Ill Concieved Plans Poorly executed

Firle 20K

I'd been given a leaflet advertising the Firle 20k a while ago and as I suddenly, at the end of August, found myself with a lot of time to spare I entered. Firle House is nestled at the bottom of the South Downs so the chances of this being a flat one were fairly small. I suspected that it would involve slogging up a hill at some point but thought that it would be a good practice for the Beachy Head Marathon at the end of October.

The route started along the old coaching road along the bottom of the Downs. About half way along I started wondering about the ethics of pacing. A few weeks previously I'd been followed round the Dry Hill 10 by at least three other runners, I didn't think much of it at the time but over the past few weeks it had started to gnaw away at my subconscious. Now I do most of my running on my own which has left me with a very self contained attitude, don't get me wrong I am quite happy to follow someone, especially if they have an aesthetically appealing body, but some how I feel that using someone else as a pacer is a little bit wrong especially if they don't know about it. Tis train of thought was brought about by the padding of feet right behind me, for mile after mile I could hear them. I tried speeding up and they stayed with me. I slowed down and they didn't pass. They were just there along with the panting and the smell of sweat.

The climb up to the top of the downs came just before Alfristion. A steep chalk path to the side of a spinney that was being used very loudly for clay pigeon shooting, I wondered how many of the runners wouldn't make it back. The rise was endless and wearing, I nearly ran to the top and so did my shadow. For some reason I'd convinced my self that the top would be flat, I've walked up here enough times to know that it isn't but I was still a bit disappointed that it wasn't. I slogged up and down the rises and dips and past walkers dressed warmly for a Sunday morning stroll. My shadow was still there and I was getting just a little annoyed.

The last part of the course was a steep down hill into Firle Place, I'm not that comfortable with running down hill. Then it happened, after following me for at least eighteen kilometres my shadow decided to come out into the open and charge down the hill, followed by at least two others. Not even a word of thanks, the ungrateful little swine. I couldn't have kept up with them if I tried so just carried on at my normal pace cursing gently under my breath. By the time I got to the finish they were nowhere to be see. Still my finishing time was respectable and I think that my shadows should be penalised by at least haflf a minute each and that that time should be subtracted from mine, just to make things fair