Adam in Runderland

Today I ran at lunchtime. It was a grey, wet and windy day and I didn't fancy slipping and sliding along the cliff edge heading back to Dover after work. It stared out as an easy run but ended up being at tempo pace. The first half mile I took pretty easy and felt very heavy legged. However having reached the top of the Leas and begun my descent of Sandgate Hill my legs had loosened up and I had found my rhythm. Once in Sandgate I continued in the direction of Hythe hugging the coastline. My intention was to turn back when I reached Seabrook but as usual I felt so good I decided to carry on towards Hythe. New parking meters have been erected along the seafront, helpfully placed on the opposite side of the road to where cars park. Local opposition has been vocal and I noticed all the machines had been wrapped in bin bags with a note attached reading 'Return to sender' which made me smile. Along the esplanade there lampposts at regular intervals. I began to count

Since moving to the Folkestone I have run along most of the north downs way above the town. However there was still one stretch I hadn't experienced starting at Caesar's Camp and heading west past the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. For that reason I was happy when my running buddy John told me he had planned a route following that trail for our long run on Saturday. We left Cheriton at 7am and ran north as far as the M20 motorway. The path took us underneath the traffic and then up a steep gradient to Caesar's Camp. We both felt full of energy and charged up the sharp incline arriving at the top panting and gasping. We took a left and followed the path out of the trees and up onto the top of the downs where we overlooked the town and recovered our breath. It was a clear, albeit overcast, day but warmer than it has been for a while. There was a hint of spring in the air and far more bird song to be heard. There is a 90 feet long white horse depicted on the hillside above

This week I managed three long runs. The first was on Saturday morning with my new running buddy John. We met at his house for a strong coffee before making our way to parkrun. It was a cold and windy day and the biting easterly breeze was a force to be reckoned with. In Folkestone the wind normally comes from the west, facing us on the uphill section of the Leas path. Due to the arctic vortex pushing in from Siberia this was reversed and we faced a hill climb one way and a head wind the other - not easy conditions at all. That said we both seemed to run strongly and finished 9th and 12th respectively. Instead of the traditional post-parkrun coffee and cake stop we decided to head along the seafront to Hythe. The wind was at our backs and it was an enjoyable 45 minutes to the small town which lies between Folkestone and New Romney. At this point we did duck into a café for a coffee and a 'large' piece of cake thanks to John's request. When we left  15 minutes later

Over recent weeks I have started to get back in the habit of doing a long run at the weekend. I live in Dover and the nearest parkrun is in Folkestone so it makes sense to run in - well in my mind anyway. The route from Dover to Folkestone follows the North Downs Way along the cliff tops overlooking the English Channel. It is roughly 9 miles from my house to the Leas where the parkrun begins at 9am. This weekend I made plans with John, a friend who is training for the London Marathon this year, to run back to Dover with him after our weekly 5k. I left the house at 7am to give myself plenty of time, and enjoyed the fact that it is now light at that time of the morning and I no longer need to use my head torch. Making my way down the hill through the centre of Dover I turned onto the main road that leads along past the harbour and up out of town. The first mile is all downhill and a good way to loosen / warm up. It's then a three mile climb to 500 feet. This take