Under the cover of darkness, two sneaky roadrunners slipped away in secret to compete in this nocturnal event.
Starting at the Sea Scout Hut in Shoreham, the 8 mile looped course adds an extra mile and a smidge before straddling the River Adur, following the riverbank through Coombes, Boltolphs and upto Bamber where our determined duo crossed the water and headed back south along the opposite bank to return to Shoreham.
“We arrived at race hq at 7.30 for the 8pm start when Julie realised she’d left her running shoes back at the hotel in Brighton! We dashed back, got them and somehow arrived back at start with 9 minutes to spare and in time for the race briefing” Paul tells me
Finally, after a last minute dash for the loo, the temarerious two finally set off on their journey up and down the riverside.
“We picked up a lovely lady from Victory AC during 2nd lap who asked if she could stick with us. Unfortunately our torch batteries started dying during lap 3 so that slowed us down a lot as the ground was quite uneven and we couldn’t see where we were going”
The extra mile that was added at the beginning of the race was also added at the end to make up the distance. However, this proved the hardest mile for the pair as they, along with their fading illuminations, managed to lose their way…
“We got lost in last mile to the finish and ended up doing 28 miles. It was a great run though, we both really enjoyed it despite neither of us training”
For Julie it was her 10th outing over the distance, with Paul just behind having now notched up 9. Despite getting lost, they still crossed the line in 5 hours and 14 minutes.
