The sun is not up yet, but we are. As ever, you seem to be waiting for the day, and then it is upon you.
We arrived in Eastbourne last night, welcomed by the most enormous moon as we followed the coastal road, Beachy Head on the right in the dark. In places I had to drop down to third gear to climb the hill, thinking about how we would be running those very same hills in just over 12 hours.
I am fortunate that a old pal has done the Beachy Head Marathon before. He also introduced me to a fellow runner from his club who has done it ‘5 or 6 times’. Casual. I would definitely remember how many times I had done it! So it can’t be a big deal; right? I was invited to a 20k warm up, which I politely declined. 44 is enough today thanks. The next piece of advice was gold: at the start, walk until you hear the bagpipes and then start running. This was followed with, yes, the first hill is a bastard. Righty ho!
Time to climb into the kit and grab some brekkie. There’s always something special about putting on the shirt, and representing something far bigger than oneself. You remember that the run is representative of a huge need in society and is one more step forward in raising awareness.
Look out for the pics on the way round, and maybe some live footage.
See you on the other side!
RS
understand pain 