The Lewes Marathon

[Sweder]

This course is going to be a brute.

Met up with OutAlongTheRiver at Chez Sweder just before eight. We walked down to Spital Road (all of a hundred and fifty yards from my front door), the rough chalk/ flint track that slides behind the prison wall and leads up onto the downs. This appeals as a starting point, offering two hundred metres of rarely used, fairly wide hard standing on which runners can congregate. Minimal impact on the locale and as good a launch pad for this madness as any.

The climb from here to Blackcap is gentle. The trail rises to crest the downs before passing the racing stables and easing into a series of ascents. Flint and chalk provide a solid, if less than flat, footing. The summit of Blackcap appears at 2.5 miles. This seems like a good spot for a first water station. By placing water at the trig point we can discourage runners from sneaking past on the low side to avoid the steeper section.

The next gate takes us onto the South Downs Way, more rubbly hard standing leading south towards the A27. We cocked up here, chatting incesantly about options and race details, missing entirely the all important left turn. It was only when Houndean Farm appeared before us that we realised, jogging back shame-faced at this basic error. Once back on the SDW proper we encountered a testing climb into and through dense woodland. Overhead cover is a good thing. If the weather is inclement this offers respite from the rain. If it happens to be balmy (unlikely in February) the trees offer shade. On over the brown and down, down towards the road and a right turn back along the asphalt towards the farm and the bridge across the road. Mounted helpfully on the flint wall here is a tap offering fresh drinking water to all. At around the 10k point this provides the perfect spot for the next drinks station.

Rob bade me farewell, sticking to his planned seven miler, heading on up the 27 towards Lewes. I carried on across the footpath and onto the cinder track. I noted the distance at the tunnel under the railway to be 7.1 miles. All such tunnels are, apparently, numbered. This one is numbered 710. Sadly, thanks to our errant navigation earlier, this is unlikely to be accurate come final mapping. Shame.

After the tunnel the track turns to grass, snaking up, up for well over half a mile. Ripening, golden stalk beamed happily, the adjacent grasslands bursting with blossoming wildflowers. I huffed and puffed as the sun shone through a rare break in the clouds, resorting to walking as my legs grew heavy towards the top.

There are a few options for our final route from the top of this climb. To the right, along the spine of the downs, a mere 200 metres from the crossroads, is Castle Hill Nature Reserve. This leads down into Death Valley and the shadow of the Snake. Turn left and the SDW wriggles along the ridge, brushing the tips of the W before twisting onto the Yellow Brick road. So including the W is an option, but I favour turning right, and so I did. I took a moment at the bottom of Castle Hill to wave across to Moyleman's last resting place, across the valley, high above and to my right.

A mile on more options waited at the abandoned farm buildings. Left along another sheltered pass leads up onto the SDW in the middle of the W. Right offers Old Snakey, a run through to the Farmer's Field (which I usually run down heading the other way) and a loop back around to the YBR. My time on this run was well and truly up, legs shot and breathing ragged. Time to head home. I turned left, took the second V of the W down off the hills (past the partly refurbished white windmill) and onto Juggs Lane. I noted with some relish that the 13.1 mile point was precisely on the doorstep of the Swan Pub. I may have to use this route in training ...

   
Elevation map

Bagged a total just shy of 23 kilometres. Total ascent was 513.8 metres.
The route has to be honed and polished, but we've carved out a pretty decent first 15k. Linking to the YBR will be easy enough. That takes us off towards Southease and across the Ouse, sticking to the SDW all the way up Firle Beacon.

A good start.