15th September: Pilgrim

If crossing the line in Reykjavik proved I can easily fit 10 marathons into a year - considering I ran none from mid October last year till mid Feb of this, then this should be something I keep on with until my knees can take it no more, so the Farnham Pilgrim trail marathon marks the first steps in the secondary (sub) challenge; the extension of the 12 in 12 to 13 in 2013! Making this round 11 of 13 with a few months left to go to squeeze the last couple out.

Pini has raced this one the last couple of years, finishing 9th last year and 3rd in his category in the half marathon the year before that. It is a race he has recommended heartily so it definitely was one I was looking forward to shuffling around. He informed me that the terrain is fairly easy going with one rather large hill before the halfway turn, and the rest really being undulations rather than anything else, unlike the South Downs we ran together.

Going in to this race I was looking forward to it being a chance to get that sub 5 hour trail time. Psychologically going in to the run having just finished a fag-end over 4:30 on the road, I felt that it was definitely within me to achieve this. My times approaching had been getting closer and closer to this goal so I felt that it was really a case of mind over matter more than anything else and I was not going to let anything get in the way.

I gave Pini a lift down to the start just by Farnham golf club and we duly changed and registered for the off. Pini was chasing a result in this one again this year, putting in the miles to attempt a higher finish and better time.

A decent bit of early autumn sun.

Pini ready to run for a placing.

Come the off Pini was straight to the front and hared-off with the best of them whilst I plodded along towards the back of the group off into the countryside heading eastwards.

The weather was fairly cool with broken sunshine so it was good not to be overheating from a beating baking sun and able just to concentrate on getting the miles under my belt.

Funky cloud patterns and con-trails above us.

Underfoot the terrain seemed to be for the most part bridleway/ right of way footpaths, with the occasional bit on country roads for variety the going was not too hard or soft and with the first 10k of the route being broadly down-hill a decent chance to get some good times into the bank in case of a later slump.

Along the woodland trail.

Taking in the views of the fields and trees as I ran, I was amazed at the sheer number of marshals and aid stations. It is extremely well organised, with someone at every corner just to help you should you run the risk of losing the track. There were plenty of people out supporting the event as well which is always great to have - random people clapping and cheering you onwards.

After running past another golf course and the Greyfriars Vineyard we hit the river Wey that runs through Guildford, so I knew now that we must be at the valley's bottom. It was a short flattish section here and we were able to watch boaters along the river working the lock-gates as they went on their own journey.

The Wey lock.

If you're at the bottom there's only one way to go and sure enough we started to steadily climb and we entered the Chilworth Manor estate, and were confronted by herd of llama's - which was a welcome change from seeing cows and sheep! At this point I recognised a voice as it jogged past and a familiar conversational topic 'don't do the Fairlands Valley in Stevenage' I looked across and found Andy from the Salisbury 54321 was alongside me, overtaking with a couple of other people. Realising who it was I said hello and chipped-in with my tuppence worth about the event!.. It turns out that since Salisbury Andy has run another couple of races, one of which was in Cheltenham which he said was nearly as badly organised a route and to avoid that one as well! It seems he has managed to regain his fitness having worked through his injury problems and I let them all steam off in front as I stopped to photograph more llama's.

Loadsa Llamas

The slow gradual climb was beginning to take its toll on some people and there was a bit of yo-yoing as people's different tactics for the climb came in to effect. In the distance ahead of me I could make out the figure of Carthorse, a fellow Farnborough FC fan and distance runner, so I attempted to maintain the gap as much as possible to get a chance to have a chat with him after the race.

Proof there really are runners behind me!

As we approached the halfway we encountered the hill Pini warned me about. The terrain here switched to sand, so it made the run harder still but fortunately with the rain we had recently had the sand was damp and held together fairly well. As we wound our way up the hill to the church of St. Martha at its summit (the hill has taken the name of its crowning church), in the distance you could hear a voice shouting and hollering on in encouragement. About 1/2 a mile later I saw who it was, possibly the loudest most cheerful marshall ever. She was bouncing around encouraging everyone to do their best in a manner that had her accompanying labrador attempting to hide itself away in embarrassment!

Enthusiasm that knew no boundaries!

About 1/4 mile after we were at the summit and the great view across Surrey that it afforded. They really chose a very picturesque place to plonk a church.

The picturesque church on the hill.

The descent started here and I found myself running alongside a lady who was running her first marathon for charity and had brought a throng of cheerleaders with her; around 30 people were gathered cheering and clapping her on. When you run past people as enthusiastic as that it can't help but inspire you as well to redouble you're efforts!

The view down to the valley floor.

All too soon we were back down at the valley floor and crossed behind the goals of a Sunday league football match on the park just before re-crossing the Wey at a more northerly point. It was here that I caught up with Carthorse who was feeling a little leaden of leg.

We jogged along for a bit chatting about our shared interest in Farnborough FC and the trials and tribulations that go with it - believe me if there ever were a soap-opera of a football club then the last decade Farnborough would have been top of the viewing figures, unfortunately for off-field rather than on-field reasons. At least you can say following FFC its never dull for a while!

Carthorse writes his own blog on his running exploits: Den's Got the Runs which is worth a read for his ultra-running exploits. The Farnham Pilgrim starts a couple of miles from his house so he tends to run it each year as much for its scenic nature as its proximity to home. This race is merely a warm-up for the Berlin marathon in a couple of weeks so a PB chase is on the cards there.

The course soon led us up another small but very steep hill. Carthorse warned me that it is largely a pointless effort as you can skirt round the bottom of this mound covering an equal distance, if not further rather than going up and down. The mound in question is exactly that, with St. Catherine's Chapel sitting on top of it. So you go up, along and down the other side and soon you're crossing the road leaving it behind.

The ruins on the mound (I'm not talking about the runners).

After a couple of miles of run-walking and chatting about next year's plans for running, in order for me to hit my 5h mark I had to get a wiggle-on so I had to leave the struggling Carthorse behind bemoaning the state of his legs and cursing not having any electrolyte to hand on him.

The view from the sandy heath.

Sauntering over the sand.

The course soon doubled back on itself, before leading us across some sandy heathland where we looped around on the top of a plateau then down in to some woods, where a group of marshals sporting fancy dress of an old crone, a monk (the race's logo) and a peasant were pointing the way forwards. Soon after we were heading back in towards the golf course and the finish line, with the last half mile an agonising incline!

Making it back to the field where the race began I could see Pini already changed and waiting, cheering me on and giving a High 5 as I approached the line and crossed it in a recorded time of 4:57:00 and proof to myself that I can complete a sub 5h trail marathon.

High-5ing Pini across the finish line.

The goody-bag for this race contained a mug as well as a cotton tee with a front and back print as well as a medal. With this mug, like the water bottle in Reykjavik, it is a useful memento of the race that you can get some everyday use out of.

Pini beat his time of last year by 2 minutes, but in doing so also became a victim of the race's success and growing popularity… He may have run the course faster this year, but finished 2 places lower in 11th. Which is a shame for him to say the least although the race this year was a fast one as both the first two finishers broke the course record!

I indulged in some complimentary cake and one of my scotch eggs in the hospitality tent before starting back to the van. During the race I had only consumed 3 gels and nothing else, which is by far the least fuelling I have felt the need to undertake, so I was quite happy to have been ideally fuelled before starting (I saved the delights of the minging recovery shake till I got home).

Walking back to the van I was able to cheer-on Carthorse as he approached the finish line around 20 minutes behind me, and on the ride home we were able to tune in to the thrilling conclusion to the ITU Triathlon final on the London 2012 course, where after all that time spent swimming, cycling and running it came down to a sprint finish between 2 evenly matched athletes over the last few metres; with Javier Gomez beating the 'tactical muppet' Jonathan Brownlee as described by his brother Alistair in the post-race interview!

I thoroughly enjoyed this run, and with it sitting on my doorstep I'm sure to be back in the future and heartily recommend it to anyone who fancies a go.

Doing the moose for the camera as always :)