Lymington RNLI 10K

Another post so soon can only be explained by the fact that I have saved blogs instead of posting them! My deepest apologies if there is anyone actually reading these!

My aching limbs took only a day to recover from the 40 odd mile walk in the North and the sun burn took a little longer. I was feeling pretty fresh for the next challenge; 10K race in aid of the RNLI crew of Lymington. Lymington is where some of my family are based and where I spent a considerable part of my youth. There were familiar faces on route, and also a few family members who came to see me at the finish which was a great boost.

Lymington is a small town on the South coast. It is wedged between the New Forest and the Solent and is a mecca for yachties, caravaners and other tourists, but also has a healthy population of locals. This is unlike other seaside towns where the property seems to be predominately second homes. Its a great place, with a lot going on. This was evident by the turnout for a fairly unknown 10k. There were 1,100 entrants made up of a varied mix of people, notably:

A team from "Best of British" who are aiming to reclaim the South Pole unassisted record during 2011. They were running with 5 metre promotional flags, which in the wind was no mean feat.

Part of the newly formed Lymington mariners Rugby club who had the inaugural AGM the night before in a local pub, so again no mean feat at all! Rumour has it that one of the players managed to get all the way round but then was violently sick over the finish line, in the view of a few hundred spectators! Good work!

The race started on playing fields and after 2k on country lanes, turns onto gravel tracks around the old salt marshes (a primary source of income in the past). The majority of the run is on the sea wall and is a great place to run. Salt marshes on one side (with sheep, horses etc) and on the other is a great view to the Isle of Wight with the yachts, dinghy's, power boats and ferry's on the Solent. There were plenty of Oyster Catchers, ducks and other birds and it was a lovely day! Apart from the wind! Although not very windy, it was right on the nose for 50% of the run.

The final stage of the run is possibly the cruelest as the route takes you straight past a pub called the Chequers. The Chequers is a well know hostelry in a great rural / nautical location and has been a favourite of many for years. Not only that but the land lord was standing outside almost challenging you not to come in! I placed an order for 30 minutes time and picked up my pace considerably.

I finished in 49 minutes and came in the top 20% which I was pleased with. Not as fast as I could have done, but I am doing it for fitness and not speed. Then I enjoyed a beer!

There has been no update re sponsorship for a while simply because it has not progressed. I need to get cracking or the whole adventure is at risk. If anyone knows anybody?????

I have a half marathon this weekend coming, which I am using as a long run to plan to get round and not race. I am getting a little punch drunk with all the running so am planning to get some more long walks in. Maybe some Wild Camping! More to follow.

Lastly, I am delighted that Jessica Watson is getting close to the end of her historic and record breaking voyage (see links). Sad to hear that some governing bodies are questioning the validity because of some detail or other. She has sailed around the world, single handed, at the age of 16. What more can you say!

Hadrians Wall

Let the train take the strain. So we did boarding at 6.00am in London and getting to Carlisle just after 9.00. Quick use of public transport to get us out of the city centre and we kicked off leg one at 9.30. The original wall was built by Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD. It was 84 miles (135 Km) long from Bowness - on Solway on the West Coast, to Wallsend on the East. The Romans left in AD 410 and the wall was no longer the frontier at the North of the Roman Empire. As a testament to Roman engineering however, the Roman wall and the military way to the south of it was used by the English to build a coast to coast road during the Jacobite rebellion of 1745!

So, with Jacobites building roads on the wall, and local farmers using the stones from the walls for building materials (in fact Hexham Abbey dating from AD 674 and built by Queen Etheldreda has Roman stones within the crypt), the Wall proper does not start until Banks, about an hour into the walk.

I was with a Friend of mine who is training to lose weight for a parachute jump. He also needs to lose some height as well but I could help with that. We had decided to walk the as much of the route where remains were visible over the 2.5 days that we had. That was Banks through to Chollerford which is about 40 miles.

The weather was fantastic with sun all the time. Off at a startling pace we soon came across our first fellow hikers. We then saw the next lot, and the next and realised that this was a busy part of the trail and also, there were unproportionate amount of beards sported by the men. So we started to count them. I believe we gave up at 30 men, 18 beards and about 45 women! We told them all we were walking end to end in 3 days and they were suitably impressed!

8 hours walking up and down some craggy terrain and we got to our destination for night one. Twice Brewed inn which is based near Once brewed on the Wall. Fantastic place, and let me tell you about the food. We were starving, had sore feet (we had walked 23 miles and been up since 5.00am) and needed some refuelling. My walking buddy ordered black pudding and Haggis to start with a Pork Belly main, I sensibly went for chicken kebab starter and what I read from the specials board as Lamb Shank. Done.

The Black pudding was the size of a hub cap and whilst this was being demolished, the waitress pointed out that the Lamb Shank was in fact Ham Shank! I have never heard of a Ham shank (knuckle or hock yes, not shank) but wanted anything. When it arrived it was a thing of monstrous proportions. Think a Ham all the way to the trotter, whole, on your plate. It was immense. Other diners were staring and we realised that between the two of us we had eaten almost a whole pig (blood in the pudding, the belly and the whole of one leg). We completed the task in the morning with sausages and bacon!

After all the food and exercise it was not long until we were asleep, and ready somewhat limping, the next day.

Day two was a 16 mile hike over the highest part of the wall, Steel Rigg, past Sycamore Gap (on photo and featured in Robin Hood) and we finished in Chollerford!

In Chollerford we had a well deserved beer or two at a pub with Gardens overlooking the river Tyne. We met another hiker; a Dutch guy who said "You were the one with plate of meat the size of a small child" so news does travel fast. After a night in Hexham and a great lunch with my mother who lives there (we went to the Rat which is a pub I highly recommend), we decided to walk the final few miles to Corstopitum Roman Fort at Corbridge where we stocked up on souvenirs for our children.

Highly recommend a visit to the Hadrians Wall if you can. The scenery is beautiful and although we counted beards for a few hours, it is really tranquil yet wild. The sense of history is obvious where ever you look and it makes a very memorable trip.

10k next weekend! Until then.