On Wednesday, with several other Seaford Striders and a new pair of running shoes attached to my feet, I went to Bexhill for the Bexhill 5K, the last in their series of three summer evening races, and, unlike the other two, part of the Sussex Grand Prix. We could see Eastbourne Pier burning across the bay as we ran the westward sections of this two-lap race, much as the inhabitants of Naples must have looked across the bay at the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. I was pleased to record a time of 27:33.
By way of contrast, this morning I ran the Friston Forest 5 mile, a small event near my home. As I arrived at the forest mist was rising from the trees, and I found the race headquarters in a small glade off the Litlington road. I had originally entered the Adder, a ten mile event, but traded down to the five miler, in view of my lack of training. The organisers were genial and relaxed, and there cannot have been more than fifty runners milling around, though they all looked faster than me. At 9 the Adder runners set off, and we followed them five minutes later. Possibly the hardest part of the race was the first hill; after that taxing ascent, I settled into a rhythm and followed paths, some known to me, some unknown, through the forest. The sun shone on us, the hills were agreeably taxing and, to my surprise, in spite of their appearance at the start, I was not the very last runner. Indeed, as I fell down the hill to the finish in 52:51, I began to regret my decision to change from the longer distance. I shall be back.
