From our reporter in the field - Dave Ricards

"Superb 4.5 mile grass course, marshalled with three steep gradients and descents of 888ft, the highest hill on the South Downs."

Had I read that sentence thoroughly, I may have come to my senses in time - unfortunately that was not the case !

Well, I thought that the Haslemere 10k was tough, the Midhurst demanding and The Three Peaks "challenging" - easy peasey lemon sqeezey, by comparison !

I became suspicious when I saw : (insert as appropriate !)
1. all these fit looking Fell Runners saying how they were looking forward to "a testing run".
2. a sign saying : "I'd rather climb Everest", Edmund Hilary, 1954.
3. a total lack of mountain goats !

These suspicions were confirmed, once we began to climb the first hill. By halfway up, many were (already) walking ! I timed my ascent and descent : 8 minutes up - and 3.5 minutes down ! And that was fighting the (down)gradient !

The second hill looked less fierce, I couldn't have been more wrong ! This time, I joined the walkers - for a time. It seemed to make sense to conserve energy, as I was unable to run faster than I could walk.

There were quite a few on-lookers halfway up this hill, so a certain "runner", took it upon himself to get them involved - when he saw that they were rather slack in encouraging the participants. "Needy runners, please give generously !"

The result was well worth the exertion required (to talk in the face of adversity). Plenty of applause, even laughter - amongst both runners and supporters.

(Strange how the paths were very narrow - one-person width - going up hill, yet as wide as Tony Blair's grin, on the way down !)

Within a few yards of the start of the final climb, this runner was walking once again. However, a voice from behind bellowed "Come on, nearly at the top!" and "If you stop, so do I".

Blackmail has its uses!

Those words lifted my spirits and got me running again.

However, not before I had remembered one of Wendy's Training Tips : "Come Dave, the faster you run, the sooner it will be over !" Thanks Wenders !

A sprint finish was in order, to try and revive my morale, if nothing else !

Time : 49mins 22secs. Roughly equivalent to a 67 min. 10k.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Where's me bath chair ?