Saturday 26 October

The Beachy Head Marathon is one of the biggest off-road marathons in the UK.  Formerly known as the seven sisters marathon, it has become hugely popular for its scenic and challenging route through the South Downs countryside.

Last year runners were faced with torrential rain, hail, wind and the odd sunny section.  This year; fog 🌫️ , not even a whisker of a breeze, and very humid conditions paved the way for a fabulous day on the downs.

Of the 1103 runners, fourteen Harriers took part with captain Bartz 👨🏻‍✈️ first harrier home in a new course PB of 3:51:05 and placing 33rd overall 🤩 🙌, followed by Ads 🦈 4:16:32, Chris Little 🔥 running a course PB knocking 50 minutes off his previous time to finish in 4:52:19 🙌, Graham Pundye 😂 4:53:07, Mick 🏃🏽 5:05:12, Vinny 💂🏻‍♂️5:15:36, Tinks 🧚🏻 5:15:36, Woolley 🧶 5:28:51, Victoria 👮🏻‍♀️ 5:41:57 even adding on the extra to make to to a full marathon distance at the end 🤪, The Ledge 🖤❤️6:26:54, first timer Kevin 💪🏼 6:28:40 ⭐️, Ros 🧑🏼‍⚕️6:39:10 and running a new course PB 🙌, first timer Jayne 🦸🏻‍♀️ 6:55:31 ⭐️, and our Italian stallion Robbie 8:19:53

Our wonderful Coach Graham Pundye 😂 had this to say;

‘Doing another marathon, just 13 days after Budapest marathon was a big ask in many ways, but as I’d booked Beachy Head first I decided to give it a go anyway despite a few hills!

I’d no real ‘game plan’ other than to finish so it was a walk up to past the steps on the first hill from the start.

After the hill I managed a nice pace to Butts Brow and the drop into Jevington. There was congestion on the path heading up to Friston forest which cleared towards the top and then a flattish downhill before the steep descent to start the steady climb to the Long Man. I was still feeling good there and the descent to Alfriston was relatively quick before crossing the Cuckmere and another long ascent to Bo-Peep, with a bit of walking on the steep bits and then Chris Little joined me almost at the end of leg 2 (South Downs Relay – other relays are available but don’t compare because as Susan Calman might say it’s a ‘Grand Day Out’!)

Chris and I ran together from there for most of the remainder of the marathon and kept each other going. Just past the halfway point around the top of Rathfinny Vineyard it was very muddy and slippery in places but neither of us Wined about the conditions and we were soon descending towards Litlington and a much needed refreshment stop before the dreaded steps and upcoming ‘Sisters’.

Having conquered both sets of steps without mishap we found ourselves at Exceat and knew home was just along the coast. Unfortunately, there were a few hills in the way and we were both suffering a bit at times with our legs, so we wisely decided a strategy of mainly walking up the Sisters and then running (jogging!) the downhills. This worked pretty well and we eventually found ourselves at Beachy Head and knew we’d made it! It’s always surprising how far that actually is from the finish, but at least it’s mainly all downhill.

We both made it in under 5 hours which we were very happy with.  Hopefully they will look at extending it by the odd 300metres or so needed to make it a full marathon, although it definitely qualifies as a marathon in terms of toughness!!
If you haven’t tried it yet, I recommend giving it a go and you get Baked Potato, Beans, cheese and sausage (vegan if required) after the finish, so what’s not to like!’

🎤 A great account Graham pf a fab day.  Congratulations to everyone that ran, to all our beachy first timers, to those that ran new course personal bests, to those who took part in another marathon just weeks after their last one and to all who were out on the course marshalling, volunteering and supporting 🖤 ❤️

Same time next year 🫢🫢🫢