryside where I hadn’t run before with only a vague idea of which where I was headed for. Still plugged into my iPod though, don’t need to hear myself struggling up hills!

Quite liberating to run and have no idea whether I should go faster to keep to a pace or how far I had gone. Ran comfortably for what turned out to be about an hour and a quarter and did just over 9 miles of undulating country lanes and their grassy verges (can’t help but map it afterwards). No dogs to try and trip me over this time but there was a tractor that had parked itself across the road but I saw that one from a distance and managed to sidestep it like Mo Farah striding out of the pack and sprinting away.

Think I will need to hit a few more hills and stay out longer over the next few weeks to be sure I’m ready, already planning new routes to make runs longer, the clock is ticking.

Allen Grant's First day training blog

My first day training for the Beachy Head Marathon would consist of a good nights sleep the day before so that when I wake up at 07.00 I am refreshed.

For my breakfast I would have porridge with syrup and raisins to give me sustained energy for my run and drink a cup of tea at home and 500ml of water before I started.

The run would be 10 miles at a slow pace at which you can hold a conversation.

Starting at Butts Brow and heading towards Beachy Head Golf club then through to Beachy Head past Bell Tout lighthouse and onto Birling Gap where I would head back along the Beachy Head road and turn and go up through Cornish farm to Warren hill across the road and head back past the golf club to Butts Brow.

At the end of my run I would drink another 500ml of isotonic sports drink whilst cooling down with a slow walk of 100 metres and stretching then I would normally have an energy bar or banana when I got home.

If I am running on my own I would always let someone know where I am running, how long I would be (REMEMBER SAFETY AT ALL TIMES) and carry my mobile with me or better still run with a group.

Be happy in your running.

Allen Grant